Relationship between Motor Skills and Intellectual Functioning in Learners with Cerebral Palsy
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study examined how motor skills relate to verbal abstraction, form discrimination, and quantitative concepts in learners with cerebral palsy. The Gross Motor Function Classification System – Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-E&R), the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and an adapted version of the Pictorial Test of Intelligence – Second Edition were applied in assessing the gross motor skills, fine motor skills and the different components of intellectual functioning respectively. A sample size of 32 participants (21 males; 11 females) selected through simple random sampling were involved in the study. The findings of motor skill assessment revealed more than half of the participants scored in the upper echelons (level I and II) of the Gross Motor Function Classification System–Expanded and Revised as well as the Manual Ability Classification System. Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed statistically significant (P < 0.05) positive relationships between gross motor skills and verbal abstraction (r = 0.71), form discrimination (r = 0.62), and quantitative reasoning (r = 0.54). In a similar vein, fine motor skills demonstrated significant associations with verbal abstraction (r = 0.70), form discrimination (r = 0.68), and quantitative reasoning (r = 0.57). The findings have practical implications for inclusive education policy and interventions, particularly in low-resource settings such as Ghana, where context-specific assessment tools and targeted strategies are essential.
Author: Frank Twum
Institution: University of Education, Winneba
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410518647