Motor proficiency of learners with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Background: Intellectual disabilities refer to a permanent brain condition that interferes with a learner’s ability to perform basic living tasks, academic tasks and social interactions. By observing the motor proficiency levels of these learners, one can determine the extent of a learner’s possible physical motor proficiency barriers.

Objective: To determine the motor proficiency levels of learners with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities using the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2) Brief Form.

Method: This quantitative descriptive study included 46 learners (17 girls and 29 boys) from a Mangaung school for learners with special needs between the ages of 15 and 17 years.

Results: Indicated that 31 learners (67.4%) out of 46 learners identified with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities had a well-below average; 11 learners (23.9%) had a below average and only 4 learners (8.7%) had average motor proficiency levels.

Conclusion: Alarmingly, this indicates that the majority of learners have severe motor difficulties that may reduce these learners’ abilities to perform tasks using gross and fine motor skills. Reported motor proficiency levels can be used as a guide to direct future motor intervention programmes.

Contribution: Timely interventions are central to improving learners’ motor difficulties. This study focused on providing information regarding the motor proficiency levels of South African learners with ID that was not previously explored. This was an attempt to bridge the gap in knowledge pertaining to the use of standardised motor proficiency tests for South African learners with ID.