Thesis (M.A. (Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2004. / The purpose of this study was to investigate whether poor motor skills are associated with ADHD. Afrikaans speaking primary school children were screened for ADHD with the Disruptive Behaviour Disorder scale (DBD). They were matched for gender and age with a normal group without ADHD symptoms. The children (31 ADHD and 31 Controls) were assessed for fine motor skills on three instruments: the Grooved pegboard, Maze co­ ordination and Finger tapping tests. To some degree all three tests of fine motor skills revealed poorer performances in the ADHD group than in the normal group. The finger­ tapping test showed the least discrimination between the groups. The girls performed significantly poorer on all tests. There were statistically significant effects of hand dominance. Results show that tests for fine motor skills discriminate between children with ADHD and normal comparisons. These results appear to support the hypothesis that poor motor skills are associated with ADHD.

Sensory motor deficits, although not part of the diagnostic criteria, are frequently reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The ob jective of this project is to study the temporal and spatial dynamics of an approximately periodic motor activity (circle drawing) in children with ASD. The natural rhythm of periodic motor activities such as circle drawing are known to exhibit statistical persistence in typically developing individuals. A sample of 15 children aged 4 to 8 years, with a primary diagnosis of ASD were asked to draw circles using a computerized tablet and pen, which record spatio-temporal data. Results were compared with those of 19 typically developing children. While no differences were seen in statistical persistence, differences were observed in timing of discontinuous circle drawing and in kinetic process variable such as grip and axial forces. Understanding the specific nature of graphomotor deficits is the first step towards developing targeted treatment for these impairments.

Sensory motor deficits, although not part of the diagnostic criteria, are frequently reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The ob jective of this project is to study the temporal and spatial dynamics of an approximately periodic motor activity (circle drawing) in children with ASD. The natural rhythm of periodic motor activities such as circle drawing are known to exhibit statistical persistence in typically developing individuals. A sample of 15 children aged 4 to 8 years, with a primary diagnosis of ASD were asked to draw circles using a computerized tablet and pen, which record spatio-temporal data. Results were compared with those of 19 typically developing children. While no differences were seen in statistical persistence, differences were observed in timing of discontinuous circle drawing and in kinetic process variable such as grip and axial forces. Understanding the specific nature of graphomotor deficits is the first step towards developing targeted treatment for these impairments.

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]

Tyrimo objektas: smulkiosios motorikos ir funkcinio savarankiškumo kaita pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje. Tyrimo problema: kadangi kiekvieno sergančiojo insultu reabilitacija turi skirtingų krypčių poreikius, o literatūroje iki šiol nėra apibrėţtos stratifikacijos ir reabilitacijos programų individualizavimo krypčių, skirtų insulto paţeistos rankos judesių valdymui atgauti (Meldrum, 2004), siekiant efektyviai panaudoti reabilitacijos išteklius, svarbu numatyti galimas ligos baigtis (Milinavičienė ir kt., 2007). Todėl analizavome smulkiosios motorikos atsigavimą pirminės reabilitacijos etape pacientams, patyrusiems išeminį galvos smegenų insultą, siekiant įvardinti nors kelis atskaitos taškus formuojant kineziterapijos artimuosius bei tolimuosius tikslus – retrospektyviai perţiūrint įgyvendintus tikslus, keltus tipiškos funkcinės būklės tiriamųjų grupei – kuriuos matome rezultatų analizėje. Tyrimo tikslas: išanalizuoti ir įvertinti pacientų, patyrusių išeminį galvos smegenų insultą, smulkiosios motorikos atsigavimą bei funkcinio savarankiškumo kaitą, pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje. Tyrimo uţdaviniai: 1. Ištirti ir įvardinti dominuojantį smulkiosios motorikos atsigavimą pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje; 2. Ištirti ir įvertinti pacientų funkcinio savarankiškumo kaitą, pirminės reabilitacijos eigoje; Tyrimo hipotezė: pirminės reabilitacijos etape artimieji bei tolimieji kineziterapijos tikslai turėtų atitikti paciento regeneracinį potencialą, kuris taip pat galėtų būti įvertintas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Study subject: the dynamis of interchange of fine motor and functional independence in the process of the initial rehabilitation. The problem of the study: the rehabilitation of each patient suffering from stroke has different requirements, however, to this date literature does not indicate defined individualisation types of stratification and rehabilitation programmes, assigned to recover the control of stroke affected hand/arm movement (Meldrum, 2004). In order to effectively use rehabilitation resources, it is important to foresee the possible consequences of the disease (Milinavičienė ir kt., 2007). Therefore we analysed the fine motor recovery at the initial rehabilitation stage in the patients who had suffered ischemic head brain stroke. Study aim: to analyse and evaluate patients‘, who had suffered ischemic head brain stroke, the small motor post stroke recovery as well as the change in functional independence in the initial rehabilitation stage. Study goals: 1. To examine and name the dominant fine motor recovery in the initial rehabilitation stage; 2. to examine and evaluate change in patients‘ functional independence in the initial rehabilitation stage; Hypothesis: at the initial rehabilitation stage the short-term and long-term physio-therapeutic goals have to match a patient‘s regenerative potential, which can also be evaluated with reference to the initial functional stage at a patient‘s arrival to hospital. Study methods: Barthel test measuring a patient‘s... [to full text]

