title: Development of cognitive skills in children with motor coordination impairments at 12-month follow-up.
abstract: The current study presents a 1-year follow-up investigation of the development of executive functions (i.e., inhibition, updating, and shifting) in children with motor coordination impairments. Cognitive and motor coordination skills of children (N = 94) aged between 5 and 7 years with and without motor coordination impairments were compared. A second focus of the study was on pre-academic skills. The results indicate marked stability of motor coordination impairments and persistent executive functioning deficits in motor-impaired children. Inhibition and shifting performance was consistently lower, compared to the children without motor coordination impairments. Moreover, children with motor coordination impairments showed lower pre-academic skills, facing a substantial disadvantage at the beginning of formal schooling. The combined cognitive and motor problems may be the result of an underlying inhibition deficit or a general automation deficit. Implications for intervention are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology IV, University of Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 10, Wuerzburg, Germany. eva.michel@uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roethlisberger
authors.forename: Regula
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Neuenschwander
authors.forename: Claudia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Roebers
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires