In recent years many studies have shown a close relationship between language and motor skills in both typical and atypical populations, consistent with the embodied view of cognition (Iverson & Braddock, 2011). However, the association between specific components of language and motor abilities in toddlers with language delay has received little attention, and contrasting results have been reported. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between toddlers’ language development and their motor skills, focusing on motor profile of children with language delay. Thirty Italian children aged 24 to 36 months (M = 29.7 months) from three nursery schools, participated in the study. They were individually tested with the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (Luiz et al., 2006), including scales on both gross and fine motor skills, and on language and cognitive abilities, and the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Caselli et al., 2007). Correlational analysis showed that fine motor skills were related to lexical production [r(30) = .42, p < .05] ]. Among the fine motor skills, visual-motor integration was more strongly related to language production [r(30) = .48; p <.01] than the other skills. However, different motor profiles emerged among children whose lexical production fell below the 10th percentile for age. Three children displayed a widespread delay in fine motor skills, showing lower scores in items involving object-oriented actions, visual-motor integration and complex sequences of fine motor actions; three children displayed a more specific delay in visual-motor integration, while a child did not show any delay in fine motor competence. These first results reflect the complexity of the relationship between language and motor development; furthermore, they could contribute to describe early indicators of developmental risk in a larger sample of children.
Language development and motor skills in Italian toddlers
Rigo F.;Majorano M.;Lavelli M.
2017-01-01
Abstract
In recent years many studies have shown a close relationship between language and motor skills in both typical and atypical populations, consistent with the embodied view of cognition (Iverson & Braddock, 2011). However, the association between specific components of language and motor abilities in toddlers with language delay has received little attention, and contrasting results have been reported. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between toddlers’ language development and their motor skills, focusing on motor profile of children with language delay. Thirty Italian children aged 24 to 36 months (M = 29.7 months) from three nursery schools, participated in the study. They were individually tested with the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (Luiz et al., 2006), including scales on both gross and fine motor skills, and on language and cognitive abilities, and the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Caselli et al., 2007). Correlational analysis showed that fine motor skills were related to lexical production [r(30) = .42, p < .05] ]. Among the fine motor skills, visual-motor integration was more strongly related to language production [r(30) = .48; p <.01] than the other skills. However, different motor profiles emerged among children whose lexical production fell below the 10th percentile for age. Three children displayed a widespread delay in fine motor skills, showing lower scores in items involving object-oriented actions, visual-motor integration and complex sequences of fine motor actions; three children displayed a more specific delay in visual-motor integration, while a child did not show any delay in fine motor competence. These first results reflect the complexity of the relationship between language and motor development; furthermore, they could contribute to describe early indicators of developmental risk in a larger sample of children.
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