Deficits in the planning, control and recall of hand movements, in children with perceptuo‐motor dysfunction

Abstract

A group of 40 children aged 7 to 11 years with perceptuo‐motor dysfunction from mainstream schools were examined on two eye‐hand coordination tasks: one requiring the interception on a television monitor of a moving target of variable speed and trajectory, the other requiring the tracking and recall of a target moving slowly in a circular path. Performance was compared to developmental norms. Results show, that children with perceptuo‐motor dysfunction are heterogeneous, and have various ways of carrying out a motor action. Some do not plan a movement, others do not control an ongoing movement like their peers. Yet despite marked abnormalities some children can compensate and be very accurate. Kinaesthetic disability is associated with motor disability. Process‐orientated treatment—including kinaesthetic training—improves motor functioning in some domains more than others.