Effects of Physical Education Programs on Children with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

In this study, the term “learning disablity” refers to specific developmental language disorders. Children with language disorders do not perform as well on motor coordination tests compared to children with normal speech. The purpose of this study was to investigate the motor skill level of children with developmental language disorders and to test the effect of three different training programs on these skills. The subjects were 22 elementary special school children with developmental language disorders who were divided into three groups and tested using the nonrandomized control group pretest-posttest design. Training programs were conducted twice weekly for 10 weeks. One group received psychomotor training, the second, body image training, and the control group followed the regular physical education program. The subjects were tested before and after participation in the training programs using a revised version of the Test of Motor Impairment (TOMI). Results indicated that 82% of these children clearly had a motor problem, consisting to a large extent in static balance difficulties. Overall improvement was 54% in the psychomotor training group; 26% for the body image training group; and 41% in the regular physical education group. It is concluded that the motor skills of children with specific developmental language disorders can be improved to a certain degree by intensified training programs.