Gross, Fine and Visual-Motor Skills in Children with Language Disorder, Speech Sound Disorder and Their Combination

Increasing evidence shows that children with Communication Disorders (CDs) may show gross, fine, and visual-motor difficulties compared to children with typical development. Accordingly, the present study aims to characterize gross, fine and visual-motor skills in children with CDs, distinguishing children with CDs into three subgroups, i.e., with Language Disorders (LD), Speech Sound Disorders (SSD), and LD + SSD. In Experiment 1, around 60% of children with CDs (4 to 7 years; 21 with LD, 36 with SSD, and 90 with LD + SSD) showed clinical/borderline scores in balance skills, regardless of the type of communication deficit. However, children with LD, SSD, and LD + SSD did not differ in gross and fine motor skills. In Experiment 2, a higher percentage of children with CDs (4 to 7 years; 34 with LD, 62 with SSD, 148 with LD + SSD) obtained clinical/borderline scores in Visual Perception skills. Moreover, children with LD + SSD performed significantly worsen in Visual Perception and Fine Motor Coordination skills compared to children with SSD only. Our results underlined that CDs are generally associated with gross motor difficulties and that visual-motor difficulties are related to the type of communication deficit. Paying earlier attention to the motor skills of children with CDs could help clinicians design effective interventions.

Cross-cultural Validation of the Full Range Test of Visual Motor Integration Used with Children in Four Arab Countries

SIGNIFICANCE

Arab countries have a shortage of culturally sensitive psychoeducational assessments. Tests of visual-motor integration are low in their linguistic demands, yet they are not culture-free.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties and the validation of the Full Range Test of Visual Motor Integration (FRTVMI) across four Arabic speaking countries, namely, Sultanate of Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (n = 2318).

METHODS

The FRTVMI was administered to 2318 children from four Gulf countries. Criterion measures included the Reading Observation Scale and the achievement scores in reading. All raw data obtained for the FRTVMI were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences and R package (version 3.5.1, 2018). Construct validity was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and interrater reliability of FRTVMI were also examined.

RESULTS

The means for Cronbach α, intraclass correlation, and test-retest reliability across the four countries were 0.87, 0.87, and 0.90, respectively. Spearman ρ correlation between FRTVMI scores and Reading Observation Scale scores ranged between 0.16 and 0.51 across the four countries and were 0.57, 0.43, and 0.45 for male and female participants and the entire sample, respectively. The Spearman ρ correlations between FRTVMI scores and reading achievement scores ranged between 0.15 and 0.20 across the four countries and were 0.27, 0.29, and 0.26 for male and female participants and the entire sample, respectively. The modified model indices showed that the FRTVMI was adequate for use in the four countries and for both male and female participants. The reliability estimates for the test were high, whereas the concurrent validity estimates were moderate.

CONCLUSIONS

The unidimensionality of the test should be taken with caution, as we found some indication for the multidimensionality of the test factor structure. Implications for cross-cultural assessment are discussed.

Visual-Motor Integration in Children With Mild Intellectual Disability: A Meta-Analysis

Visual-motor integration (VMI) skills, defined as the coordination of fine motor and visual perceptual abilities, are a very good indicator of a child's overall level of functioning. Research has clearly established that children with intellectual disability (ID) have deficits in VMI skills. This article presents a meta-analytic review of 10 research studies involving 652 children with mild ID for which a VMI skills assessment was also available. We measured the standardized mean difference (Hedges' g) between scores on VMI tests of these children with mild ID and either typically developing children's VMI test scores in these studies or normative mean values on VMI tests used by the studies. While mild ID is defined in part by intelligence scores that are two to three standard deviations below those of typically developing children, the standardized mean difference of VMI differences between typically developing children and children with mild ID in this meta-analysis was 1.75 (95% CI [1.11, 2.38]). Thus, the intellectual and adaptive skill deficits of children with mild ID may be greater (perhaps especially due to their abstract and conceptual reasoning deficits) than their relative VMI deficits. We discuss the possible meaning of this relative VMI strength among children with mild ID and suggest that their stronger VMI skills may be a target for intensive academic interventions as a means of attenuating problems in adaptive functioning.