Rhythm and Motor Ability in Developmentally Disabled Children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a developmentally disabled child's ability to perform (a) a simple rhythmic task, and (b) a series of gross and fine motor tasks. The subjects of this study were 77 boys aged 65 months (5.416 years) to 174 months (14.5 years). All were classified as educable mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and/or developmentally disabled. In addition, some of these children were believed to have minimal brain dysfunction or damage. The motor tests used in the comparison were (a) developmental test of visual-motor integration; (b) hopping right foot; (c) hopping left foot; (d) hop two right foot, two left, plus hop two left foot, two right; (e) body perception; (f) locomotor agility; and (g) standing broad jump. The rhythmic test required the subject to tap with a rhythmic signal from a metronome with a visible oscillating pendulum. The highest coefficients were between the rhythmic tests and the developmental test of visual-motor integration, while the lowest were between rhythmic ability scores and (a) body perception, and (b) standing broad jump scores. Results of comparisons suggest that temporal perception and rhythmic expression are related to certain motor abilities in exceptional children. (PB)