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The Test component of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd Edition (Movement ABC-2) is used worldwide to identify children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). In China, practitioners have been using this test with the assumption that the published UK norms are valid for Chinese children. However no systematic investigation has previously been undertaken to check this assumption. 2185 children aged 3–10 years old from a national representative sample in China were therefore recruited to the current study. Performance on the Movement ABC-2 was assessed and compared with the UK standardization norms. Gender differences were also examined. The comparisons revealed that Chinese children were generally better in Manual Dexterity and Balance tasks compared to their UK peers; while UK children were better in Aiming and Catching tasks. Further analysis showed an interaction of country and age with mixed results. For both countries, girls were generally better in Manual Dexterity and Balance tasks, and boys were generally better in Aiming and Catching. Possible explanations for the country differences are discussed. The results suggest that local norms for the Movement ABC-2 Test are needed in China.

To compare changes in motor development from 1 to 5 years of age among 18 children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and 12 with univentricular heart to 42 children without heart defect.Motor development was assessed with the Alberta Infant Motor Scale and Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC).Children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome or univentricular heart had significantly lower scores on the Alberta Infant Motor Scale test at the age of 1 and on the Movement ABC test at the age of 5 years compared with controls. Children with clear abnormalities on brain magnetic resonance imaging had lower scores compared with those with normal images or mild changes, and their relative motor scores decreased during follow-up.Some children with univentricular heart defects may benefit from physiotherapeutic interventions to support their motor development.

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a condition that results in an impairment of gross and/or fine motor coordination. Compromised motor coordination contributes to lower levels of physical activity, which is associated with elevated body fat. The impact of elevated body fat on motor coordination diagnostic assessments in children with DCD has not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine if relative body fat influences performance on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (MABC-2) test items in children with and without DCD. A nested case-control, design was conducted within the Physical Health Activity Study Team longitudinal cohort study. The MABC-2 was used to assess motor coordination to categorize cases and matched controls. Relative body fat was assessed using whole body air displacement plethysmography. Relative body fat was negatively associated with the MABC-2 "balance" subcategory after adjusting for physical activity and DCD status. Relative body fat did not influence the subcategories of "manual dexterity" or "aiming and catching". Item analysis of the three balance tasks indicated that relative body fat significantly influences both "2-board balance" and "zig-zag hopping", but not "walking heel-toe backwards". Children with higher levels of relative body fat do not perform as well on the MABC-2, regardless of whether the have DCD or not. Dynamic balance test items are most negatively influenced by body fat. Health practitioners and researchers should be aware that body fat can influence results when interpreting MABC-2 test scores.

This pilot study, which included a group of 33 boys and 12 girls (5.4 to 10.7 years) with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) aimed to analyze (1) the effects of a combined approach on motor coordination, occupational performance, and quality of life and (2) the relationship between motor coordination and occupational performance. Movement ABC (M-ABC) and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) were administered at the beginning of occupational therapy (T1) and after 3 (T2) and 9 months (T3). Results showed significant improvements at T2 in the COPM and at T3 in the M-ABC. No relationship between the results of M-ABC and those of COPM was found.

An established test instrument for the assessment of motor performance in children between 3 and 16 years is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Second Edition (M-ABC-2). The Zurich Neuromotor Assessment (ZNA) is also widely used for the evaluation of children’s motor performance but has not been compared with the M-ABC-2 for children below five years for the purpose of convergent validity. Forty-seven children (26 boys, 21 girls) between three and five years of age were assessed using the M-ABC-2 and the ZNA3-5. Rank correlations between scores of different test components were calculated. Only low-to-moderate correlations were observed when separate components of these tests were compared (.31 to .68, p .05). However, the correlation between summary scores of the two tests was .77 ( p

Aim To investigate whether behaviour problems are independently related to mild motor impairment in 11–13‐year‐old children born preterm with extremely low birthweight (ELBW). Methods The cross‐sectional study included 48 (27 males) non‐disabled, otherwise healthy ELBW children (

