An Assessment of the Movement and Function of Children with Specific Learning Disabilities: A Review of Five Standardised Assessment Tools

@#ract Various standardised assessment tools have been used to evaluate children with disabilities. However, assessment tools that provide information on the movement and function of children with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are still limited. This article provides a narrative review of the characteristics of five movement and/or function assessment tools. The strengths and limitations of the tools will be highlighted. Empirical studies on the assessment tools used are reviewed based on three criteria: (i) standardised tools; (ii) assessment of movement and/or function; (iii) applicability to children with SLD ranging from 4–17 years of age and widely used in practice. The following instruments have been included as they have been found to fulfil the criteria: (i) the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency-2 (BOT-2); (ii) the movement assessment battery for children-2 (MABC-2); (iii) the pediatric balance scale (PBS); (iv) the Vineland adaptive behaviour scale-II (VABS-II) and (v) the pediatric evaluation of disability inventory-computerised adaptive test (PEDI-CAT). The article presents the characteristics, strengths and limitations of five standardised assessment tools that are currently in use, which measure the movement and/or function of children with SLD. This article concludes with a discussion of recommendations for the best approaches to evaluating the movement and functional abilities of children with SLD.

Motor performance and functional mobility in children with specific learning disabilities

@#Limitations in motor performances among children with specific learning disabilities (SLD) can lead to impaired functional skills. Thus, this study aimed to determine the level of motor performances and functional mobility, and the influence of motor performances on the functional mobility in children with SLD.

Cognição numérica em crianças com transtornos específicos de aprendizagem / Numerical cognition in children with specific learning disabilities / Cognición numérica en niños con trastornos específicos de aprendizaje

O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar o desenvolvimento de sistemas específicos da Cognição Numérica (Senso Numérico - SN, Compreensão Numérica - CN, Produção Numérica - PN e Cálculo - CA) em crianças brasileiras com Transtornos Específicos de Aprendizagem. Participaram do estudo 72 crianças (36 meninos), entre 9 e 10 anos, cursando os 4º ou 5º Anos do Ensino Fundamental em escolas públicas da região centro-oeste do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil; divididas em três grupos: controle (CT, N=42), com perfil de Dislexia do Desenvolvimento (DL, N = 11) e com perfil de Discalculia do Desenvolvimento combinada com dislexia (DDc, N = 19). Todas apresentavam nível intelectual médio para faixa etária. Os Transtornos Específicos de Aprendizagem foram aferidos pelo Teste de Desempenho Escolar (Stein, 1994), no qual as crianças com DDc obtiveram necessariamente classificação 'inferior' no Teste de Aritmética. Os três grupos foram similares em SN. As crianças DL e DDc apresentaram prejuízos leves em CN. Contudo, crianças com DDc apresentaram prejuízos moderados em PN e de leve a moderado em CA, o que indica um comprometimento mais generalizado em Cognição Numérica quando comparadas aos outros grupos. Em conclusão, crianças com DDc apresentaram maiores prejuízos e defasagem em relação às crianças DL e com desenvolvimento típico nos diferentes sistemas da Cognição Numérica.

The aim of this study was to investigate the development of specific domains of Numerical Cognition (Number Sense - NS, Number Comprehension - NC, Number Production - NP, and Calculation - CA) in Brazilian children with Specific Learning Disorders. The study included 72 children (36 boys), from 9-to 10-years-old, enrolled in 4th and 5th years of elementary school of public schools at countryside of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. They were divided into three groups: control (CT, N = 42), Developmental Dyslexia (DL, N = 11) and Developmental Dyscalculia combined with dyslexia (DDc, N = 19). All participants had intellectual level within the normal range, however, children from the last two groups had Learning Disorders classified by School Achievement Test - TDE (Stein, 1994) and DDc children received necessarily classification as 'inferior' in Arithmetic Test of TDE. The children did not differ in NS. DL and DDc children showed slight deficits in NC. However, DDc children had moderate in NP and mild to moderate deficits in CA, which indicates a more generalized impairment in Numerical Cognition. Furthermore, DDc children showed discrepancy in Numerical Cognition performance when compared to the other groups. Thus, children with Learning Disorders showed different performances in Numerical Cognition, although both groups had preserved SN, DDc children showed higher deficits and discrepancy in relation DL and typically developing children.

