Relations between fine motor skill and parental report of attention in young children with neurofibromatosis type 1. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2014;36(9):930-43
Date
10/07/2014Pubmed ID
25284746DOI
10.1080/13803395.2014.957166Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84926229635 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 6 CitationsAbstract
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common genetic disorders presenting in approximately 1 in 3,500 live births. NF1 is a highly variable condition with a large number of complications. A common complication is neuropsychological problems, including developmental delays and learning difficulties that affect as many as 60% of patients. Research has suggested that school-aged children with NF1 often have poorer fine motor skills and are at greater risk for attention difficulties than the general population. Thirty-eight children with NF1 and 23 unaffected children between the ages of 4 and 6 years, who are enrolled in a study of early development in NF1, were included in the present study. Varying levels of fine motor functioning were examined (simple to complex fine motor tasks). For children with NF1, significant difficulties were demonstrated on lab-based mid-level and complex fine motor tasks, even after controlling for nonverbal reasoning abilities, but not on simple fine motor tasks. Parental report also indicated difficulties in everyday adaptive fine motor functioning. No significant correlations were found between complex fine motor ability and attention difficulties. This study provides much needed descriptive data on the early emergence of fine motor difficulties and attention difficulties in young children with NF1.
Author List
Casnar CL, Janke KM, van der Fluit F, Brei NG, Klein-Tasman BPAuthor
Bonita Klein-Tasman BA,MA,PhD Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Attention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityChild
Child, Preschool
Developmental Disabilities
Female
Humans
Intelligence
Male
Motor Activity
Motor Skills Disorders
Neurofibromatosis 1
Neuropsychological Tests
Parents
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
