Insultas – ūminis fokalinis galvos smegenų ar tinklainės kraujotakos nepakankamumas, pasireiškiantis židininiais neurologiniais simptomais, trunkančiais ilgiau kaip 24 valandas [9]. Insultas yra ne tik didelė socialinė, bet ir ekonominė problema. Išsivysčiusių šalių duomenimis, 50% persirgusių insultu žmonių lieka laikinai arba nuolat neįgalūs, apie 10% reikia slaugos ir tik 20% ligonių vėl būna darbingi [4]. Ergoterapijos taikymas, atsižvelgiant į vyraujančius veiklos sutrikimus, yra neatskiriama kompleksinės reabilitacijos dalis. Ergoterapeutas yra reabilitacijos komandos narys, todėl nuolat konsultuodamasis su kitais jos nariais gali parinkti tinkamas ligoniui ergoterapijos priemones bei metodiką [7]. Apibendrinant literatūros duomenis galima pasakyti, kad ankstyvas ir kartojamas rankos aktyvinimas lėmė kliniškai svarbų, ilgai išliekantį poveikį. Ligoniai po GSI turėtų būti drąsinami, skatinami intensyviai lavinti pažeistą ranką [22]. Tyrimas buvo atliktas Apskrities ligoninės ir Kauno antros klinikinės ligoninės fizinės medicinos ir reabilitacijos poskyriuose. Tyrime dalyvavo 30 ligonių, patyrusių galvos smegenų infarktą, iš jų 11 (37%) vyrų ir 19 (63%) moterų. Ligonių amžiaus vidurkis – 70,5 ± 1,7 metų. Vyrų amžiaus vidurkis buvo 63,6 ± 2,9 metų, moterų amžiaus vidurkis buvo 74,5 ± 1,5 metų. Visiems tyrime dalyvavusiems ligoniams buvo nustatytas smulkiosios motorikos sutrikimas. Ligoniai buvo atrinkti naudojant ergoterapeuto apklausos anketą, kurią sudarė 10 užduočių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Stroke is sudden deficiency of blood circulation in brain that shows itself in focal neurological symptoms lasting more than 24 hours [9]. Stroke is not only social but and economic problem. Due to economicaly developed countrys data approximately 50% patients after stroke statys disabled temporary or for a life time, 10% needs nursing and only 20% patients can work again [4]. Occupational therapy is a inseperable part of rehabilitation. Occupational therapist is a member of a rehabilitation team therefore by consulting with other team member he can choose the best devices and methodics for the patient [7]. In concluding the literature it should be said that early and repetitive activation of the hand can cause clinicaly important and long lasting effect. Patients after stroke should be encouraged to train the affected arm [22]. This research was accomplished at District hospital and 2-nd Kaunas clinical hospital corporal medical department. There were tested 30 patients: 11 (37%) men and 19 (63%) women. The patients age average was – 70,5 ± 1,7 years. Mens age average was 63,6 ± 2,9 years and womens age average was – 74,5 ± 1,5 years. All patients who took part in this research were right-habded and had disorder of fine motor skills. For this research patients were screened by using a questionnaire. This questionnaire consisted of 10 tasks which helped occupational therapist to assess fine motor skills. The assessment of fine motor skills was done when the patients... [to full text]

The most common form of nutritional deficiency worldwide is iron deficiency, which is associated with sup optimal early brain development. Literature indicates that children with a poor nutritional status during early development of the brain showed poorer cognitive functioning, deficient growth and muscle function. The first purpose of this study was to determine if iron status plays a role in motor competency. A second purpose was to determine if iron status shows an association with motor competency, behavioural characteristics and scholastic success, while a third purpose was to determine if the consumption of different teas will improve iron intake positively and consequently will improve motor development and behaviour. A test- retest research design was used in a randomised parallel study, with one group of children drinking tea and a control group drinking 'rooibos' tea. