title: Gross motor skill performance in children with and without visual impairments--research to practice.
abstract: The aim of this study was to provide an empirical basis for teaching gross motor skills in children with visual impairments. For this purpose, gross motor skill performance of 23, 6-12 year old, boys and girls who are blind (ICD-10 H54.0) and 28 sighted controls with comparable age and gender characteristics was compared on six locomotor and six object control tasks using the Test of Gross Motor Development-Second Edition. Results indicate that children who are blind perform significantly (p<.05) worse in all assessed locomotor and object control skills, whereby running, leaping, kicking and catching are the most affected skills, and corresponding differences are related to most running, leaping, kicking and catching component. Practical implications are provided.
authors.affiliation: University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany. Electronic address: matthias.wagner@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Matthias O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Pamela S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Haibach
authors.forename: Lauren J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lieberman
mesh_terms: D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001766:Blindness / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D060329:Education of Persons with Visual Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*
keywords: Children who are blind; Gross motor skill performance; Test of Gross Motor Development-Second Edition; Visual impairments; Whole-part-whole method