This study examines the motor skills and executive functioning (EF) of 28 children diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; mean age: 10 years 6 months, range: 7-12 years; 19 boys, 9 girls) in comparison with age- and gender-matched typically developing children. The potential relationship between motor performance and EF in children with PDD-NOS is investigated as well. The children's motor skills were evaluated with the Movement ABC. EF, in terms of planning ability, strategic decision making, and problem solving, was gauged with the Tower of London (TOL) task. Compared with their typically developing peers, the children with PDD-NOS scored poor on the Movement ABC (p

In three separate manipulations, a group of children at risk for developmental coordination disorder (DCD; five males, seven females; mean age 11y 6mo [SD 6.8mo] who were at or below the 15th centile on the Movement ABC) and a group of typically developing children (TDC; seven males, five females; mean age 11y 3mo [SD 6.8mo]) judged the limit of their standing horizontal reach (HRmax) under two conditions in which actual HRmax differed. The manipulations were: (1) one-hand versus two-hand reach; and (2) standard versus short effective foot-length; and (3) rigid versus compliant support surface. For the foot-length and support surface manipulations (but not for the hand manipulation), children correctly judged that their actual HRmax differed in the two conditions (p

The aim of the present project was to study aspects of reliability and validity of the qualitative motor observations in the Swedish version of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). In total 12 children, divided into three groups, were assessed by 18 experienced physical and occupational therapists. Four of the children were typically developed, four fulfilled the criteria for Developmental Coordination Disorder and four were diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy. A video recording with the 12 children performing two of the eight items of the normative part of Movement ABC were sent to the 18 therapists. The therapists scored the performance of the children according to the guidelines given for the qualitative motor observations. They were informed of the age of the children but blinded to the result of the normative part of the Movement ABC and the children's diagnoses. The inter-rater reliability was moderate to high (ICC=0.75) for the two items together. The total number of observed...

This study investigates the relation between performance on simple tasks dependent on proprioception, and performance of complex perceptual-motor skills in clumsy children and age-matched control children. One hundred and forty-six right-handed children aged between 5 and 8 years were tested on non-visual aiming, non-visual posture matching, the Kinaesthetic Sensitivity Test (KST), and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (ABC). Half of the children had scores below the 15th centile on the Movement ABC and were classed into the developmental coordination disorder (clumsiness) group. Scores on the proprioceptive tasks were used to predict performance on complex tasks of the subscales of the Movement ABC (manual dexterity, ball skills, and balance). Specific relations were found between the proprioceptive tasks and the subscales of the Movement ABC, but the KST did not predict differences in motor skills, and no relation was found between tasks carried out without vision. Simple non-visual movement tasks do predict performance in more complex skilled tasks but this is affected by many task features rather than simply the reliance on proprioception for information about movement.

Background Strabismus is one of the most common visual disorders in infancy. While there is a great attention on the effects of the timing of surgery as to the development of binocular vision, little is known about the possible influence of congenital strabismus on perceptual-motor and more generally, on neuromotor development. Aims Aim of this study was to investigate perceptual-motor and motor coordination abilities of 19 children with essential congenital esotropia who underwent a late surgery (after 4 years), compared to 23 age-matched controls. Methods Children were tested using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC) that were performed both 1-week before surgery (T1) and about 3 months (±2 weeks) after surgery (T2). Results and conclusions At T1, abnormal or borderline results were found in more than half of the children with strabismus, as opposed to only about 17% of the controls. At T2 none of the children showed abnormal Movement ABC total scores and there was no difference in global scores between the study and the control group. The two groups also did not show any significant difference in individual items of the movement ABC with the exception of those assessing ball skills. Our results suggest that surgical correction of strabismus, even when performed after the 4th year of life, appears to be effective in improving perceptual-motor and motor function.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) for use in Greater China. Chinese children numbering 255 between the ages of 4 and 6 from Hong Kong and 544 from Taiwan were tested individually on the standardized test contained within the M-ABC. Data from these 799 children were compared to that presented in the test manual for the 493 children of the same age comprising the United States standardization sample. Both within-culture and cross-cultural differences were statistically significant when all items of the M-ABC were examined simultaneously, but effect sizes were too low to be considered meaningful. However, descriptive analysis of the cut-off scores used for impairment detection on the test suggested that adjustments to some items would be desirable for these particular Chinese populations.

