PURPOSE: to describe and compare the fine motor coordination performance of students with dyslexia and with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. METHOD: the study included 22 elementary school students of both genders, aged from 6 to 11-year old, divided into: GI: 11 students with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder and GII: 11 students with dyslexia. For the procedure, tests of fine motor skills from the Motor Development Scale were applied. RESULTS: the results showed a statistically significant difference between the fine motor age and chronological age of the students at GI and GII. According to the classification of the Motor Development Scale, 90% of students from GI and GII demonstrated fine motor development much lower than expected for their age, 10% of the students with dyslexia demonstrated low normal development as for the expected value according to age and 10% of students with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder demonstrated inferior development than what is expect for their age. CONCLUSION: we concluded that both students with dyslexia and with ADHD in this study show a delay in fine motor coordination, demonstrating that the participants of this research have difficulties in tasks that require dexterity, characteristic condition of the coordination development disorder. Additional studies are being conducted by the authors of this study in order to ascertain and to check if the fine motor profiles of students in this study is similar or differ according to their condition.
Motor Skills; Dyslexia; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
