of diploma thesis: Objective In the Czech republic there is no normative data for Purdue pegboard test in any reprezentative group of people. First goal of this diploma thesis is to determine basic normative data Purdue pegboard test in not representative sample of people with traumatic brain injury at the age of 22-40 years in chronic phase. Second goal is to determine clinical utility of Purdue pegboard test in this clinical population group of people. The Student t-test and ambiguity proportion was used to statistic analyse the hypothesis. As a graphic processing was choosen the linear equation with the image of the Gaussian curve. There are analysed 3 case studies about people with traumatic brain injury to accomplish second goal. There is no significant difference in Purdue pegboard test score in employed and unemployed people with traumatic brain injury, equally to women and men with traumatic brain injury. There is evidence, that age influence score of Purdue pegboard test in men with traumatic brain injury, but not in women with traumatic brain injury. There are presented basic norms of Purdue pegboard test in people with traumatic brain injury in standard and percentile scale in this thesis. Normative data in people with traumatic brain injury makes easier to work with this clinical...

De finmotoriska förmågorna är oerhört viktiga vad det gäller den mänskliga läs- och skrivförmågan, då handen behöver vara tränad för att göra små rörelser och ögonen ska kunna följa dessa rörelser. Barn som har svårigheter med de finmotoriska förmågorna blir beroende av andra, då de kan få svårt att klara av vardagliga bestyr så som att klä på sig själva och använda bestick. Något som försvårar arbetet med de finmotoriska förmågorna utomhus är att barn använder vantar stora delar av året och att tillgång till materiel som utmanar handrörelser plockas fram mer sällan under vinterhalvåret på grund av kylan. Detta gör att barn inom I ur och skur-förskolor som oftast är ute får mindre träning av de finmotoriska förmågorna under kalla årstider. Vi har jämfört I ur och skur-förskolor med förskolor utan den inriktningen, vad det gäller arbetet med de finmotoriska förmågorna. För att få svar på vår frågeställning använde vi oss av telefonintervjuer till fyra I ur och skur-förskolor och fyra förskolor utan den inriktningen. I intervjuerna frågade vi om vilken materiel som fanns tillgänglig för barnen, hur de arbetar med de finmotoriska förmågorna i planerade aktiviteter samt hur ofta de hade planerade aktiviteter. Genom de här frågorna fick vi fram svar på hur medvetet de olika förskolorna arbetar med de finmotoriska förmågorna. Det visade sig att det inte skiljde sig något mellan de olika typerna av förskolor, något vi inte håller med om efter egna erfarenheter. Största delen av de olika förskolorna ansåg att de finmotoriska förmågorna tränas automatiskt i den fria leken och vardagen, något som tidigare studier säger emot då barn ofta väljer bort den typen av aktivitet vid fri lek. Våra intervjuer visar endast på vad pedagogerna anser och inte på vad som faktiskt sker, därför hade en observationsstudie varit bra att komplettera med. / The fine motor ability is extremely important when it comes to reading and writing skills, since the hand needs to be trained to do small movements and the eyes needs to be able to follow these movements. Children who have difficulties with the fine motor ability become dependence of others, since they have problems clothing themselves and using cutlery. The development of the fine motor ability becomes difficult when the children use mittens outdoors since they are in the way and material that challenges the fine motor skills isn´t as available during the cold seasons. This doesn´t allow children at I ur och skur preschools, which are all-time outdoor preschools, the same training of fine motor ability during cold seasons. The aim of this study is to compare I ur och skur preschools with preschools without that direction, regarding the development of fine motor ability. To answer our questions we used telephone interviews to four I ur och skur preschools and four preschools without that direction. In the interviews we asked about what material was available for the children, how they trained the fine motor ability in planned activities and how often they had planned activities. By means of these questions we got answers that showed how deliberately the different preschools worked with the fine motor ability. The study showed that there was not any difference between the preschools, something we do not agree on based on own experiences. Most preschools claimed that the fine motor ability automatically trained in free play and everyday experiences. Our interviews only showed what the preschool teachers claim and not what really happens in the preschool, thus an observation study would have been a good complement, considering this.