The aim of the study was to relate motor outcome in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants at 5.5 years to motor performance at 5 months with special emphasis on children with poor motor performance at 5.5 years and children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). A modified version of the Motor Assessment of Infants (MAI) was used at the corrected age of 5 months, and at 5.5 years the children's motor behaviour was followed up using the Movement ABC. Significant differences in motor behaviour of children who at 5.5 years developed normal, borderline or poor motor behaviour were seen at 5 months. In general, motor behaviours at 5 months and 5.5 years correlated. Only volitional movements, however, could predict motor outcome at 5.5 years. Within the group of children with “poor” motor performance, children with CP were recognized by a significantly higher score on the tone items of the MAI.

We have previously reported that significant hyperopia at 9 months predicts mild deficits on visuocognitive and visuomotor measures between 2 years and 5 years 6 months. Here we compare the motor skills of children who had been hyperopic in infancy (hyperopic group) with those who had been emmetropic (control group), using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). Children were tested at 3 years 6 months (hyperopic group: 47 males, 63 females, mean age 3 y 7 mo, SD 1.6 mo; control group: 61 males, 70 females, mean age 3 y 7 mo, SD 1.2 mo) and at 5 years 6 months (hyperopic group: 43 males, 56 females, mean age 5 y 4 mo, SD 1.7 mo; control group: 51 males, 62 females, mean age 5 y 3 mo, SD 1.6 mo). The hyperopic group performed significantly worse at both ages, overall and on at least one test from each category of motor skill (manual dexterity, balance, and ball skills). Distributions of scores showed that these differences were not due to poor performance by a minority but to a widespread mild deficit in the hyperopic group. This study also provides the first normative data on the Movement ABC for children below 4 years of age, and shows that it provides a useful measure of motor development at this young age.

The objective of this study is to determine the relation between the size of the corpus callosum (CC) and motor performance in a population-based cohort of preterm children. Preterm born children ( n = 221) with a gestational age less than or equal to 32 weeks and/or a birth weight below 1500 g were eligible for this study. At the age of 7 or 8 years, frontal, middle, posterior, and total areas (mm 2 ) of the corpus callosum were measured on true midsagittal MRI. Due to anxiety of 10 children and motion artifacts in 7 other children, 204 MRIs could be assessed in the preterm group (mean GA 29.4 weeks, sd 2.0, mean BW 1200 g, sd 323). The preterm group consisted of 15 children with cerebral palsy (CP) and 189 children without CP. Motor function was established by using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, and the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration was obtained. The same examinations were performed in 21 term born children. The mean total cross-sectional CC area was significantly smaller in preterm born infants compared with their term born controls (338 mm 2 versus 422 mm 2 , P P P P P P = 0.096). There was a significant inverse association between the total impairment score (TIS) and its subdomains of the Movement ABC and the areas of the CC in the group of preterm children. Higher TIS (indicating poorer motor function) was strongly related to smaller total CC area: linear regression coefficient (lrc) −3.3 mm 2 /score point (95% CI −4.5, −2.1). The association existed in all parts of the CC but increased in the direction of the posterior part: frontal: lrc –0.8 mm 2 /score point (−1.2, −0.4), middle: lrc −1.1 mm 2 /score point (−1.7, −0.5) and posterior: lrc –1.4 mm 2 /score point (−1.8, −0.9). An association between CC area and its subareas and the standard scores of the VMI was also found. A larger CC was strongly related to better scores on the VMI test: total area CC: lrc 0.05 score/mm 2 (95% CI 0.03, 0.07), frontal: lrc 0.12 score/mm 2 (0.05, 0.19), middle: lrc 0.10 score/mm 2 (0.05, 0.15) and posterior: lrc 0.12 score/mm 2 (0.06, 0.18). After adjustment for gestational age, birth weight, and total cerebral area, these associations were still significant. There is a strong association between the size of the corpus callosum (total midsagittal cross area as well as frontal, middle, and posterior area) and motor function in preterm children, investigated at school age. A poorer score on the Movement ABC was related to a smaller CC. A larger CC was strongly associated with better VMI standard scores.

