THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOINT HYPERMOBILITY AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL ATTRIBUTES IN ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL-CHILDREN

Joint hypermobility is associated with motor developmental delay in in fancy. To assess this finding in school-aged children, 320 first- and second-grade elementary school children and 110 children attending a s pecial education program were assessed. Joint hypermobility was found in 40 (12.4%) and seven (6.4%) of the children attending the regular a nd special education classes, respectively. No difference in the neuro logic status or verbal and eye-hand coordination task performance was found between the children of the study group and their age- and sex-m atched controls. It appears that joint hypermobility and neurodevelopm ental dysfunctions are not causally related and have a different matur ational course.