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) was used to determine the DCD (Developmental co-ordination disorder) status in the group (N = 76). In this group, 45 children were classified as children with DCD. Blood samples were taken to determine the haemoglobin, ferritin and transferrin saturation levels while a 24hr recall dietary questionnaire was used to determine nutritional intakes. Descriptive statistics, t-testing, effect sizes and analysis of co-variance were used to analyse the data. With regards to the first aim of the study, the results which were analysed by means of t-testing, effect sizes and co-variance of analysis indicated that iron deficiency showed significant relationships with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). When corrected for influences other than haemoglobin on gross motor competency manual dexterity, and especially ball skills, showed significant relationships with iron deficiency. These results demonstrate the importance of proper nutrition on motor and cognitive development. With reference to the second aim of the study the assessment of children with DCD by the teachers with regard to their manual dexterity and behavioural characteristics, indicated poorer manual dexterity and more behavioural problems compared to children without DCD. The children in the DCD group was also divided into a group where the MABC-total showed improvement and their haemoglobin levels increased (n=19). This group was then compared with a group of DCD children of which the MABC total decreased and a decrease in haemoglobin was found (n=6). Although the groups were small, the results indicate that manual dexterity skills and mathematics, reading and writing was poorer in the DCD-children whose iron status decreased. No definite association between the different teas and improvement of motor development and behaviour were indicated by the results. Overall, the conclusion can be made that a relationship between iron status and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) among 9-12 year old children exist. However, it is recommended that more studies of this nature should be done on school age children to substantiate the findings of this study. Intervention studies should also be implemented where the children with depleted iron anaemia status should receive iron supplementation. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojamas tėvų, auginančių vaikus su Dauno sindromu, požiūris į ankstyvąją reabilitaciją. Suformuluotas tyrimo tikslas, kuriuo siekiama išnagrinėti tėvų požiūrį į ankstyvosios reabilitacijos tarnybą ir joje teikiančias abilitacijos paslaugas. Tyrimas buvo atliktas interviu metodu, kuriame sutiko dalyvauti 9 motinos, kurios augina vaikus su Dauno sindromu ir galėjo atsakyti į klausimus apie šių vaikų motorinės raidos ypatumus ir gautą ankstyvąją pagalbą. Interviu metodu buvo siekiama išsiaiškinti tėvų požiūrį į gautą ankstyvąją specializuotą pagalbą ir kaip tai paveikė vaikų, turinčių Dauno sindromą, motorinę raidą. Taip pat siekiama ištirti, kokią pagalbą iš specialistų gavo patys tėvai ir kokį vaidmenį tėvai atliko Ankstyvosios reabilitacijos tarnyboje. / This written work of Bachelor degree analyses parent‘s attitude towards early rehabilitation of their children with Down‘s syndrome. The aim of the research is to explore parent‘s view on the rehabilitation service and what kind of services it provides. The research was conducted using a method of interviews. There were 9 mothers who have children with Down‘s syndrome. These mothers were surveyed about the children‘s motor development characteristics and early support which was received. During these interviews there were every endeavour to find out parent‘s attitude towards early and specialized support which was received. In addition, it was examined how this kind of support affected motor development of children with Down‘s syndrome. Moreover, arranged interviews helped to examine what kind of support parents received and what role parents played in the Early rehabilitation service.