The aim was to improve the control of reaching movements in prematurely born children with impaired coordination. Fifteen 6-year-old prematurely born children (birth weight < 1500 g) practised m ...

Paediatric rehabilitation as a discipline is rapidly changing, especially during the last decades. In the past, paediatric rehabilitation was characterized by merely adult intervention strategies in a miniaturized form, delivered by a merely adult patients-oriented profession. Theories on childhood development, however, changed, as did the focus of interventions: from impairments to function, from the child itself to family, community and peers. The call for outcome-oriented and evidence-based medicine lastly, changed paediatric rehabilitation into a mature paediatric profession with it's own scientific framework. This is reflected among other things in the increasing number of paediatric measures and instruments specifically geared to the paediatric rehabilitation profession, for example the Gross Motor Function Measure, Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory and Movement ABC. More recently, paediatric exercise physiologists are pointing to the benefits of an active lifestyle and training for patients with chronic diseases and disabilities. Several studies have evaluated the effects of such training programmes and came up with positive results. It shows that paediatric rehabilitation continues to develop as a dynamic profession, having growth, childhood development and childhood activities as it's core business.

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children has been revised for adolescents aged 11–15 years. The aim of this study is to examine the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the amended component of the test on 31 teenagers. Most items of the revised instrument were relatively reliable even for inexperienced testers. Modifications on items that can improve the test's stability are suggested.

An established tool for the assessment of motor performance in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is the Movement-ABC-2 (M-ABC-2). The Zurich Neuromotor Assessment (ZNA) is also widely used for the evaluation of children's motor performance, but has not been compared with the M-ABC-2. Fifty-one children (39 males) between 5 and 7 years of age with suspected DCD were assessed using the M-ABC-2 and the ZNA. Rank correlations between scores of different test components were calculated. The structure of the tests was explored using canonical-correlation analysis. The correlation between total scores of the two motor tests was reasonable (0.66; p

Children with movement impairments, as identified by the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC), have been shown to be more isolated than others in the school playground and to play team games such as football less often than others. The goal of the present investigation was to examine whether early coordination impairments were related to later football participation in the school playground. The participants were 64 boys, 32 in a movement impaired group and 32 in a non-impaired group, who were divided into groups of those who were often alone and those who were not. The not-alone group was further subdivided into those who played football for considerable periods and those who did not. There were 10 boys with poor scores on the Movement ABC who were not often alone and who played football for considerable amounts of time. Analyses of the subscales of the ABC indicated that the balance subscale was significantly related to participation in football, but that some boys with relatively poor balance scores did play football. Only extremely poor performance on the balance tasks of the Movement ABC was related to non-participation in football. Some of the key differences between groups of children with movement impairments in terms of their inclusion in social and physical games like football may not relate to hand/eye coordination and manual control, but to the ability to maintain posture while carrying out other movements, particularly when balance skills are extremely poor.

Research was done about the agreement between test results and checklist information concerning psychomotor development. The Movement ABC checklist and the Movement-ABC-test were administered in 34 children from the child and adolescent psychiatry unit of the UZ Gasthuisberg, of Leuven, Belgium. The children were 25 boys and 9 girls aged 4 to 12 years. There was a moderate association between the test results of the children and the judgements of the carepersons, suggesting that use of the checklist instead of testing cannot be deemed a good alternative.

