Visual Perception, Fine Motor, and Visual-Motor Skills in Very Preterm and Term-Born Children before School Entry–Observational Cohort Study

• Main Authors: Anne-Kathrin Dathe, Julia Jaekel, Julia Franzel, Thomas Hoehn, Ursula Felderhoff-Mueser, Britta M. Huening
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-12-01
• Series: Children
• Subjects: visual perception; fine motor; visual-motor; very preterm; term-born children; preschool age
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/12/276

Very preterm children (<32 weeks gestation at birth; VP) are at risk of developmental difficulties. Specific functional difficulties and delays in visual perception, fine motor, and visual-motor skills have received little research attention, although they are critical for daily life and school readiness. Our aim was to assess these skills in a contemporary cohort of 60 VP and 60 matched term-born children before school entry. We administered the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC-2) and the Developmental Test of Visual Perception (DTVP-2). Linear and logistic regressions were run to test group differences in performance and rates of developmental delay in visual perception, fine motor, and visual-motor skills. Very preterm children had lower scores than term-born children in visual perception (<i>β</i> = −0.25; <i>p</i> = 0.006), fine motor (<i>β</i> = −0.44; <i>p</i> < 0.001), and visual-motor tasks (<i>β</i> = −0.46; <i>p</i> < 0.001). The rate of developmental delay (<−1 SD) was higher among VP in visual perception (odds ratio (OR) = 3.4; 95% confidence interval (CI 1.1–10.6)), fine motor (OR = 6.2 (2.4–16.0)), and visual-motor skills (OR = 13.4 (4.1–43.9)) than in term-born controls. VP children are at increased risk for clinically relevant developmental delays in visual perception, fine motor, and visual-motor skills. Following up VP children until preschool age may facilitate early identification and timely intervention.