Oncological Children and Well-Being: Occupational Performance and HRQOL Change after Fine Motor Skills Stimulation Activities.

Cancer children experience long periods of hospitalization, which are associated with limited performance in several developmental domains and participation restrictions in age appropriate occupations. Fine motor abilities represent building blocks in performing daily life skills and have been found to be closely connected with later academic success. Moreover, medical and psychological sequelae for cancer inpatients may result in diminished daily activities functioning, poor perceived health related quality of life (HRQOL), and increase the likelihood of long-term impairments. This study examines the variations in the occupational performance of children hospitalized for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) after their participation to a stimulation program designed to enhance fine motor skills. Parents reported significant gains in children's motor functioning, a slight improvement in overall occupational performance related to an increase in the area of productivity and self-care, and a better quality of life perception following the stimulation activities. Feasibility of the stimulation program in a health care setting are discussed evaluating its benefits for cancer children and their families.

Impact of Psycho-Educational Activities on Visual-Motor Integration, Fine Motor Skills and Name Writing among First Graders: A Kinematic Pilot Study.

This pilot study presents the effects on acquisition of pre-writing skills of educational activities targeting visual-motor integration and fine motor skills on a convenient sample of first graders. After a 10-week intervention program, visual perceptual skills and fine motor control were tested on 13 six-year-old aged children. Participants completed the Beery-Buktenica VMI and the manual dexterity scale of the Movement ABC-2 at baseline (T1), after the intervention program (T2), and one month after the end of the educational activities (T3). Children's writing pressure, frequency, and automaticity were measured using a digitizer during the administration of name writing test at T1, T2, and T3. The purpose of the study was to investigate changes in visual-perceptual abilities and fine motor skills after the intervention program and examine correlational effects on children's kinematic writing performances. Findings reveal that educational activities impacted positively on children's visual motor coordination component of writing improving VMI scores. No statistically significant difference was detected across the three time points on students' manual dexterity skills. Measurement of writing kinematics allows to report and document variations in children's writing during intervention. This pilot study discusses these findings and their implications for the field on early childhood acquisition of foundational skills for handwriting. It also proposes potential topics for future research on this field.

Who Benefits from An Intervention Program on Foundational Skills for Handwriting Addressed to Kindergarten Children and First Graders?

This study examined the effectiveness of a 10-wk intervention program based on occupational therapy principles on visual-motor integration skills and fine motor abilities in kindergartners and first graders. We recruited 55 students tested three times with the Visual-Motor Integration Test (VMI) and Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2): before the intervention (T1), post-intervention (T2) and one month later (T3). Research findings: Significant improvements were found on VMI between T1 and T2, particularly for kindergartners. Neither group of children demonstrated changes on manual dexterity scores. The present study showed that the intervention program led to different changes in the at-risk of motor impairment group than in the not at-risk children. Results indicated that games and stimulation activities helped children below the 16th percentile over time in the manual dexterity domain. A gender effect was observed, with female children increasing their abilities over time more than male peers. Future research should concentrate on stimulating fine motor skills in hand manipulation and test how these abilities influence graphomotor skills and handwriting over time. Finally, more research is needed to determine the impact of activities and games carried out in educational settings.

Motor skill delays in pre-school children with leukemia one year after treatment: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation therapy as an important risk factor.

CNS-directed therapies for the treatment of leukemia can adversely affect the acquisition of new skills, such as reading/writing and math. Two years after the end of treatments, children show gross and fine motor skill delays that may persist even when patients are considered healed. The goal of the present study was to assess motor skills difficulties in pre-school children with leukemia one year after treatment. Particular attention has been paid to those patients who had undergone Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) and to the relationship between motor delays and age bands. Participants were 60 children (median age of 5; inter quartile range: 3.07-5.76), including 31 females and 29 males, 91.7% of them were affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and 8.3% by acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Five children had undergone HCST. Parents were interviewed by Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) on children's motor skills and filled in the Italian Temperament Questionnaire (QUIT). VABS's total scores were converted into equivalent mental age scores (EMA). A score difference of at least three months between current age and equivalent mental age was considered a developmental delay. Non-parametric analyses were run to understand if HSCT treatment and a specific age band influence children's motor skills. Significant delays were found in global motor skills (56.7%) as well as in fine and gross motor domains. Mann Whitney U tests showed that children with HSCT were reported to have lower gross motor mean ranks (U = 62; p = 0.004; Mean rank = 15.40) than peers without HSCT (Mean rank = 31.87) and lower mean rank values on motor temperament scale (U = 9; p = 0.003; HSCT Mean rank = 4.75 versus no HSCT Mean rank = 27.81). Kruskal Wallis' tests identified the high risk treatment showing that HSCT experience negatively impacted the motor skills and temperamental motor activity of pre-school children one year after the diagnosis of leukemia.