Associação entre função cognitiva e desenvolvimento motor grosso de crianças com transtornos do neurodesenvolvimento

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Children with neurodevelopmental disorders have a variety of conditions that, in general, cause cognitive impairments, as well as, limitations to perform gross and fine motor activities resulting from deficits in balance and motor coordination. OBJECTIVE: This study verified whether the cognitive function is associated and could predict outcomes of gross motor development in children with neurodevelopmental disorders between 5 and 10 years of age. METHODS: We carried out an exploratory cross-sectional study with 25 children with neurodevelopmental disorders, between 5-10 years of age, able to walk independently. The children's version of the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Gross Motor Development Test - second edition-evaluated the cognitive function and gross motor habilities. A simple linear regression analysis was performed, and the effect size was calculated. RESULTS: Fifteen (60%) were male, with a mean age of 7.81 (± 1.90), seven with intellectual disability, eight with autism spectrum disorder, five with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, two with communication disorders, and three with specific learning disorders. The Mini-Exam State Examination score was significantly associated and explained the variability of locomotion skills (R2=0.25; p=0.006), object control skills (R2= 0.29; p=0.003), and the gross motor quotient (R2=0.40; p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: We concluded that cognitive function is associated with gross motor skills and could explain their development in children with neurodevelopmental disorders between 5 and 10 years of age. These results might contribute to a better understanding of the influence of cognitive function on the development of gross motor skills in this population.