Obeid Rita, Brooks Patricia J
Psychology Department, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, NY.
The College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, NY.
Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2018 Oct 24;49(4):982-994. doi: 10.1044/2018_LSHSS-17-0124.
We aimed to determine whether individual differences in manual dexterity are associated with specific language skills (nonword repetition, receptive vocabulary, and receptive grammar) after controlling for nonverbal abilities (visual-spatial working memory and intelligence).
We assessed manual dexterity using the pegboard task and examined relationships with verbal and nonverbal abilities in a diverse community sample of children (N = 63, mean age = 8;2 [year;months], range: 6;0-10;8) varying in language ability (Comprehensive Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition core language score M = 105, range: 62-126; Semel, Wiig, & Secord, 2003).
Correlational analyses indicated significant relationships between manual dexterity and performance on tests of nonword repetition, receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, and nonverbal intelligence, after controlling for multiple comparisons. In regression analyses, manual dexterity remained a significant predictor of nonword repetition after controlling for nonverbal abilities and age. In contrast, manual dexterity was no longer significant in predicting receptive vocabulary or grammar when nonverbal intelligence was included as a factor in the model.
These findings build on prior work implicating poor fine motor control in child language disorders by identifying a robust relationship between manual dexterity and nonword repetition. Relationships between manual dexterity and receptive language abilities appear to be indirect and mediated by nonword repetition. For clinicians, the results underscore the importance of screening children with poor fine motor control for concomitant language impairments.
我们旨在确定在控制非语言能力（视觉空间工作记忆和智力）之后，手部灵巧性的个体差异是否与特定语言技能（非词重复、接受性词汇和接受性语法）相关。
我们使用钉板任务评估手部灵巧性，并在一个语言能力各异的儿童社区样本（N = 63，平均年龄 = 8岁2个月，范围：6岁0个月 - 10岁8个月）中检验其与语言和非语言能力的关系，这些儿童的语言能力通过《语言基本能力综合评估第四版》核心语言分数衡量（M = 105，范围：62 - 126；Semel、Wiig和Secord，2003年）。
相关性分析表明，在控制多重比较后，手部灵巧性与非词重复、接受性词汇、接受性语法和非语言智力测试成绩之间存在显著关系。在回归分析中，在控制非语言能力和年龄后，手部灵巧性仍然是非词重复的显著预测因素。相比之下，当将非语言智力作为模型中的一个因素时，手部灵巧性在预测接受性词汇或语法方面不再显著。
这些发现基于先前的研究，通过确定手部灵巧性与非词重复之间的紧密关系，表明精细运动控制不佳与儿童语言障碍有关。手部灵巧性与接受性语言能力之间的关系似乎是间接的，并且由非词重复介导。对于临床医生而言，这些结果强调了对精细运动控制不佳的儿童进行筛查以发现并发语言障碍的重要性。
