Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Early childhood is a time when lots of physical growth and development occurs. Motor development is split into fine and gross motor skills. Many factors could inhibit proper motor development including home environment, time spent with others, school and class size and involvement, parent involvement, amount of physical activity, and more (Derikx et al., 2021). A child’s motor development is crucial because of the impact impediments may have on one’s physical, social, and emotional health. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between clinical and research measures of motor development in 3 and 4-year-olds and explore the correlation between these measures and the Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (Little DCDQ). This study involved 20 children ages 3 or 4 who were able to follow simple, 3-4 step instructions. Recruitment was done primarily through flyers, social media, and recruitment at a local daycare and gymnastics facility. Informed consent from the parent was received for each participant, and each child agreed to participate as well. The testing involved the MABC-2, a 30-minute assessment that aids in detecting motor difficulties in iv children. It involved 8 simple “tests” that involve manual dexterity, aiming, catching, balance, and more, all geared for kids to enjoy! While the child completed the MABC-2 with research personnel, their guardian completed a variety of surveys including an ages and stages questionnaire, the little developmental coordination disorder questionnaire, an environmental screening questionnaire, and a child history form. A Pearson correlation was used to analyze the association between these clinical and research measures. The gross component of the Little DCDQ was significantly correlated with the test score of the MABC-2 (r = .47, p = .04), & the GM category of the ASQ (r = .50, p = .03). All other correlations were not significant. Overall, these results indicate that the surveys were a solid assessment of GM skills, but not FM skills within this sample.
Publication Date
12-1-2023
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Gray, Kacie, "THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CLINICAL AND RESEARCH MEASURES FOR MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN" (2023). 2023 Fall Honors Capstone Projects. 1.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_fall2023/1