Balance and motor coordination are not fully developed in 7-year-old blind children.
Visually impaired children show difficulties in recognizing their own bodies, objects around then and the spatial parameters that are essential for independent movement. This study analyzes the neuro-psychomotor development of a group of congenitally visually impaired children as compared to children with normal sight. We have evaluated two groups of seven-year-olds by means of neurological evolution examination (NEE). The group studied comprised 20 blind children and the control group comprised 20 children with normal sight, and they were paired up according to age and gender. In some tests, the blind children were guided by touch. The visually impaired children performed worse in tests evaluating balance and appendage coordination compared to normal sighted children (p< 0.001), and this suggests that visual deficiency impairs children's neuro-psychomotor development.
Navarro
Andréa Sanchez
AS
Universidade Bandeirante de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. andreasn@uol.com.br
Fukujima
Marcia Maiumi
MM
Fontes
Sissy Veloso
SV
Matas
Sandro Luiz de Andrade
SL
Prado
Gilmar Fernandes do
GF
D001766:Blindness / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology