title: [A comparative study of the perceptual and motor performance at school age of preterm and full term children].
abstract: The objective of this study was to compare the perceptualmotor performance in school age children who were born preterm and full term. Two groups of children, ages 5 to 7, participated in this study. Group I had 35 children, from low-income families, born up to the 34 week of gestation and/or weight bellow 1500 g. Group II had 35 full-term children, matched by age, gender and socioeconomic status to the children in Group I. Children were tested on the Bender gestalt, the motor accuracy test and on balance and postural responses measures. The preterm group obtained significantly lower scores in the majority of the tests. These besides reinforcing the importance of the follow-up of preterm children up to school age, also indicate the need to stimulate the fine motor and postural control Devment, even among preterm children who do not show evidence of neurological impairment.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Terapia Ocupacional, Universidad Federal de Minas Gerais (DTO/UFMG), Belo Horizonte MG, Brasil. liviam@gcsnet.com.br
authors.forename: Lívia de Castro
authors.initials: Lde C
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.forename: Patrícia Wendling
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Catarina
authors.forename: Vanêssa Maziero
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: Marisa Cota
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Maria Lúcia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Paixão
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D009129:Muscle Tonus; D004856:Postural Balance; D011187:Posture; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014796:Visual Perception