Background/Purpose Previous research indicates that children with visual impairment (vi) are behind in gross motor skill development in comparison to their non-vi peers (Houwen, Visscher, Lemmink & Hartman, 2009) but also that “[…] less than 50% of the studies established adequate reliability […] and none of the studies established validity for instruments.” (p. 489). The aim of this study was to determine the impact of vi on gross motor skill performance in school-aged children by use of a reliable and valid instrument. It was assumed that children with vi show developmental delays in comparison to their non-vi peers.
Method A total of 100 children with vi (mean age=9.97 years; SD=1.62; 61% boys) representing three different levels of impairment (B3=legally blind; B2=travel vision; B1=blind) as well as 28 non-vi controls (CG) with similar demographics were studied. The test used was the Test of Gross Motor Development II which is well established in non-vi children and was also found to be reliable and valid in children with vi (Houwen, Hartman, Jonker, & Visscher, 2010).
Analysis/Results T-tests for independent samples were calculated, and the error probability was set to alpha=.05 (one-tailed testing; Bonferoni-Holm corrected). CG children showed (i) better locomotor skills than B3 (p<.01), B2 (p<.01) and B1 (p<.01) children and (ii) better object control skills than B2 (p<.01) and B1 (p<.01) children, whereas CG and B3 children did not significantly differ.
Conclusions Our results speak for the assumption that children with vi are behind their non-vi peers in gross motor skill development.