<p>The aim of this study was to explore the use of play with toddlers who are HIV positive to facilitate play, playfulness and sensory-motor development. The objectives were to explore how the therapist facilitated play, to explore how the child responded to the intervention, to explore how playfulness manifested as a facilitatory strategy and to explore how playfulness manifested as a response. A qualitative approach framed the case study research method with three participants between the ages of twelve months and three years. The main source of data was a record of the play-based intervention with the three participants. Additional data was obtained from participant observation of the children&rsquo / s responses to the play-based intervention, and hospital and occupational therapy record notes. A theory analytical strategy was used by coding data using theoretic propositions inductively. Each case was first analyzed individually, and then an analysis was made across the cases. Qualitative analysis of the data was done manually by coding, seeking categories and eliciting emergent themes by using an analytical strategy of theoretical propositions and an analytical technique of explanation building. Coding was done inductively, using theoretical constructs from the occupation by design, namely the elements of appeal, intactness and accuracy. Signs of playfulness were coded according to evidence of the elements of playfulness, namely perception of control, intrinsic motivation, suspension of reality or framing were evident in the data. Findings of the study were reported under two themes: Playful enablement &ndash / the therapist and Engaging, playing and developing &ndash / the child.</p>

Several motor problems in ADHD learners are reported, including problems with balance, fine muscle control (Szatmari & Taylor; 1984; Havey & Reid, 2003) and motor planning (Piek et al., 1999; Pless & Corisson, 2000). It seems that overlapping conditions such as DAMP (which is a combination of ADHD and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)) display greater connections with motor problems, than when a child displays only ADHD symptoms (Gillberg, 2003; Gibbs et al., 2007). There is also continuing controversy in the research literature as to whether ADHD is in fact remediable and what the most appropriate methods in this regard would be. Behavioural therapy at school and various forms of psychotherapy are reported to be the most popular forms of interventions complementary to medication. It also appears that motor exercise can stimulate the brain in various ways, resulting in improvement in learning and attention (Summerford, 2005). Motor therapy appears to be important, since many ADHD learners display motor difficulties. Motor control problems of learners with ADHD are also neglected during research. The objectives of this study were firstly to determine the nature and extent of coordination related neuro-motor and visual-motor integration deficits of an availability sample of six- to eight-year-old (N=95) learners diagnosed with ADHD in Brakpan, South Africa. A further objective was to determine whether treatment methods, including neuro-motor therapy, pharmacological agents and neuro biofeedback can indeed address neuro-motor problems and ADHD symptoms successfully. A further objective was to determine which of the various treatment programs, including neuro-motor therapy, pharmacological agents and brain conditioning intervention, will be the most effective for the treatment of six- to eight-year-old ADHD learners. The "Disruptive Behaviour Scale" checklist for ADHD (Bester, 2006) was used to identify learners with ADHD. The "Movement Assessment Battery for Learners 2" (MABC), and the “Quick Neurological Screening Test II" (QNST-II) were used to determine the learners’ motor skills, as well as neuro-motor progress. The "Beery Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration" (VMI-IV) was used to examine the learners' visual-motor integration (VMI), visual perception (VP) and motor coordination (MC). "Statistica for Windows 2012" was used for the analysis of the results. One-way Analysis of Variance, independent t-testing and co-variance analysis were used respectively to analyze data related to the abovementioned objectives. A p-value less than or equal to 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant, and effect sizes were calculated to determine the practical significance of the results (d≤0.8). The results of the study showed that the neuro-motor status of the selected six- to eight-year-old ADHD learners (N=95) that had been identified, using the Bester questionnaire, and analyzed by means of the MABC, QNST and VMI, was affected negatively by the condition. Fine motor and hand control skills of learners with ADHD were indeed found to be significantly weaker compared to learners without ADHD, and the fine motor skills of learners with DAMP showed impairment to a greater degree. Neurological and visual-motor integration do not appear to differ between learners with and without ADHD symptoms, although trends of weaker values and significant differences were found in the palm shape recognition, arm-leg extension (muscle tone) subscale and the stimulation of hand and cheek subscale in the ADHD and DAMP groups. For objective 2, the learners were divided into two groups (an ADHD intervention group (n=10) that was subjected to an neuro-motor intervention program of nine weeks, 37 minutes per session, twice a week, and compared to a non-control group consisting of non-ADHD learners (n=18)). When the pre-test differences between the groups are taken into account, it indicated that the ADHD group performed