Perceptual-motor performance, psychomotor and intellectual of students with learning disability complaints

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the perceptual-motor per-formance, psychomotor and intellectual capacity of students with and without complaints of learning disability nominated by their teachers, and associate this performance when writing learning process. Method: The study included 26 school aged 7 and 9 years old, attending the elementary school, with and without complaints of learning disability by teachers, respectively, the experimental group (EG) with 14 children and the control group (CG ) with 12. The instruments used were: Bender-Gestalt Test, Development Scale Motor, the Human being Figure Drawing, and Learning Disabilities Assessment in Writing - ADAPE. Results: Children with com-plaints of learning difficulties presented a lower performance compared to the control group in all areas assessed. GE had a lower result than expected for their age in psychomotor and perceptual-motor tests, indicating risk for acquisition of literacy, and this was confirmed with the results of ADAPE test, which classified them as having writing difficulties from easy to moderate. Intellectual assessment showed better cognitive development in the GC. Conclusion: The results suggest that the psychomotor performan ce, perceptual-motor and intellectual are closely linked, and changes in any of these skills make up a risk factor for the acquisition of writing. We suggest the continuity and expansion of studies in this area, focusing on perceptual and psychomotor stimulation as a tool to assist the overall development and school learning.