Selected Motor Skills of Mentally Retarded and Nonretarded Individuals 1

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine whether mentally retarded individuals show a specific motor performance deficit on measures of reaction time, aiming, and dexterity. 23 mentally retarded adolescents and two control groups of 22 non-retarded persons of the same mental age and 20 nonretarded persons of the same chronological age were tested. Motor performance measures for retarded persons were considerably longer than those of nonretarded persons of the same chronological age and of the same mental age. Only time of finger dexterity with short pins was longer for the retarded than for the nonretarded adolescents of the same mental age. Reaction times across groups were faster for the sound than for the light signal. No difference in RT for fine movement was observed. Differences among the various motor performance measures for retarded and nonretarded subjects are confirmed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Baumeister

A. A.

, and Kellas

(1968) Reaction time and mental retardation. In Ellis

N. R.

(Ed.), International review of research in mental retardation. Vol. 3. New York: Academic Press. Pp. 163–193.

Bilovsky

, and Share

(1965) The ITPA and Down syndrome: an exploratory study. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 70, 78–82.

Davis

W. E.

, Sparrow

W. A.

, and Ward

(1991) Fractionated reaction times and movement times of Down syndrome and other adults with mental retardation. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 8, 221–233.

Francis

R. J.

, and Rarick

G. L.

(1959) Motor characteristics of the mentally retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 63, 729–811.

Henderson

S. E.

, Illingworth

S. M.

, and Allen

(1991) Prolongation of simple manual and vocal reaction times in Down syndrome. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 8, 234–241.

Hermelin

(1964) Effects of variation in the warning signal on reaction time of severe sub-normals. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology, 16, 241–249.

Kelly

R. L.

, Barton

J. R.

, and Abernathy

(1987) Reaction times, using fine and gross motor movements of moderately and severely mentally handicapped adults to auditory and visual stimuli. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 65, 219–222.

Liebert

A. M.

, and Banbeister

(1974) Behavioral variability among retarded children and college students. Journal of Psychology, 83, 57–65.

Marcell

, and Armstrong

(1982) Auditory and visual sequential memory of Down syndrome and nonretarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 86, 86–95.

10.

Rarick

G. L.

, Dobbins

D. A.

, and Broadhead

G. D.

(1976). The motor domain and its correlates in educationally handicapped children. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

11.

Schilling

F. A.

(1979) Physical education program for mentally retarded children in Germany. In Bach

H. D.

(Ed.), Pädagogick der Geistesbehinderten. Berlin: Carl Marhold Verlagsbuch-handlang.

12.

Schuhfried

G. C.

(1989). Vienna Test. Determination Unit. Modling, Austria: Wiener Testsystem PC/S.

13.

Singer

R. N.

(1968). Motor learning and human performance. New York: Macmillan.

14.

Wade

M. G.

, Newell

K. M.

, and Wallace

S. A.

(1978) Decision time and movement time as a function of response complexity in retarded persons. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 82, 135–144.