New Angles on Motor and Sensory Coordination in Learning Disabilities

Abstract

 At the Medical Symposium, held during the 1998 International Conference of the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), researchers, occupational therapists (OT), and clinicians shared their perspectives on how developmental motor and sensory coordination deficits contribute to learning disabilities. Four common themes emerged from the group's efforts. First, vestibulo-cerebellar pathways affect numerous brain regions in ways we are only beginning to appreciate. Second, it is clear that the cerebellum plays a much greater role than previously thought in the planning, shaping, and memory of both motor and higherorder processes. Third, the functional manifestations of vestibular and cerebellar deficits contribute to learning disabilities as well as psychological problems associated with poor self-image. And finally, it is· important to identify balance and coordination deficits very early in life so that individualized intervention programs can be initiated. The following is a brief summary of the presentations that were given at the workshop, including an overview of research funding opportunities from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The report ends with an overview of the roundtable discussion, which was held the following day. It is the sincere hope of its organizers and participants that this workshop will stimulate new interest and research toward further understanding the important role that coordination deficits play in learning disabilities.