Vestibular function and motor proficiency of children with impaired hearing, or with learning disability and motor impairments.
Vestibular status and motor proficiency of 30 hearing-impaired and 15 motor-impaired learning-disabled children were documented to determine whether vestibular loss can account for deficits in motor co-ordination. Vestibular loss was differentiated from sensory organization deficits by means of VOR and postural orientation test results, which were compared with those of 54 normal seven-to 12-year-olds. Reduced or absent vestibular function in 20 hearing-impaired children did not affect development of motor proficiency, except in specific balance activities. However, sensory organization deficits in the learning-disabled group and in three of the hearing-impaired children were associated with widespread deficits in motor proficiency.
Horak
F B
FB
Department of Neuro-otology, Good Samaritan Hospital, Portland, Oregon 97209.
Shumway-Cook
A
A
Crowe
T K
TK
Black
F O
FO
D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012027:Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests