Niechwiej-Szwedo Ewa, Alramis Fatimah, Christian Lisa W
Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo N2L 3G1, Ontario, Canada.
School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo N2L 3G1, Ontario, Canada.
Hum Mov Sci. 2017 Dec;56(Pt B):1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2017.10.014. Epub 2017 Oct 31.
Performance of fine motor skills (FMS) assessed by a clinical test battery has been associated with reading achievement in school-age children. However, the nature of this association remains to be established. The aim of this study was to assess FMS in children with reading difficulties using two experimental tasks, and to determine if performance is associated with reduced binocular function. We hypothesized that in comparison to an age- and sex-matched control group, children identified with reading difficulties will perform worse only on a motor task that has been shown to rely on binocular input. To test this hypothesis, motor performance was assessed using two tasks: bead-threading and peg-board in 19 children who were reading below expected grade and age-level. Binocular vision assessment included tests for stereoacuity, fusional vergence, amplitude of accommodation, and accommodative facility. In comparison to the control group, children with reading difficulties performed significantly worse on the bead-threading task. In contrast, performance on the peg-board task was similar in both groups. Accommodative facility was the only measure of binocular function significantly associated with motor performance. Findings from our exploratory study suggest that normal binocular vision may provide an important sensory input for the optimal development of FMS and reading. Given the small sample size tested in the current study, further investigation to assess the contribution of binocular vision to the development and performance of FMS and reading is warranted.
通过一系列临床测试评估的精细运动技能（FMS）表现与学龄儿童的阅读成绩相关。然而，这种关联的本质仍有待确定。本研究的目的是使用两项实验任务评估有阅读困难儿童的FMS，并确定其表现是否与双眼功能降低有关。我们假设，与年龄和性别匹配的对照组相比，被确定有阅读困难的儿童仅在已被证明依赖双眼输入的运动任务上表现更差。为了验证这一假设，对19名阅读水平低于预期年级和年龄水平的儿童使用两项任务评估运动表现：穿珠子和插板。双眼视觉评估包括立体视敏度、融合性聚散、调节幅度和调节灵活度测试。与对照组相比，有阅读困难的儿童在穿珠子任务上表现明显更差。相比之下，两组在插板任务上的表现相似。调节灵活度是与运动表现显著相关的唯一双眼功能指标。我们的探索性研究结果表明，正常的双眼视觉可能为FMS和阅读的最佳发展提供重要的感觉输入。鉴于本研究测试的样本量较小，有必要进一步研究以评估双眼视觉对FMS和阅读发展及表现的贡献。