The playground activity of 110 children aged between 6 and 10 years was observed for 10 five-minute periods. Fifty-five children were assigned to a developmental coordination disorder (DCD) group and 55 to a control group, on the basis of their scores on the Movement ABC. Children in the DCD group spent more time alone, were onlookers more often, and played formal games in large groups less often if they were boys and informal games in large groups less often if they were girls. Social fantasy play did not differentiate between the two groups but social physical play did, particularly in the older age groups. Play performance in the DCD group was more variable overall with some boys taking an active part in team games while others never took part in them. This study indicates that as social non-physical play decreases with age, some children with impaired coordination may not become involved in social physical play. Children with impaired coordination can become isolated and solitary in the school playground. Various routes to social exclusion for these children are proposed and remain to be explored.

Background. Daily life motor skills of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were studied during treatment using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). In addition, the possible relation with vincristine treatment was investigated. Procedure. Seventeen children treated for ALL, aged 4-12 years, were compared to an age- and sex-matched control group. Results. The leukemia group performed more poorly than the control group on both fine and gross motor skills. In looking at the number of children with ALL who scored in the clinical range of the different subtests, problems in balance skills were found to be most pronounced at the end of induction therapy. Remarkably, half a year after reinduction therapy, problems with balance had decreased, whereas the number of children with fine motor problems had increased. Conclusions. A relation between the gross motor problems and vincristine neurotoxicity seems plausible based on a descriptive analysis of the data, but this was not supported statistically, Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 33:545-550, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Background. Daily life motor skills of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were studied during treatment using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). In addition, the possible relation with vincristine treatment was investigated. Procedure. Seventeen children treated for ALL, aged 4-12 years, were compared to an age- and sex-matched control group. Results. The leukemia group performed more poorly than the control group on both fine and gross motor skills. In looking at the number of children with ALL who scored in the clinical range of the different subtests, problems in balance skills were found to be most pronounced at the end of induction therapy. Remarkably, half a year after reinduction therapy, problems with balance had decreased, whereas the number of children with fine motor problems had increased. Conclusions. A relation between the gross motor problems and vincristine neurotoxicity seems plausible based on a descriptive analysis of the data, but this was not supported statistically, Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 33:545-550, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Movement ABC is now widely used in Sweden by physio and occupational therapists. The manual was translated into Swedish in 1996. It is generally assumed that the published norms for the test are valid for use with Swedish children but no systematic investigation of their suitability has been undertaken. The aim of this study was to begin this process by comparing the performance of a group of six-year-old Swedish children with that of American children from the original standardisation sample. Two matched groups of 60 children were compared. Out of 10 cross-cultural comparisons, only one revealed a significant difference between the groups. Swedish children were better on one of the ball skills tasks. Although the restricted age range and small sample size make it difficult to generalise our results beyond Age Band One of the test, the data so far suggest that the norms for the test may need little adjustment for use with Swedish children. PsycINFO Classification: 2221; 2330

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC; Henderson, S.E., Sugden, D.A., 1992. Movement Assessment Battery for children: Manual. Psychological Corporation, London.) is used throughout the world in the evaluation of children with movement difficulties. Within Europe, another test commonly used for the same purpose is the Korperkoordinations Test fur Kinder (KTK; Kiphard, B.J., Schilling F., 1974 Korperkoordinations Test fur Kinder. Beltz Test Gmbh, Weinheim.). The aims of this study were: (i) to take a preliminary look at the suitability of the published norms of these two tests for use with Dutch children, (ii) to examine the correlations between scores on the two tests and, (iii) to examine the concordance between the tests in detecting cases of impairment among children believed to be poorly coordinated. Two hundred and eight children completed both tests. The results suggested that the current norms for the Movement ABC are satisfactory for Dutch children but for the KTK, they may require adjustment. The overall correlation between the two tests was 0.62. Although there were children who failed one test and passed the other, the degree of concordance between the tests was statistically significant. PsycINFO classification: 2221; 2330

