HAND FUNCTIONS OF CHILDREN WITH A SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDER
Condition: Specific Learning Disability; Specific Learning Disorder; Fine Motor Skills; Hand Functions
MeSH terms: Learning Disabilities; Specific Learning Disorder
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Children with Specific Learning Difficulties (SLD) may have problems with fine and gross
      motor skills compared to their healthy peers. These children may have poor manual dexterity.
      Taken together, it is not clear how motor and sensory competence of the hand are affected
      together. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the sensory and motor ability of the hand
      and to compare the examined parameters between the SLD group and the healthy control group.
    

Detailed description: 
      Specific learning disability (SLD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins at
      school age and sometimes goes undetected until adulthood. Its incidence in school-aged
      children is about 5-15%. Children with SLD have difficulty in fulfilling academic
      qualifications. In addition, there are various problems with fine motor skills,
      motor-coordination, balance and gross motor skills.

      Upper extremity speed and dexterity affect fine motor performance (as they involve
      manipulative tasks that require a certain amount of time and higher motor skills). In the
      literature, it is reported that manual dexterity is a stronger predictor than balance on the
      functional mobility of children with SLD, and it is emphasized that strategies to improve
      dexterity performance should be focused in interventions for fine motor skills for these
      children. In addition, it is demonstrated that taking the necessary precautions and planning
      by evaluating the gross and fine motor skills in detail in SLD is important for the
      independence and achievements of children in their daily living activities.

      Weak hand skills are expected in children with SLD. Problems based on hand performance can be
      addressed in a more comprehensive way by comparing these children with children with typical
      development in terms of motor performance and functional mobility. Similarly, although it is
      recommended to evaluate senses such as touch and stereognosia when evaluating fine motor
      performance in these children, no comprehensive study including sensory and motor evaluations
      has been found in the literature.

      In this study, in children with SLD; It is aimed to examine the limitations of hand motor and
      sensory functions in daily activities in terms of general motor competencies and hand skills
      of the child and to compare them with the healthy control group.
    

Intervention name(s): No Interventions
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): No Interventions
Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        The convenience sampling will implement for this cross-sectional study. Children who have a
        diagnoisis of special learning disability regarding DSM-V criteria and who attends the
        Specific Learning Difficulty Support Education Program of the Ministry of National
        Education regularly twice a week will screen for eligibility by their physician and were
        subsequently requested to participate in this study.