Difference between visual-motor integration status of typically developed learners and learners with learning-related problems

Abstract

Proficiency in visual-motor integration, visual perception and motor coordination plays an important role in academic skills of learners during the early school years. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference between the visual-motor integration status of typically developed learners and learners with learning-related problems between 7 and 8 years of age through a cross-sectional satudy design. Sixty-eight learners (boys=45; girls=23) were divided into a group with learning-related problems (LP; n=31) with a mean age of 7.58±0.43 years, and typically developed learners (TP; n=37) with a mean age of 7.54±0.31 years. The VMI-4 evaluated the learners' visual-motor integration, visual perception and motor coordination skills. The results indicated that the TP performed statistically and practically significantly better with regard to visual-motor integration (p≤0.001; d=0.81) and visual perception (p≤0.001; d=1.21) compared to the LP group. The highest percentage of learners in both the groups was in the average category in terms of visual-motor integration (LP: 74.19%; TP: 70.27%). More learners from the LP group were in the below ‘average category’ (25.58%) and the ‘well-below average’ category (3.23%). The results confirmed that learners with learning-related problems experience more visual-related difficulties than typically developed children. Typical group