The aims of the study were to analyze: (1) whether significant differences exist between children with typical development and children with developmental coordination disorders (DCD) in their preference to participate in leisure activities (2) whether the teacher estimation of activity form (TEAF) evaluation predicts participation preference. Participants were 68 children, aged 6–9.83 years, 35 diagnosed as DCD by pediatrician and based on the Movement ABC (M-ABC) and 33 children with typical development. The controls were matched by age and gender to the DCD group. The children filled the preference for activities of children (PAC) and their sport teacher completed the TEAF. Significant differences were found between the groups in their participation preference based on the PAC items and subscales as well as in the TEAF scores. Significant correlations were found between the TEAF and PAC subscales. TEAF score significantly predicted children's preference to participate in leisure activities. Study results recommend using the TEAF for screening DCD and to further consider participation issues among children with DCD as a preventive aid for consequently socio-emotional implications of DCD.

Children with hearing deficits frequently have delayed motor development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate saccular function in children with hearing impairments using the Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP). The impact of the saccular hypofunction on the timely maturation of normal balance strategies was examined using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). Thirty-three children with bilateral severe/profound hearing impairment between 4 and 7 years of age were recruited from a three-state area. Approximately half of the sample had one or bilateral cochlear implants, one used bilateral hearing aids, and the rest used no amplification. Parents reported whether the hearing impairment was diagnosed within the first year or after 2 years of age. No VEMP was evoked in two thirds of the hearing impaired (HI) children in response to the bone-conducted stimulus. Children who were reportedly hearing impaired since birth had significantly poorer scores when tested with the Movement ABC.

Syfte Syftet med studien är att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan motorisk färdighet ochmängd fysisk aktivitet av olika intensiteter hos barn med diagnosen ADHD. Frågeställningar 1. Hur många barn med ADHD har motoriska nedsättningar utifrån Movement ABC? 2. Hur många barn med ADHD når upp till de Nordiska rekommendationerna för fysiskaktivitet? 3. Hur ser sambandet mellan motorisk färdighet och fysisk aktivitetsnivå ut hos barn medADHD? Metod I studien ingick fem pojkar i åldern 9-12 år med diagnosen ADHD. I studien mättes denfysiska aktivitetsgraden med accelerometrar av modellen ActiGraph GT3X somtestpersonerna bar under sju efterföljande dagar. Den motoriska förmågan hos testpersonernamättes med hjälp av de kvantitativa motoriktesterna i Movement ABC. Testerna genomfördesi en lokal på testpersonernas skolor och accelerometrarna samt ett medföljandeinformationsbrev delades ut vid samma tillfälle. Resultat Av resultaten av motoriktesterna framgår att endast en testperson hade ett resultat som visarpå tillfredsställande motorisk förmåga, tre testpersoner låg i riskzonen för motoriskanedsättningar och en testperson hade uppenbara brister i sin motoriska färdighet. Fyra av de fem testpersonerna uppnådde de Nordiska rekommendationerna om minst 60 minuters fysiskaaktivitet per dag, inkluderad både måttlig till hård aktivitet. Inga signifikanta samband kundeses mellan fysisk aktivitetsnivå och motorisk färdighet. Slutsats Studien kunde inte finna något samband mellan motorisk färdighet och mängd fysisk aktivitetav olika intensiteter hos barn med diagnosen ADHD. På grund av testgruppens ringa storlekbör man ej betrakta studiens resultat som generaliserbara, studien kan dock ses som enpilotstudie. Aim The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between motorskills and amount of physical activity of various intensities in children diagnosed with ADHD. Questions 1. How many children with ADHD have motor impairments based on Movement ABC? 2. How many children with ADHD reaches the Nordic recommendations for physicalactivity? 3. What is the relationship between motor skills and level of physical activity in childrenwith ADHD? Method The study included five boys aged 9-12 years diagnosed with ADHD. The study is study inwhich the physical activity level was measured using ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers whichtest subjects wore for seven subsequent days. The motor skills of the test subjects were measured using the quantitative motor tests in Movement ABC. The tests were carried out ina room at the test subjects schools and accelerometers, and accompanying instruction were distributed at the same time. Results The results of motor tests showed that only one person had test results showing satisfactorymotor skills, three test persons were at risk of motor impairments and a test person hadobvious defects in their motor skills. Four of the five test persons achieved the nordicrecommendations for at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, including both moderateto heavy activity. No significant correlation was seen between physical activity level andmotor skills. Conclusions The study could not find any correlation between motor skills and amount of physical activityof various intensities in children diagnosed with ADHD. Due to the small test group theresults of the current study should be taken with precaution, but can be regarded as a pilotstudy.

