Dyslexia and Physical Education

Madeleine Portwood

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781135372835
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Much research has focused on dyslexia and co-ordination. This book examines the literature and provides a framework to support pupils with dyslexia, not only during PE lessons but in less structured environments, for example during break time when pupils are likely to be involved in physical activities.

Chapter 1

An Overview of Research

Dyslexia is best described as a combination of abilities and difficulties that affect the learning process in one or more of reading, spelling and writing. Accompanying weaknesses may be identified in areas of speed of visual processing, short-term memory, sequencing and organisation, auditory and/ or visual perception, spoken language and motor skills. It is particularly related to mastering and using written language, which may include alphabetic, numeric and musical notation. (Peer 2003)

Substantive research into the connection between dyslexia and deficits in motor skills was published in Duffy and Geschwind (1985). Observational assessment suggested that dyslexic children showed impaired development in a series of motor tasks relating to speed of movement, balance and coordination, and acquiring new skills was very difficult (Denckla et al. 1985). The tasks included foot-tapping, heel-toe placement, finger sequencing and copying. Rudel (1985) described these findings as a ‘maturational lag’, which would improve with age.

The development of ‘new’ skills was the focus of much research undertaken by Fawcett and Nicolson in the early 1990s, particularly the automaticity of motor development, the point at which a skill is learned and can be completed virtually without thought. They discovered that children with dyslexia put more effort into ‘planning’ sequential movements when compared with ‘controls’ matched for age and ability. Nicolson and Fawcett (1990) assessed the performance of 23 thirteen-year-old dyslexic children using a series of motor tasks. A beam was constructed, using large building blocks, six inches high, five inches wide and eight feet in length. Initially, the tasks set were:

•  balancing, one foot on the floor, arms outstretched, for one minute;

•  balancing, one foot on the beam, leg straight, arms outstretched, for one minute;

•  balancing on the beam on one leg, with bent knee, for 30 seconds;

•  balancing on the beam on one leg, with bent knee, for one minute; and

•  walking along the beam, with arms outstretched.

Error points for incorrect foot position, wobble, overbalancing and stepping off the beam were recorded.

A secondary task was then introduced and the children were asked to count or press a button.

The results of the dyslexic children were compared with a group of matched controls. Under the first conditions, ‘just balancing’, the dyslexic children achieved as well as the controls. However, when ‘dual’ tasks were undertaken, the dyslexic children’s performance deteriorated significantly, unlike that of the controls.

Wolff et al. (1990) provided further evidence in experiments that identified motor difficulties in fine, repetitive finger and hand movements in dyslexic children, when bimanual coordination is required, but not when comparing performance on single-handed activities. Wolff interprets the results not just as the inability to coordinate and move each finger quickly, but an indication of a deficit in general ability to rapidly coordinate asynchronous and asymmetric movement.

Furthermore, Wolff discovered motor deficits in adults as well as children with dyslexia in both bimanual alternation and asynchronous coordination. This suggests that coordination difficulties do not necessarily disappear with maturation, as reported by Rudel (1985).

Further evidence indicating that children with dyslexia have ‘persistent and unexpectedly severe problems in skill’ is presented in further research by Fawcett and Nicolson (1995). The study comprised groups of children with dyslexia and matched controls using two tests of motor skill (bead threading and peg moving) and one test of articulatory skill (speed of articulating well-known words). The effect of maturation was monitored by using three age groups: 8, 13 and 17 years.

Bead threading

The children were given a basket containing round wooden beads and instructed to take them one at a time and thread them on the string as quickly as possible for a period of one minute.

Pegboard

The top row of the board was fitted with pegs and the child was instructed to move the pegs one at a time into the third row (missing the second). On completing the row, the children moved the pegs again two rows down the board and this was repeated five times. The mean of the trials was calculated.

Articulation Rate

The children were asked to say the words ‘bus’, ‘monkey’ and ‘butterfly’ several times as quickly as possible. The time taken for five repetitions of each word was measured to the nearest centisecond.

Results

The performance of children with dyslexia was consistently below that of their matched controls in every outcome measure. Depending on the task, between 40 per cent and 100 per cent of the dyslexic children in the study had a performance more than one standard deviation below that of the same-age control group. The youngest dyslexic children resorted to using both hands, swapping between left and right when completing the pegboard. They had similar problems with the bead-threading task.

When articulating the three-syllable word ‘butterfly’, the dyslexic children in all three age groups had difficulties and muddled the sound sequences.

Although there is evidence of improvement with age in the groups of dyslexic children, the controls reached the ceiling of the assessments by age 13. Fawcett and Nicolson (1995) conclude that ‘motor skill and articulation deficits persist into adolescence’.

To provide further evidence to support the idea that children and adults with dyslexia show signs of delayed automaticity of motor development and have difficulty processing sound sequences, Fawcett and Nicolson (1999) completed an additional series of experimental tasks involving 126 dyslexic and control children. The assessment included measurement of:

Postural stability: subjects were asked to stand up straight, feet together and arms at their sides, and were pushed in the lower back. The pushing was performed using the balance tester developed by Fawcett and Nicolson (1996). The score was determined by the degree of movement from non-sway stepping forward to complete loss of balance.

Arm shake: the examiner grips the wrist of the subject and shakes it gently, side to side. A score for ‘movement’, i.e. very floppy, shows evidence of poor muscle tone.

Toe tapping: subjects were required to tap their feet ten times as quickly as possible.

The results indicated that more than 95 per cent of dyslexic children showed evidence of deficits in postural stability and muscle tone. It was also noted that the degree of deficit was comparable in magnitude to the children’s reading and spelling deficits.

