Abnormal clumsiness in children: a defect of motor programming?

Abstract

Abnormal clumsiness in otherwise normal children has often been associated with both perceptual and motor defects, but the cause of this problem remains unclear. This study investigated the ability of clumsy children to programme movement and to use feedback, in both the visual and kinaesthetic modalities, for movement control. Clumsy and normal children performed simple and complex movements with vision either available, or precluded. The reaction time of the clumsy children was found to be longer than that of the normal children and the movement time for the complex, but not the simple response, was found to be longer for the clumsy group. These findings were interpreted as suggesting that clumsy children experience difficulty with the programming of movement and that, as a result, they depend more heavily on feedback for movement control than do normal children.