A school-based movement programme for children with motor learning difficulty

The study investigated the effectiveness of a school-based movement programme for a population of 5 to 7 year old children. Performance profiles on the Movement ABC were used to classify the children and to assess skill changes overtime. Children were assigned to four different groups: motor learning difficulty (n = 10), borderline motor learning difficulty (n = 5), trained controls (n = 9), untrained controls (n = 9). The total programme consisted of 26 weekly sessions. Each one-hour session comprised of structured group play, individualized skill training, and relaxation. The results showed that children with motor learning difficulty improved consistently in the targeted skills. Most importantly, the obtained effects persisted beyond the actual intervention. The findings emphasize the effectiveness of task-oriented approaches in a school-based setting for children with motor learning difficulty.