El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar el desarrollo de los sistemas específicos de la Cognición Numérica (el Sentido Numérico - SN, la comprensión numérica - CN, la producción numérica - PN y el Cálculo - CA) en niños brasileños con Trastornos Específicos de Aprendizaje. El estudio incluyó a 72 niños (36 chicos), con edad entre 9 y 10 años, estudiantes de los años 4to y 5to de primaria en escuelas públicas de un pueblo del Estado de São Paulo, Brasil; divididos en tres grupos: control (CT, N = 42), perfil de la Dislexia de Desarrollo (DL, N = 11) y el perfil de la Discalculia del Desarrollo combinado con dislexia (DDc, N = 19). Todos tenían el nivel intelectual dentro del rango medio. Los trastornos del aprendizajes e evaluaron a través de la Prueba de Rendimiento Académico (Stein, 1994), en el que los niños con DDc obtuvieron una clasificación necesariamente "inferior" en la prueba de aritmética. Los tres grupos fueron similares en SN. Los niños con DL y DDc mostraron ligeras pérdidas en CN. Sin embargo, los niños con DDc sufrieron daños moderados en PN y de leves a moderados en CA, por lo tanto, exhibieron un deterioro más generalizado en la cognición numérica en comparación a los otros grupos. En conclusión, los niños con DDc presentaron mayores perjuicios do que niños con DL o desarrollo típico de los diferentes sistemas de la Cognición Numérica.

Use of computerized tests to evaluate psychomotor performance in children with specific learning disabilities in comparison to normal children.

Background & objectives: Children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) have an unexplained difficulty in acquiring basic academic skills resulting in a significant discrepancy between their academic potential and achievements. This study was undertaken to compare the performance on a battery of six psychomotor tests of children with SpLD and those without any learning disabilities (controls) using computerized tests. Methods: In this study, 25 children with SpLD and 25 controls (matched for age, socio-economic status and medium of instruction) were given three training sessions over one week. Then children were asked to perform on the six computerized psychomotor tests. Results were compared between the two groups. Results: children with SpLD fared significantly worse on finger tapping test, choice reaction test, digit picture substitution test and card sorting test compared to the controls (p<0.05). Interpretation & conclusions: Children with SpLD have impairment of psychomotor skills like attention, sensory-motor coordination and executive functioning. Further research is needed to evaluate if the remedial education plan results in improvement in psychomotor performance of children with SpLD on these selected tests.

Memoria de trabajo y memoria procedimental en las dificultades específicas del aprendizaje y del lenguaje: algunos hallazgos / Working memory and procedural memory in Specific Learning and Language Difficulties: some findings

Este artículo describe las relaciones entre los déficit de memoria de trabajo y de memoria procedimental con las dificultades específicas de aprendizaje y el trastorno específico del lenguaje. La memoria de trabajo es un sistema que comprende varios componentes cuya actividad coordinada proporciona la capacidad para el almacenamiento temporal y la manipulación de la información en una variedad de dominios. La memoria procedimental de largo plazo es un sistema particularmente importante para la adquisición y ejecución de habilidades que involucran secuencias de diferentes tipos (motoras y cognitivas). Los trastornos específicos del lenguaje y dificultades específicas del aprendizaje están estrechamente asociados con déficit selectivos en los dos sistemas de memoria. Se comentan las implicaciones de estos hallazgos para la práctica educativa y la rehabilitación.

This paper describes the relationships between working and procedural memory deficits with specific learning disabilities and specific language impairment. Working memory is a system comprising multiple components whose coordinated activity provides the capacity for the temporary storage and manipulation of information in a variety of domains. Long term procedural memory is a system particularly important for acquiring and performing skills involving sequences of different types (motor and cognitive). Specific language impairments and specific learning disabilities are closely associated to selective deficits in both memory systems. The implications of these findings for educational practice and rehabilitation are considered.