weaker than the control group in the QNST and MABC total, MABC percentile, ball skills and palm shape recognition subtest values, before starting the intervention, but that during the after-test no more differences were observed between the groups. This suggests that the intervention group showed improvement and that their average values draw closer to those of the control group, confirming that the intervention did exert an influence on the deficits that these ADHD learners experienced. The neuro-motor dysfunction of the group of learners with ADHD did not show a significant improvement, although non- significant trends of improvement that occurred in all variables may indeed be attributed to the effect of the intervention. A reduction in the ADHD symptoms and improved visual-motor integration in learners with ADHD were observed, suggesting that the severity of the symptoms of ADHD displayed by this group before the start of the intervention was significantly reduced. For objective 3, the learners (n=95) were divided into five groups (Sharper Brain group (n=25); neuro-motor intervention group (n=21); medication group (n=17); a group with no symptoms of ADHD (n=18), and an ADHD control group (n=14)). The Sharper Brain group showed practical significant lower values than the ADHD control group and the medication group in most of the MABC variables, from which can be deduced that neuro-biofeedback therapy will not improve motor problems. The results obtained in the visual-motor integration subtest showed that the neuro-motor intervention group performed significantly better than the ADHD control group, although the groups did not differ significantly. ADHD symptoms decreased significantly in all groups, most of all in the Sharper Brain group, from which can be deduced that the intervention has possibilities to improve focus and attention. A trend also occurred (p>0.05) that the neuro-motor intervention contributed more to improving visual-motor integration than the other intervention groups, while the medication intervention meaningfully addressed visual perception skills. However, from the results could not be determined whether one group performed better than another group, as no significant differences occurred consistently between groups. The neuro-biofeedback therapy, medication and neuro-motor intervention each had a achieved a unique improvement, and it is recommended that a combination of the various intervention methods should be used in the treatment of ADHD. In summary, the conclusion can be drawn that ADHD learners experience problems with skills related to attention, visual-motor integration and fine motor skills to a greater extent than non-ADHD learners, and that learners diagnosed with DAMP display more serious problems in this regard. The results showed that the various interventions have various treatment effects, but did not have a significant effect on the motor status of the ADHD learners. The conclusion may be drawn that there is no one single method of treatment for learners with ADHD symptoms, but that a combination of treatment methods should rather be implemented. From the study it is clear that ADHD does indeed affect learners negatively, but also that the exposure to focused intervention programs has a positive effect on their neuro-motor skills and ADHD symptoms. / PhD (Human Movement Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Sammanfattning Den här studiens syfte har varit att undersöka vilka uppfattningar pedagogerna har om barns kroppsliga rörelser i verksamheten, både i den fria spontana leken och i de planerade rörelseaktiviteterna. De har även fått dela med sig av sina tankar om barns möjligheter till rörelser i verksamheten och hur de ser att det påverkar barnens motoriska utveckling, inlärning och rörelseglädje. Detta har möjliggjorts genom att använda sig av det fenomenologiska perspektivets ”glasögon” där människan erfar världen genom kropp och sinne. Tidigare forskning visar att det finns ett samband mellan rörelse, utveckling och inlärningsförmåga. Metoden som användes var kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta pedagoger från tre olika förskolor. Resultatet visade att pedagogerna ansåg att barnen har ett stort rörelsebehov och att de har stora möjligheter att få utlopp för det i utomhusmiljön i verksamheten. I resultatet framkom även att barn behöver både spontan fri lek och planerade rörelseaktiviteter för att få röra på hela sin kropp och få öva de grundläggande rörelserna som bidrar till ett lättare lärande i det längre perspektivet. / Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the teachers’ views on children's body movements at preschool, both in free and spontaneous play and in planned motion activities. They have also shared their thoughts on children's opportunities to movement at preschool and how they see it affecting the children's motor development, learning, and the joy of motion. This has been made possible by looking through the phenomenological perspectives "eye-glasses", a perspective in which the individual experiences the world through body and mind. Previous research shows that there is a connection between movement, development and learning ability. The method used was qualitative semi-structured interviews with eight teachers from three different preschools. The results showed that teachers felt that the children have a need to be active and that they have great opportunity to do so in the outdoor environment. The result also revealed that children need both spontaneous free play and planned motion activities to get the whole body in motion and to practice the basic movements that contribute to an easier long-term learning.

