A DYSPRAXIC DEFICIT IN SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT AND DEVELOPMENTALCOORDINATION DISORDER - EVIDENCE FROM HAND AND ARM MOVEMENTS

The extent to which children with either specific language impairment (SLI) or developmental coordination disorder (DCD) could he considered dyspraxic was examined using three tasks involving either familiar, o r unfamiliar actions, SLI is diagnosed in children who fail to develop language in the normal fashion for no apparent reason, while the DCD diagnosis is applied to a child who experiences problems with movement in the absence of other difficulties. Seventy-two children aged betwe en 5 and IX years participated, falling into one of four groups: (1) c hildren with specific language impairment (SLI), (2) children with dev elopmental coordination disorder (DCD), (3) age-matched control childr en, and (4) younger control children. The performance of the clinical groups resembled that of younger normally developing children, Childre n with SLI, DCD, and the younger controls showed significant difficult y on the task requiring the production of familiar, but not unfamiliar postures. The deficit observed in the SLI group is particularly strik ing because it was seen both in those with and those without recognize d motor difficulties.