Complex imitation of gestures in school-aged children with learning difficulties/Imitiranje slozenih pokreta kod skolske djece s poteskocama u ucenju

• Published in: Kinesiology (Zagreb, Croatia) Croatia), 2010-01, Vol.42 (1), p.44
• Main Authors: Ozbic, Ma, Filipcic, Tjasa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Disabled children; Learning disabilities; Teachers
• ISSN: 1331-1441

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) has often been overlooked both in school practice and in everyday work with children. DCD is one or all of the heterogeneous range of development disorders affecting the initiation, organization, and performance of action. The aim of this article, therefore, was to draw attention to this problem and prove how teachers of different subjects can easily recognize pupils with DCD. Prompt recognition enables fast intervention, resulting in progress in the movement abilities of pupils with DCD. Our research has shown that we can discriminate between pupils with learning difficulties and those without them on the basis of 20 tasks of the Berges-Lezine's Test of Imitation of Gestures. In particular, we wish to emphasize three tasks (12, 17, and 20) in which pupils had to cross the vertical midline of the body. Individuals with DCD face problems in spatial orientation and in complex imitation of gestures. Pupils can be classified into two groups (with and without motor coordination and learning difficulties) based on differences found in tasks requiring them to cross the vertical midline of the body and rotate their hands. Learning difficulties can be predicted by pupils' performance doing such specific tasks. School teachers, especially physical education teachers, can recognize pupils with motor coordination difficulties in informal tasks, and organize appropriate psychomotor activities for them. Key words: Developmental Coordination Disorder, learning difficulties, constructional dyspraxia Razvojni koordinacijski poremecaj (DCD) je cesto zanemaren i u radu sa skolskom djecom i u svakodnevnom radu s djecom. DCD podrazumijeva jedan ili cijeli heterogeni spektar razvojnih poremecaja koji utjecu na inicijaciju, organizaciju i izvedbu nekog pokreta. Cilj ovog clanka bio je privuci paznju na ovaj problem i dokazati da nastavnici razlicitih predmeta mogu vrlo lako prepoznati ucenike s razvojnim koordinacijskim poremecajem. Brzo prepoznavanje omogucuje brzu intervenciju koja rezultira napretkom u razvoju kretnih sposobnosti kod ucenika s DCD-om. Ovo je istrazivanje pokazalo kako je moguce razlikovati ucenike s poteskocama u ucenju od ostalih ucenika primjenom 20 zadataka okupljenih u Berges-Lezineovom testu imitiranja pokreta. Kljucne rijeci: razvojni koordinacijski poremecaj, poteskoce u ucenju, konstrukcijska dispraksija