Comparing gross motor performance, physical fitness between young children with and without sensory integration dysfunction

Objectives

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether children with sensory integration dysfunction (SID) exhibit delays in gross motor performance and physical fitness compared to those with typical sensory integration development (TSID). Further, the developmental characteristics related to gross motor performance and physical fitness were examined in children with SID, taking into account differences in the severity of dysfunction (mild versus severe) and gender.

Methods

A total of 273 children were randomly recruited, including 115 children with SID, comprising 85 with mild SID (MSID) and 30 with severe SID (SSID). All participants underwent assessments of gross motor skills and physical fitness using the “TGMD-2″ and the “NPFMM” protocols. The covariance method was employed to analyze differences in gross motor skills and physical fitness among children with SSID, MSID, and TSID, as well as gender-based differences between children with SID and those with TSID.

Results

(1) Children with SID demonstrated significantly lower gross motor performance compared to their TSID peers (P < 0.05). Notable deficits were observed in tasks such as jumping, kicking, striking, and in the object control composite and total gross motor scores. Among boys, those with SID showed significantly reduced performance in gross motor tasks including jumping, galloping, and sliding, along with lower locomotor composite and total gross motor scores relative to TSID boys. Girls with SID exhibited significant impairments in leaping, sliding, kicking, and throwing, with correspondingly lower object control composite scores compared to TSID girls. Additionally, girls with SSID demonstrated a significantly lower sliding score than those with MSID. (2) With respect to physical fitness, children with SID performed significantly worse than TSID children in measures of agility, speed, and balance (P < 0.05). Specifically, boys with SID showed significant deficiencies in agility compared to boys with TSID, while girls with SID displayed notable shortcomings in speed compared to girls with TSID. In addition, children with MSID exhibited significantly better overall agility compared to those with SSID, and girls with MSID demonstrated superior performance in speed relative to their SSID counterparts.

Conclusions

The overall development of gross motor skills and physical fitness in children with SID was observed to be comparatively delayed relative to children with TSID. Gender-specific developmental differences were identified among children with SID. Specifically, boys with SID exhibited pronounced delays in locomotor skills and agility, whereas girls with SID primarily demonstrated deficiencies in object control skills and speed. Furthermore, although children with SSID showed poorer performance in gross motor skills and physical fitness compared to those with MSID, the differences across varying degrees of dysfunction were not statistically significant overall.