The most common form of nutritional deficiency worldwide is iron deficiency, which is associated with sup optimal early brain development. Literature indicates that children with a poor nutritional status during early development of the brain showed poorer cognitive functioning, deficient growth and muscle function. The first purpose of this study was to determine if iron status plays a role in motor competency. A second purpose was to determine if iron status shows an association with motor competency, behavioural characteristics and scholastic success, while a third purpose was to determine if the consumption of different teas will improve iron intake positively and consequently will improve motor development and behaviour. A test- retest research design was used in a randomised parallel study, with one group of children drinking tea and a control group drinking 'rooibos' tea. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) was used to determine the DCD (Developmental co-ordination disorder) status in the group (N = 76). In this group, 45 children were classified as children with DCD. Blood samples were taken to determine the haemoglobin, ferritin and transferrin saturation levels while a 24hr recall dietary questionnaire was used to determine nutritional intakes. Descriptive statistics, t-testing, effect sizes and analysis of co-variance were used to analyse the data. With regards to the first aim of the study, the results which were analysed by means of t-testing, effect sizes and co-variance of analysis indicated that iron deficiency showed significant relationships with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). When corrected for influences other than haemoglobin on gross motor competency manual dexterity, and especially ball skills, showed significant relationships with iron deficiency. These results demonstrate the importance of proper nutrition on motor and cognitive development. With reference to the second aim of the study the assessment of children with DCD by the teachers with regard to their manual dexterity and behavioural characteristics, indicated poorer manual dexterity and more behavioural problems compared to children without DCD. The children in the DCD group was also divided into a group where the MABC-total showed improvement and their haemoglobin levels increased (n=19). This group was then compared with a group of DCD children of which the MABC total decreased and a decrease in haemoglobin was found (n=6). Although the groups were small, the results indicate that manual dexterity skills and mathematics, reading and writing was poorer in the DCD-children whose iron status decreased. No definite association between the different teas and improvement of motor development and behaviour were indicated by the results. Overall, the conclusion can be made that a relationship between iron status and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) among 9-12 year old children exist. However, it is recommended that more studies of this nature should be done on school age children to substantiate the findings of this study. Intervention studies should also be implemented where the children with depleted iron anaemia status should receive iron supplementation. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience significant delays in their fundamental motor skills (FMS) yet, FMS are virtually ignored in the intervention literature as traditional therapies focus on the core challenges in the social, communicative, and behavioural domains. This study sought to examine the effectiveness of a FMS intervention at improving the motor skills, adaptive behaviour, and social skills of 4 year old children with ASD. Motor Outcomes (Manuscript 1): Results demonstrated significant improvements in motor skills following the intervention; these improvements were retained at the 6-week follow-up. Adaptive Behaviour and Social Skill Outcomes (Manuscript 2): Results demonstrated individual gains in adaptive behaviour and social skills; although no significant group improvements were found. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that a FMS intervention can be effective at improving motor skills, and may result in individual behavioural improvements. These findings warrant further research with a larger sample.

Background: For children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), the acquisition and performance of everyday visual-motor activities such as buttoning, shoe tying, cutting with scissors or writing, presents a major challenge. Regardless of the activity considered, children with DCD are typically slower and less accurate than their peers. Given the well-acknowledged difficulties of children with DCD, it is surprising to find very few research studies systematically exploring visual-motor skill acquisition and performance in children with DCD. Objective: The overall objective of this study was to systematically describe visual-motor skill acquisition and task performance in children with DCD. Methods: Twenty-four children (8 years 11 months to 12 years 11 months) were recruited for this study; 12 children with DCD, 12 children developing typically with regards to their motor skills. A computer-based aiming task completed with three different cursor controls of increasing levels of difficulty (mouse, joystick, novel controller) was designed for this study. Mixed-effect modelling and visual graph analyses were performed to describe the influence of motor ability and task difficulty on visual-motor skill acquisition and task performance. Results: Motor ability modulated the impact of task difficulty on visual-motor skill acquisition and task performance. Children with DCD were as fast and as accurate as their peers in their initial performance of the simple, well-learned task (mouse). However, they were slower and less accurate when performing the complex and novel visual-motor task. Over repeated trials, the visual-motor task performance of children with DCD improved on all tasks, even for the simple. With regard to the complex, novel task, once children with DCD understood the features of the task, their performance also improved and approached that of their peers. Conclusion: While children with DCD can generally be characterized as less accurate and slower than their peers, this characterization needs to be specified and qualified; it is probably best not applied to a well-learned task.