Wolff (1999) also links impaired motor skills with language delay. In his study of dyslexic children, 90 per cent of those with motor coordination deficits also had motor speech deficits measured by a task involving repetitious syllable production. He concludes: ‘the detailed analysis of co-articulation in speech production may be one pathway by which impaired timing precision in motor action impinges on reading and writing deficits in developmental dyslexia’.

There is supportive evidence to link motor deficits and dyslexia. Ramus et al. (2003), reporting on a study into motor control and phonology in dyslexic children, suggest that part of the discrepancy in motor skills is due to dyslexic individuals who had additional disorders: ADHD and DCD (dyspraxia).

The purpose of this study was to attempt to replicate the findings of Fawcett and Nicolson: that dyslexic children are impaired on a range of tasks involving manual dexterity, balance and coordination, and that motor dysfunction might be the cause of dyslexia.

Wimmer et al. (1998) suggested that the presence of ADHD in any study sample of dyslexic children would account for the variance in the percentage of individuals identified with coordination difficulties.

Kaplan et al. (1998) reported that 63 per cent of the dyslexic children in their study also had DCD (dyspraxia).

My own research (Portwood 1999, 2000), involving more than 600 school-aged children with dyspraxia, indicated that there was a co-occurrence with dyslexia in more than 50 per cent of those studied. It seems probable that in selecting a population sample on the basis of one set of criteria, e.g. factors associated with dyslexia, there will be evidence of other co-occurring neurodevelopmental disorders.

Another study by Ramus et al. (2003) focused on a group of dyslexic 8–12-year-old children with matched controls. Assessment of motor control and phonological skills was undertaken. Twenty-two children were selected, and those with co-occurring ADHD and DCD were actively sought, together with ‘pure’ dyslexics. Of the 22 dyslexic participants, seven were also diagnosed with ADHD, one with DCD and two with both ADHD and DCD. The same number of children, matched for age and ability, were recruited from a mainstream school to act as controls.

The Phonological Assessment Battery (Frederickson et al. 1997) was administered. The tests included: alliteration, rhyme, naming speed (pictures and digits), spoonerisms and a range of fluency assessments. The four motor tests devised by Nicolson and Fawcett for use in their own studies were: finger to thumb sequencing; bead threading, postural stability; and tone estimation (two tones presented successively with the requirement to say which of the two is longer).

Results

In the motor assessment, three children in the dyslexic group could not attempt the finger/thumb task. Of the three, one was dyslexic with ADHD, one was dyslexic with DCD, and the other was dyslexic, ADHD and DCD. In the study, twelve children were identified with ‘pure’ dyslexia and ten with co-occurring presentations. In total, five pure dyslexic children (42 per cent) and eight with co-occurrence (80 per cent) were poorer than controls in motor tasks. This provides additional evidence to support the idea that in the ‘pure dyslexic’ population there are problems with motor control, although not in every case. However, the results from this study suggest that co-occurrence of other neurodevelopmental disorders with dyslexia increases the likelihood of more severe impairment.

Compounding the motor difficulty identified in the majority of dyslexic children, there are additional factors, such as poor auditory sequencing, deficits in detecting movement and problems with binocular convergence (Eden et al. 1996;, Stein and Glickstein 1992). Studies of perceptual skills suggest that dyslexic subjects process visual information more slowly than controls. These visual impairments were found in more than 75 per cent of the dyslexic children assessed (Livingstone et al. 1991).

The problems with visual processing associated with dyslexia include spatial awareness, timing and rhythm (Fawcett and Nicolson 1992, 1999). This, in turn, has a direct effect on skills such as catching a ball or simply maintaining orientation for balance (Willows et al. 1993).

Any programme of activities to promote the development of motor skills should therefore include:

•  opportunities to practise visual sequencing with specified time constraints;

•  activities to develop binocular coordination using near and distant targets;

•  opportunities to sequence sound and movement; and

•  exercises which specifically integrate sensory information, i.e. movement in response to visual and auditory stimuli.

Chapter 2

Physical Development in the Early Years

The media are constantly raising awareness of rising levels of obesity in children and its probable long-term effect on future wellbeing – the outcomes of a restricted diet and limited exercise are evident. There are also increasing numbers of children identified with specific learning difficulties: dyslexia, dyspraxia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). At the same time there is a rise in the incidence of allergies, such as asthma and hay fever. Parents are concerned about lack of concentration in their children, and teachers describe far higher levels of excitability in their pupils.

Many of these developments must be attributed to lifestyle changes. Diet is one factor, but perhaps less obvious is the effect of delayed development of motor skills on future learning outcomes. ‘Movement is a child’s first language – it is the first medium of expansion of the physical and emotional conditions of an individual. Self control begins with the control of movement’ (Kiphard and Schilling 1994).

External influences affect opportunities for motor development. Although some adults now make determined attempts to attend regular sessions in the gym, children spend much less time engaged in physical activities than they did 20 years ago. Preferred pastimes revolve around computers and television screens, where children’s p...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1 An Overview of Research
• 2 Physical Development in the Early Years
• 3 Activities for Children in the Nursery
• 4 An Introduction to Movement Skills from Foundation to Key Stage 2
• 5 Developing Skills – Balance
• 6 Developing Skills – Movement
• 7 Developing Skills – Coordination
• 8 Developing Skills – Secondary Education
• 9 Physical Education – Positive Solutions
• 10 Conclusion
• Appendix: Useful Addresses
• References and Further Reading
• Index