Alkoholinio vaisiaus sindromo sąvoka yra labai plati, ja apibūdinamas kūdikio ar vaiko negrįžtamų anomalijų rinkinys (Lombard et al., 2007). Sindromas pasireiškia motorinio, socialinio, pažintinio ir kalbos vystymosi sutrikimais (Steinhausen et al., 2003), todėl AVS sergantiems asmenims taikomas kompleksinis gydymas (Burd et al., 2003). Tyrimo objektas – alkoholiniu vaisiaus sindromu sergančių vaikų stambioji ir smulkioji motorika. Tyrimo problema – nėra aišku, kokia kineziterapijos ar fizinio aktyvumo forma tinkamiausia alkoholinį vaisiaus sindromą turintiems vaikams, kad gerėtų stambioji ir smulkioji motorika. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti kineziterapijos poveikį vaikų stambiajai ir smulkiajai motorikai esant alkoholiniam vaisiaus sindromui. Šiam tikslui pasiekti iškelti uždaviniai: 1) Įvertinti stambiosios motorikos rodiklius vaikams, turintiems alkoholinį vaisiaus sindromą, taikant bendralavinančius pratimus (kontrolinė grupė) ir judriuosius žaidimus (tiriamoji grupė) prieš ir po kineziterapijos. 2) Įvertinti smulkiosios motorikos rodiklius vaikams, turintiems alkoholinį vaisiaus sindromą, taikant bendralavinančius pratimus (kontrolinė grupė) ir judriuosius žaidimus (tiriamoji grupė) prieš ir po kineziterapijos; 3) palyginti stambiosios ir smulkiosios motorikos rezultatus tarp vaikų, kuriems taikyti bendralavinantys pratimai ir judrieji žaidimai; 4) palyginti bendrą standartinį motorikos rodiklį tarp vaikų, kuriems taikyti bendralavinantys pratimai ir vaikų, kuriems taikyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Fetal alcohol syndrome is an umbrella term used to describe the irreversible array of anomalies associated with in utero alcohol exposure (Lombard et al, 2007). Fetal alcohol syndrome manifestes by developmental perturbation in motor, social, cognitive and language domain (Steinhaussen et al, 2003). Appropriate management nearly always involves a multidisciplinary team effort with ongoing programming (Burd et al, 2003). Subject: gross and fine motor in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Problem: there is no clear evidence about the most proper form of physiotherapy or physical activity on purpose to improve gross and fine motor functions in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Objective: to determine the effectiveness of physiotherapy on gross and fine motor in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. There are four tasks to reach an objective: 1) to determine gross motor indexes for children with fetal alcohol syndrome in casual physiotherapy group (control) and active playing group (investigative) before and after physiotherapy; 2) to determine fine motor indexes for children with fetal alcohol syndrome in casual physiotherapy group (control) and active playing group (investigative) before and after physiotherapy; 3) to compare fine and gross motor indexes between the casual physiotherapy group and active playing group; 4) to compare standard motor score between the casual physiotherapy group (control) and active playing group (investigative); The fine and gross motor... [to full text]