Nous avons examiné la nature du lien, additif ou interactif, entre les capacités attentionnelles et les habiletés de motricité fine et leur influence sur les habiletés d’écriture ultérieures. Les mesures de l’échantillon (n=439) de l’étude montréalaise sur le préscolaire en milieu défavorisé (MLEPS) à la maternelle incluent des questionnaires aux enseignants, des évaluations sur la connaissance des nombres et du vocabulaire réceptif des élèves et caractéristiques familiales rapportées par les parents. En 3ème année, les mesures proviennent de questionnaires aux enseignants. Selon les résultats des régressions multiples de notre modèle, un élève qui avait de bonnes capacités d’attention ou de motricité fine à la maternelle, avait plus de chances d’avoir de bonnes habiletés d’écriture en 3ème année. L’interaction entre l’attention et la motricité fine était aussi significative, ce qui signifie que les capacités d’attention, avec l’influence des habiletés de motricité fine, prédisent davantage les habiletés d’écriture ultérieure. Il est pertinent de mesurer la réussite scolaire en écriture puisque les élèves à l’école peuvent investir de 31 à 60% de leur temps à réaliser des tâches motrices et 85% de celles-ci incluraient un crayon et du papier (McHale & Cermak, 1992). L’écriture serait aussi importante que les mathématiques et la lecture pour la réussite scolaire (Cutler & Graham, 2008). En identifiant les éléments clés de la réussite en écriture, nous pourrons mieux intervenir et soutenir les élèves, et ainsi, nous pourrions augmenter leurs chances de vivre des expériences positives à l’école, d’obtenir un diplôme et d’ intégrer le marché du travail. / Studies on school readiness aim to identify key elements that positively influence later school achievement. In this study, we examined direct and indirect links between attention skills and fine motor skills on later writing skills with a data set from the Montreal Longitudinal-Experimental Preschool Study (MLPS). Kindergarten measures include teacher ratings of attention and fine motor skills, direct assessments of number knowledge and receptive vocabulary, and parentreported family characteristics. By then end of 3rd grade, teachers also rated children’s writing skills. In our model, attention skills and fine motor skills predicted writing achievement by the end of 3rd grade. Our multiple regression results indicated that higher level of kindergarten attention or fine motor skills were associated with greater chances of belonging to better writing skills in 3rd grade. The interaction between attention skills and fine motor skills was also significant which means that attention skills are more predictive with the influence of fine motor skills. Measuring writing achievement is pertinent because at school, more than 31% to 60% of school time involved motor tasks and 85% of these included paper and pencil activites (McHale & Cermak, 1992).Writing is as much important as maths and reading for school achievement (Cutler & Graham, 2008) Identifying key elements of later writing achievement will help to adapt interventions that will occur early in childhood. We need to increase chances for children to have good and positive experiences at school, and eventually, graduate and join the labor market.

This thesis presents two manuscripts on motor control in ADHD. The first is a literature review that identifies fine motor control and postural stability as areas of robust abnormality in ADHD. Further, the review suggests that motor performance in adolescence has been understudied, and reveals a paucity of data on sex differences. The second study is an empirical assessment of postural control and fine motor skills in an adolescent ADHD sample, which investigated potential sex differences. This latter study revealed that males with ADHD were especially impaired on fine motor tasks, whereas females with the disorder were particularly impaired on tasks of postural stability. Deficits were most prominent under conditions where visual information was removed, across genders. It is unclear whether motor performance deficits are central features of ADHD or instead artifacts of overlap with Developmental Coordination Disorder and other psychiatric comorbidities.

This thesis presents two manuscripts on motor control in ADHD. The first is a literature review that identifies fine motor control and postural stability as areas of robust abnormality in ADHD. Further, the review suggests that motor performance in adolescence has been understudied, and reveals a paucity of data on sex differences. The second study is an empirical assessment of postural control and fine motor skills in an adolescent ADHD sample, which investigated potential sex differences. This latter study revealed that males with ADHD were especially impaired on fine motor tasks, whereas females with the disorder were particularly impaired on tasks of postural stability. Deficits were most prominent under conditions where visual information was removed, across genders. It is unclear whether motor performance deficits are central features of ADHD or instead artifacts of overlap with Developmental Coordination Disorder and other psychiatric comorbidities.

