Search

Background: The general movement assessment has mainly been used to identify children with cerebral palsy (CP). A detailed assessment of quality of infant motor repertoire using parts of the "Assessment of Motor Repertoire - 3 to 5 Months" which is based on Prechtl's general movement assessment can possibly identify later motor and cognitive problems in children without CP., Aims: This study aims to determine whether analysis of quality of infant motor repertoire has predictive value for motor and cognitive outcomes at age 10 in children at risk for later neurological impairment., Study Design: A longitudinal study design was used., Subjects: Video-recordings of 40 "neurologically high-risk" infants at 14 weeks post-term age were analysed with respect to motor repertoire., Outcome Measures: Fidgety movements were classified as present or absent. Quality of concurrent motor repertoire was classified as normal if smooth and fluent and abnormal if jerky, monotonous or stiff. Poor motor outcome was defined as a score ≤ 5th centile on the Movement-Assessment-Battery-2, while poor cognitive outcome as total IQ <85 on Wechsler Intelligence Scale-III., Results: Among the high-risk children with presence of fidgety movements, poor motor and/or cognitive outcome at 10 years was identified by abnormal concurrent motor repertoire at 14 weeks post-term age in 86% (95% CI: 0.60-0.96) of the children. On the other hand, 71% (95% CI: 0.47-0.87) of those with normal motor and cognitive outcomes were identified by presence of fidgety movements and normal motor repertoire., Conclusions: Assessment of quality of infant motor repertoire may be a valuable early clinical marker for later impaired motor and cognitive outcomes in high-risk children who do not develop CP., (© 2013.)

Background: Motor skills have previously not been reported in young adults born with very low birth weight (VLBW), although they are commonly reported in children and adolescents., Aim: To compare fine and gross motor skills in VLBW young adults with matched term-born controls, and to study longitudinal changes in the VLBW group., Study Design: A geographically based follow-up study of a VLBW group and a control group., Subjects: Thirty-six VLBW (birth weight ≤ 1500 g) young adults, including four participants with cerebral palsy (CP), and 37 matched controls (birth weight ≥ 10th centile) were examined at 14 and 23 years of age., Outcome Measures: Fine and gross motor skills were assessed using Grooved Pegboard test (GP), Trail Making Test-5 (TMT-5), Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (Movement ABC-2) and High-level Mobility Assessment Tool (HiMAT)., Results: VLBW young adults were slower than controls on GP (p = 0.026) and TMT-5 (p < 0.001). Mean total Movement ABC-2 score was 69.7 ± 20.2 in the VLBW group compared with 74.1 ± 14.4 in the control group (p = 0.017). Differences were also seen in manual dexterity and balance. Additionally, HiMAT showed reduced balance and speed in gross motor skills in the VLBW group. The proportion of participants with motor problems did not change between age 14 and 23. After exclusion of participants with CP, scores were essentially the same., Conclusion: VLBW young adults had overall poorer fine and gross motor skills compared with controls. Reduced speed seemed to be an underlying problem. Longitudinal findings indicate that VLBW children have not outgrown their motor problems when entering adulthood., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)