Abstract
Objectives Visuomotor ability is a crucial aspect of everyday life, such as writing and throwing or catching a ball, and is the basis of how we interact with the world. The current study explored the association between binocular vision and motor ability using standardized clinical tests. It was hypothesized that, poorer motor skill performance would be associated with reduced visual function.
Methodology Seventy typically developing children aged 7-14 years (mean 10.0 years, SD 2.1years, 30 males) were tested. Study protocol included standardized testing for binocular vision (visual acuity, stereoacuity, fusional vergence, vergence facility, phoria, fixation disparity, accommodation amplitude, accommodative facility), motor ability (Movement Assessment Battery for Children – 2nd Edition – MABC-2), visuomotor integration (Beery-Buktenica Test for Visuomotor Integration – Beery-VMI) and an experimental eye-hand coordination task which involved a bead threading task.
Results were within the expected age range for both the Beery-VMI and MABC-2; however, the manual dexterity subtest of the MABC-2 showed children performed outside one standard deviation of the expected norm. Correlation analysis adjusted for age revealed a significant association between binocular accommodative facility and the manual dexterity scores (ρ= -0.32, p=0.017). Kinematic analysis of the eyehand coordination task demonstrated a significant age-related improvement in the efficiency of object manipulation.
Conclusion Study findings support a moderate association between accommodative function and fine motor skills performance in children. The results of this study aim to establish a better understanding between binocular vision and motor function and how each develop concurrently.