Background/Aims: In an investigation of the functional impact of amblyopia on children, the fine motor skills, perceived self-esteem and eye movements of amblyopic children were compared with that of age-matched controls. The influence of amblyogenic condition or treatment factors that might predict any decrement in outcome measures was investigated. The relationship between indirect measures of eye movements that are used clinically and eye movement characteristics recorded during reading was examined and the relevance of proficiency in fine motor skills to performance on standardised educational tests was explored in a sub-group of the control children. Methods: Children with amblyopia (n=82; age 8.2 ± 1.3 years) from differing causes (infantile esotropia n=17, acquired strabismus n=28, anisometropia n=15, mixed n=13 and deprivation n=9), and a control group of children (n=106; age 9.5 ± 1.2 years) participated in this study. Measures of visual function included monocular logMAR visual acuity (VA) and stereopsis assessed with the Randot Preschool Stereoacuity test, while fine motor skills were measured using the Visual-Motor Control (VMC) and Upper Limb Speed and Dexterity (ULSD) subtests of the Brunicks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. Perceived self esteem was assessed for those children from grade 3 school level with the Harter Self Perception Profile for Children and for those in younger grades (preschool to grade 2) with the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Acceptance for Young Children. A clinical measure of eye movements was made with the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test for those children aged eight years and above. For appropriate case-control comparison of data, the results from amblyopic children were compared with age-matched sub-samples drawn from the group of children with normal vision who completed the tests. Eye movements during reading for comprehension were recorded by the Visagraph infra-red recording system and results of standardised tests of educational performance were also obtained for a sub-set of the control group. Results Amblyopic children (n=82; age 8.2 ± 1.7 years) performed significantly poorer than age-matched control children (n=37; age 8.3 ± 1.3 years) on 9 of 16 fine motor skills sub-items and for the overall age-standardised scores for both VMC and ULSD items (p<0.05); differences were most evident on timed manual dexterity tasks. The underlying aetiology of amblyopia and level of stereoacuity significantly affected fine motor skill performance on both items. However, when examined in a multiple regression model that took into account the inter-correlation between visual characteristics, poorer fine motor skills performance was only associated with strabismus (F1,75 = 5.428; p =0. 022), and not with the level of stereoacuity, refractive error or visual acuity in either eye. Amblyopic children from grade 3 school level and above (n=47; age 9.2 ± 1.3 years), particularly those with acquired strabismus, had significantly lower social acceptance scores than age-matched control children (n=52; age 9.4 ± 0.5 years) (F(5,93) = 3.14; p = 0.012). However, the scores of the amblyopic children were not significantly different to controls for other areas related to self-esteem, including scholastic competence, physical appearance, athletic competence, behavioural conduct and global self worth. A lower social acceptance score was independently associated with a history of treatment with patching but not with a history of strabismus or wearing glasses. Amblyopic children from pre-school to grade 2 school level (n=29; age = 6.6 ± 0.6 years) had similar self-perception scores to their age-matched peers (n=20; age = 6.4 ± 0.5 years). There were no significant differences between the amblyopic (n=39; age 9.1 ± 0.9 years) and age-matched control (n = 42; age = 9.3 ± 0.38 years) groups for any of the DEM outcome measures (Vertical Time, Horizontal Time, Number of Errors and Ratio (Horizontal time/Vertical time)). Performance on the DEM did not significantly relate to measures of VA in either eye, level of binocular function, history of strabismus or refractive error. Developmental Eye Movement test outcome measures Horizontal Time and Vertical Time were significantly correlated with reading rates measured by the Visagraph for both reading for comprehension and naming numbers (r>0.5). Some moderate correlations were also seen between the DEM Ratio and word reading rates as recorded by Visagraph (r=0.37). In children with normal vision, academic scores in mathematics, spelling and reading were associated with measures of fine motor skills. Strongest effect sizes were seen with the timed manual dexterity domain, Upper Limb Speed and Dexterity. Conclusions Amblyopia may have a negative impact on a child’s fine motor skills and an older child’s sense of acceptance by their peers may be influenced by treatment that includes eye patching. Clinical measures of eye movements were not affected in amblyopic children. A number of the outcome measures of the DEM are associated with objective recordings of reading rates, supporting its clinical use for identification of children with slower reading rates. In children with normal vision, proficiency on clinical measures of fine motor skill are associated with outcomes on standardised measures of educational performance. Scores on timed manual dexterity tasks had the strongest association with educational performance. Collectively, the results of this study indicate that, in addition to the reduction in visual acuity and binocular function that define the condition, amblyopes have functional impairment in childhood development skills that underlie proficiency in everyday activities. The study provides support for strategies aimed at early identification and remediation of amblyopia and the co-morbidities that arise from abnormal visual neurodevelopment.