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Motor coordination and kinaesthesis in boys with attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder
Author(s) -
Piek Jan P,
Pitcher Thelma M,
Hay David A
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1999.tb00575.x
Subject(s) - psychology , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , gross motor skill , attention deficit , motor skill , motor coordination , movement assessment , developmental psychology , typically developing , audiology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine , autism
In the current study, movement ability and underlying kinaesthetic processes of boys with attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared with a group of control children. Two groups of 16 boys with either predominantly inattentive subtype ADHD (ADHD‐PI) or combined subtype ADHD (ADHD‐C) were compared with 16 control boys matched on age and verbal IQ. The findings demonstrated that the children with ADHD had significantly poorer movement ability than the control children. A high percentage of children with ADHD displayed movement difficulties consistent with developmental coordination disorder. In addition, the current study found that the type and degree of movement difficulty differed between subtypes. Children with ADHD‐PI had significantly poorer fine motor skill while children with ADHD‐C were found to experience significantly greater difficulty with gross motor skill. The severity of the children's inattentive symptomatology was found to be a significant predictor of motor coordination difficulties. Kinaesthetic sensitivity was not found to differ significantly between the groups.