The Movement ABC (Henderson and Sugden 1992) is the most commonly reported norm-ranked assessment used to determine the presence of Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD) in school-aged children. The assessment provides quantitative and qualitative data about a child’s performance of age-appropriate tasks within 3 subsections: Manual Dexterity, Ball Skills, and Static and Dynamic Balance. Performance is compared with established USA norms for children aged 4 to 12 years. The Movement ABC is a minimal task set designed to screen for motor impairment rather than provide a profile of a child’s motor performance. It takes approximately 30 minutes to administer and requires no special training.

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this paper was to check on the reliability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC) in preparation for its standardization in Hong Kong. Interrater and test–retest reliability are reported for Age Band One, designed for use with children ages four to six. METHOD. Interrater reliability of the Movement ABC was estimated using two trained observers with 79 children. Test–retest reliability was assessed using 75 children who were tested twice by the same tester over a 2- to 3-week interval. RESULTS. Agreement between testers was good with a mean intraclass correlation of 0.96 across items. A value of 0.77 was obtained for test–retest reliability. CONCLUSION. These results support the use of this component of the Movement ABC in Hong Kong.

Mental retardation is a heterogeneous group of disorders with countless causes. It is characterised by cognitive and functional limitations in everyday skills, for example social skills, communication skills and motor skills and can be classified in behavioural, etiological and educational systems. Down's syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome are two of the many syndromes defined under mental retardation. The goal of this dissertation was to determine the effect of a water activity intervention programme on the motor proficiency levels of children with Down's syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. These aims were addressed by structuring the dissertation in five chapters: Chapter one constituting the introduction and statement of the problem, Chapter 2 presenting a review of relevant literature, Chapters 3 and 4 consisting of two research articles, addressing the specific aims of the study, and Chapter 5 including the summary, conclusions and recommendations. All the children who participated in the study were intuitionalized in a school for the mentally and physically handicapped. The MABC-test was used as the main evaluation instrument, and components of the Charlop-Atwell test were used to evaluate the coordination skills of the children with Down's syndrome. The first aim of this study was to determine the effect of a specially designed water activity intervention programme on the motor proficiency levels of children with Down's syndrome. Six children classified as having Down's syndrome, formed part of the research group. Their chronological age ranged between 9 and 14 years while their mental age classification was that of a 4 to 5 year old. The data was analysed by means Summary of descriptive statistics, and effect sizes were determined. The second aim of the study was to determine the effect of a water activity intervention programme on the motor proficiency levels of children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Six children participated in the programme. Their chronological age ranged between 7 and 17 years while their mental age classification was that of a 4 to 11 year old. Reporting the results were in the form of case studies, and effect sizes of differences were determined. With regard to the first aim of the study the results indicated that the motor proficiency levels of the experimental group with Down's syndrome improved, especially regarding the MABC-total, balance- and total body coordination skills. With reference to the second aim of the study, the results indicated that improvement in the motor proficiency levels of the children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome had a lasting effect. The MABC total, ball skills and manual dexterity were the components that showed the best improvement. It can be concluded that a water activity intervention programme is a suitable method for rectifying motor deficiencies among children with Down's syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Recommendations for the improvement of the water activity programme were presented, as well as suggestions for further studies. Thesis (M.A. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Summary The aim of this study was to examine whether or not there were any differences in the severity of hyperactivity and the comorbidity of hyperactivity with clumsiness due to the sampling sources of hyperactive children. It was hypothesized that hyperactivity would be more severe and the comorbidity higher in the hospital sample than in the community support group and the school sample. A total of 47 hyperactive children were assessed with the German version of the Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). The hypotheses were not supported by the results. Although the school sample demonstrated the least prevalence rate of comorbid clumsiness, their conduct problems were rated higher than were the hospital and the support group samples. The possible difference in teachers' perception was discussed in terms of their understanding and communication with parents and professionals. The need to determine the effect of inattention on manual performance is addressed with a research strategy.