Darbo tiklsas: įvertinti ikimokyklinio amžiaus mergaičių, kurioms kūdikystėje buvo nustatyti motorinės raidos sutrikimai, stambiąją ir smulkiąją motoriką. Pasirinktam darbo tikslui įgyvendinti buvo iškelti šie uždaviniai: 1. Įvertinti ikimokyklinio amžiaus mergaičių, kurioms kūdikystėje buvo nustatytas specifinis motorinės raidos sutrikimas, stambiąją motoriką ir palyginti su kontroline grupe. 2. Įvertinti ikimokyklinio amžiaus mergaičių, kurioms kūdikystėje buvo nustatytas specifinis motorinės raidos sutrikimas, smulkiąją motoriką ir palyginti su kontroline grupe. Tyrimas buvo vykdomas Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universiteto Medicinos akademijos, Sporto institute bei viename Kauno lopšelyje darželyje. Tyrime dalyvavo 45 tiriamosios. Buvo vykdomi antropometriniai matavimai, stambiosios ir smulkiosios motorikos vertinimas. Išvados: 1. Įvertinus ikimokyklinio amžiaus mergaičių stambiosios motorikos gebėjimus nustatėme, kad tiriamųjų, kurioms kūdikystėje buvo diagnozuotas specifinis motorinės raidos sutrikimas, buvo prastesnė statinė pusiausvyra, šoklumas, manipuliacijos kamuoliu bei galūnės judesio greitis lyginant su mergaitėmis, kurioms nebuvo diagnozuoti raidos sutrikimai kūdikystės laikotarpiu (p<0,05). 2. Smulkiosios motorikos įvertinimas parodė, kad mergaitės, kurioms kūdikystėje buvo diagnozuotas specifinis raidos sutrikimas, pasižymėjo prastesne dinamine bei abipuse rankų koordinacija (p<0,05). / Objective of the work: to evaluate gross and fine motor of the preschool girls, who have had motor development disorder in infancy. Goals of the work: 1. To evaluate preschool girls, who have had motor development disorder in infancy, gross motor and to compare with control group. 2. To evaluate preschool girls, who have had motor disorder in infancy, fine motor and to compare with control group. The study was made in Lithuanian university of health science Medicine academy’s Sport institute and in one of Kaunas kindergarten nursery – school. The study examined 45 preschool girls. We investigated anthropometric measurements (weight, height), gross and fine motor. Conclusion: 1. The evaluation of preschool girls, who have had motor disorder in infancy, revealed that these girls showed worse results in such gross motor abilities like static balance, spring, manipulation with ball, extremity movement speed in comparison with the girls which didn’t had any motor disorders in infancy. 2. Fine motor evaluation showed that, girls, who have had motor disorder in infancy, had worse hand dynamic and bimanual coordination results (p<0,05).

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.

This diploma thesis is focused on children with grafomotorics problems at preschool age, especially on inappropriate grip of handwriting tools. The target was to put together and implement in practice the intervention programme focused on fine motor skills development. Based on the results of testing tasks evaluating the degree of children grafomotorics skills the three significant groups were made. The first group (control group) was comprised of children without noticeable grafomotorics skills problems. The other two groups were comprised of children with grafomotorics skills problems (experimental groups). One of the experimental group was target of mentioned tranining programme for fine motor skills development. At the programme end all three significant groups were again examined by criterion-referenced test. The impact of intervention programme and its implementation in practice under everyday conditions of nursery school was discussed.

Numerous studies point to a link between fine motor skills and executive functioning (EF) in 3- to 6-year-olds (e.g., Oberer et al., 2017; MacDonald et al., 2016); however, it is unclear if this relation exists at younger ages. Therefore, the current project aimed to further explore EF and fine motor skills in typically developing 2-year-olds. Participants completed the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS), Spin the Pots, Shape Stroop, Snack Delay, and the Fine Motor portion (FMQ) of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale Version-2. These findings demonstrate a link between general EF and visual-motor integration in 2-year-olds.