Motor function at school age in children with a preschool diagnosis of developmental language impairment

Objectives To evaluate fine motor (FM) and gross motor (GM) function shortly after school entry in children with a preschool diagnosis of developmental language impairment (DLI). Study design A cohort of children (n = 70) diagnosed at pre-school age with DLI was reevaluated in elementary school. Language, cognitive, and motor outcomes were assessed through the use of the Battelle Developmental Inventory. (BDI). Language was further assessed through the use of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, Peabody Picture Vocabulary, and Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Tests. Performance below - 1.5 SD of the normative mean on any test was considered to represent impairment. Results Forty-three children (mean age, 7.4 +/- 0.7 years) underwent reassessment at a mean of 3.8 +/- 0.7 years after initial preschool assessment. Mean scores for BDI motor domains (FM, 78.3 +/- 11.4; GM, 84.9 +/- 13.3) fen below normative values. Twenty-two children (52%) had motor impairment (FM, 17 of 42; GM, 15 of 42); 35 of 43 (81%) continued to have language impairment. BDI communication raw scores correlated most strongly with FM (rho = 0.73, P <.001) and GM (rho = 0.58. P = .003) raw scores but showed only moderate correlations with cognitive raw scores (rho = 0.41, P = .05).