No description available.

The aim of this graduation thesis is to find out the level of fine and gross motoric skills amongst children of younger school age in a selected elementary school. In total, we tested 44 children (21 boys and 23 girls) from the 1st to 4th grade from the age of 7 to 10 in January 2018. The level of their motoric skills was measured by a standardized Movement Assessment Battery for Children Second Edition, which includes 8 motor tests suitable for both genders. We compared boys and girls with each other in components and test tasks. The total test results have shown that 100% of children have no motor problems (1st range). In spite of that, there were individuals who fell into the 2nd range (risk of motor problems) in components of manual skills, aiming & catching or 3rd band (major motor problems). Research has convinced us that the fine and gross motor skills of most tested children are at a very good standard.

Graphomotor skills are a set of motoric skills in the field of graphics. Their development is dependent on the overall level of psychomotor development, especially gross and fine motor skills. Hyperactivity means excessive compulsion to perform activities, excessive movements. This is why children with symptoms of hyperactivity are very frequently prone to occurrence of problems in some area of psychomotor skills. The aim of the thesis was to ascertain to what extent the level of graphomotor development influences postponement of school attendance and also how kindergartens handle development of fine and gross motor skills in these. Both aims were fulfilled. The theoretical section of the thesis deals with a detailed description of the problems, attempting to present a comprehensive overview of the topic. The research section is made up of integrated research. Qualitative research took place with the aid of controlled interviews with representatives of kindergartens. The interview was recorded in writing and subsequently analysed and elaborated into tables. The quantitative section of the research was base on gathering of data with the aid of questionnaires and subsequent analysis of the data. The results were elaborated into graphs. There were a total of two questionnaires, one for pedagogical workers and second for parents of children cited by teachers, both anonymous. Those questionnaires ascertained the level of gross and fine motor skills, graphomotor skills and any possible postponement (even considered) of school attendance. Two hypotheses were determined. The research confirmed both hypotheses. It was evident from the results of the research that deficiencies in the development of graphomotor skills in pre-school children are dependent on the development of gross motor skills and coordination and that hyperactive children show greater shortcomings in these areas. This is why development of psychomotor skills should be supported and developed in a targeted manner during pre-school years. This can help to prevent problems with graphomotor skills, especially in hyperactive children.

The aim of this thesis was to assess the influence of canistherapeutic intervention on the level of fine motor skills in patients with rare diseases, namely mitochondrial encephalocardiomyopathy caused by TMEM70 gene mutation and Leigh syndrome. Canistherapeutic intervention in these patients is based on activation of motoric functions during programme reasonably designed according to the needs of specific patients. The assistance of the dog is used to achieve this activation. The dog acts as an important motivational factor and the direct contact with it contributes to development of sensomotoric skills of these patients. The thesis summarizes general information about rare diseases and focuses on one of the subgroups of mitochondrial disorders. It presents knowledge about the Leigh syndrome and mitochondrial encephalocardiomyopathy caused by TMEM70 gene mutation. Subsequently the thesis presents information about canistherapy and fine motor skills. The thesis further contains case reports of patients, data from research units and their evaluation. The aim of the thesis was to find out whether patients with mitochondrial disease show improvement of quality and effectivity of selected grasp forms and thus faster and more precise execution assigned tasks focusing on object manipulations. Partial...

The formation of social relationships accompanies us throughout our lives and are a source of satisfaction. While social interactions bring joy to healthy children, children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder bring such interactions to an unknown territory filled with uncertainty and distress. The social domain is an interrelated system consisting of several areas. If a child does not understand one or more areas, she will not function correctly during human-to-human interactions. Areas that help a child acquire appropriate social skills include cognitive, perceptual, motor, and emotional abilities. Consequently, it is only appropriate to focus on such areas during social skills training to achieve the best possible outcomes. The thesis deliberates on the social skills development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The work aims to characterize the methods and intervention options in social skills development, imitation, and fine motor skills and evaluate progress in respective areas. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter outlines the history and terminology development of autism spectrum disorders. The second chapter focuses on social skills development, imitation, fine motor skills, and play. The third chapter describes two children's case studies and...