Comparing Fine and Gross Motor Development in Normal Hearing Children, Rehabilitated, and Non-Rehabilitated Hearing-Impaired Children

Parvin Veiskarami; Mehdi Roozbahani; Sara  Saedi; Ezatolah Ghadampour

doi:10.18502/avr.v31i3.9871

Parvin Veiskarami Department of Psychology, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran
Mehdi Roozbahani Department of Motor Behavior, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran
Sara Saedi Department of Psychology, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran
Ezatolah Ghadampour Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/avr.v31i3.9871

Abstract

Background and Aim: Motor development is a continuous process throughout life. Hearing impairment in childhood may have significant effects on motor development. This study compared the motor development of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children at early developmental ages.

Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study. A total of 149 children aged six to eighteen months were selected and divided into three groups: normal-hearing children (NHC) (55 girls and 65 boys) selected by convenient sampling strategy, non-rehabilitated hearing impaired children group (NRHIC) (11 girls and 13 boys) selected by purposive method, and rehabilitated hearing- impaired children group (RHIC) (3 girls and 2 boys) selected by the census method. The Denver developmental screening test 2 (DDST-ll) was used to assess motor development. The obtained data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U tests, and curve drawing.

Results: The fine motor development of the NHC (9.63±28.83) was significantly greater than the RHIC (-18 ±26.83) and NRHIC (–21.25±30.26) groups, but there was no significant difference between the RHIC and NRHIC groups. In gross motor development, the NRHIC (–32.71±41.26) group had a more significant delay compared to the NHC (13.38±37.73) and RHIC (0±21.21) groups, but there was no significant difference between the NHC and RHIC groups.

Conclusion: Hearing rehabilitation can partially compensate for the developmental delay in gross skills, but this compensation has not occurred for fine motor skills. The development of fine motor skills requires a precise synergy of small muscles and the nervous system.

Keywords: Deafness; hearing impaired rehabilitation; motor skills