Motor competence of hearing-Impaired children

Abstract

Background Several studies have been demonstrating the developmental conse- quences of early childhood hearing loss in terms of language, com- munication, academic, and social-emotional functioning [1]. However, there is still no consensus on whether young children with hearing losses (HL) are comparable to hearing peers regarding their motor competence. Whereas some studies associate hearing loss with poorer motor development [2], others show that HI children are as proficient as their hearing peers [3]. Nevertheless, most of these studies has been focusing older children and to date, no study has examined Portuguese HI children’s motor competence. Objective This study aimed to examine motor competence of children with HL in comparison with hearing children. Methods A total of 35 children participated in the study; 13 (mean age 4,73 years) with HL and 22 (mean age 5,09) hearing children. Children were tested by the Movement Assessment Battery for Children–Sec- ond Edition (MABC-2). Results Children with HL showed worse performances on manual dexterity, ball skills and balance than hearing peers, however these differences were only significant regarding balance (p=.006). Conclusion Children with HL are at greater risk for balance deficits.