Objective. There is little information available on the appropriateness of tests developed in the West for children of different ethnicities. The aim of this study was to examine the suitability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC) for use with Hong Kong Chinese preschool children. Method. The performance of 255 Hong Kong Chinese children between the ages of 4 years and 6 years was compared with that of the 493 children of the same age from the United States who took part in the most recent standardization of the Movement ABC. Results. The test content was found to be suitable for use with Hong Kong Chinese children. However, cross-cultural differences were found on a number of the test items. Chinese children performed significantly better on items contained in the manual dexterity and dynamic balance sections, whereas American children were better at the projection and reception of moving objects. Conclusion. These findings highlight the need to ensure that norms for all tests are appropriate for the specific cultural groups being assessed.

Background and aims: To evaluate perinatal factors and outcome in term neonates with large focal cerebral haematomas. Methods: All term neonates seen between 1994-2009 with a neonatal brain MRI and large focal haematomas were included. Lesions were classified by site. Perinatal data and sequential neurodevelopmental outcome at 2,4,>5yrs (neurological exam, Griffiths scales/WPPSI, Movement ABC) were available. Results: 32 infants were studied: Haematomas were frontal(F) in 10, temporal(T) in 8, parietal(P) in 8, cerebellar(C) in 3 and in deep grey matter (DGM) in 3. Mean GA was 40.1 week, mean birthweight 3.33 kg, median 1,5 min Apgar scores were 7.5 and 9. Eight required major resuscitation at birth. Eight presentation with seizures alone, 14 seizures+other symptoms, 2 HIE (no seizures),1 postnatal collapse, 3 full fontanelle, 4 apnoeas/ bradycardiasOutcome: 1 infant died (HIE), 8 are 5yrs: n=13; 9 normal FSIQ(WPPSI) including 3 with abnormal MABC (2F,1DGM); 1 child was autistic (normal range DQ at 4yrs, F) two mild/moderate delay (1C,1DGM), one severely delayed (DGM). One child had febrile seizures and two had lateonset epilepsy. Conclusions: At each assessment age about 1/3 of children had developmental problems, some were severely affected, mostly those with cerebellar or DGM lesions (without CP). In the majority of children with isolated hemispheric haematomas outcome was consistently good.

The aim of this study was to determine whether perceptual-motor competence in school-age children with Down syndrome was generally delayed or varied as a function of type of action. Twenty-two children with Down syndrome (13 males, 9 females), aged between 4.5 and 14 years were assessed on two standardized tests, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC), a test of motor competence assessing gross and fine motor coordination, and on the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, a test focusing on shape copying. In order to obtain a profile of each child's performance on the different items contained in the Movement ABC, the test was used in its extended form. This involves testing any child who failed an item appropriate for his/her level, at progressively lower levels until a base-line measure was obtained. All the children obtained scores below the 5th percentile for their age on both tests. However, superimposed on this delay, we found distinct variation as a function of task. Whereas some aspects of gross motor function showed age development with delayed but regular acquisitions, all the aspects of fine motor skills assessed were more severely impaired and showed little development with age. Accuracy and timing of tasks requiring bimanual coordination were most impaired in our sample while balance and ball skills showed more variability. These results suggest that intervention in the motor domain should be varied according to each child's particular profile of performance.