Motor proficiency of children with developmental speech and language disorder and typically developing children aged 4–7 years: A comparative cross-sectional study

Background: Developmental speech and language disorder (DSLD) is characterized by delay in speech and language development in the absence of mental or physical handicap, hearing loss, emotional disorder, or environmental deprivation. Many nonlinguistic factors contribute to the expression of DSLD, one of them is motor proficiency. Some problems with motor proficiency were observed in children with DSLD when they were compared with typically developing children (TDC). Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the performance of DSLD children for motor proficiency using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition (BOT-2) and compare it with TDC. Study Design: A comparative, noninterventional, cross-sectional study. Methods: The study included 30 children with DSLD and 30 TDC aged 4–7 years. The study protocol was approved by the Institute Ethical Committee (ECARP/2017/21). A written informed consent form was signed by parents. All composites of BOT-2 were administered on both groups (fine manual control, manual coordination, body coordination, strength and agility). Scores obtained were compared between two groups for total motor composite as well as each subtest. Results: There was a significant difference between the performance of DSLD children and TDC on all the four composites, namely Fine Manual Control, Manual Coordination, Body Coordination, and Strength and Agility of BOT-2. Total motor composite score of DSLD children was significantly different from the scores of TDC at P = 0.000. Conclusion: Motor proficiency is significantly affected in children with DSLD as compared to TDC.