Early motor development of blind children.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the characteristic motor developmental pattern in blind children in Israel.


METHODS
The study compared the developmental data concerning 10 motor skills of 40 blind children to a control group of sighted children and to the motor developmental milestones of the Bayley Developmental Scale and the Revised Denver Developmental Screening Test.


RESULTS
The motor development of blind children was delayed, the delay being significant in all 10 motor skills that were examined. This delay emphasizes the major importance of vision as a sensory input modality for the process of sensory- motor development.


CONCLUSIONS
An adequate stimulating environment and proper parental handling could potentially shorten the motor developmental delay but probably not eliminate it entirely.
Levtzion-Korach
O
O
Jerusalem Institute for Child Development, Israeli Ministry of Health, Bney-Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
Tennenbaum
A
A
Schnitzer
R
R
Ornoy
A
A
D001766:Blindness / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity