Midline Crossing Behavior in Children with Learning Disabilities
in Adapted Physical Activity QuarterlyClick name to view affiliation
The purpose was to compare children with and without learning disabilities (LD), ages 6–8 years, on midline crossing inhibition (MCI). Participants were 44 children (24 boys and 20 girls) in two groups (LD and non-LD), matched on age and gender. MCI was operationally defined as significantly slower contralateral movement when choice reaction time (CRT) and movement time (MT) performance were examined for ipsilateral, midline, and contralateral tasks with both upper and lower extremities. Participants completed 12 days of tests (30 trials each day) using a protocol developed by Eason and Surburg (1993). A 2 (Group) × 2 (Extremity) × 3 (Direction) repeated measures MANOVA revealed significant difference for each dependent variable. Children with LD displayed MCI, whereas children without LD did not.
Rebecca J. Woodard is with the School of Physical Education at Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306. Paul R. Surburg is with Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405.
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