Gross and fine motor skills in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

OBJECTIVE

Chemotherapy treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) may disrupt motor development, with suggestions that gross and fine motor deficits are different depending on time since treatment.

METHODS

Thirty-seven participants aged between 2.5 to 5 years at the time of diagnosis were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (MABC-2) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, 2nd Edition, Short Form (BOT-2 SF), and divided into groups (i.e., months-off-treatment): (1) 0-12, (2) 13-24, and (3) 25-60 for comparison.

RESULTS

MABC-2 and BOT-2 SF mean total scores fell within the average range. Twenty-six percent of the sample performed in the impaired range on the MABC-2. Group 2 had significantly lower Manual Dexterity scores than the normative population and lower BOT-2 SF scores than Group 1.

CONCLUSION

Most children treated for ALL display appropriate motor skills, yet around a quarter experience general motor difficulties. Time-off-treatment did not affect the prevalence of motor impairments on any measure.