Evaluation of gross motor abilities and self perception in children with amblyopia

Purpose. The present study evaluates gross motor abilities and self perception about the physical abilities of pre-school children with amblyopia, in comparison to their unaffected peers. Method. Twenty-two children with amblyopia, and 25 children with normal vision, aged 4-7, were included in this study. Gross motor abilities were evaluated by the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children were used to measure physical self perception. Parents completed a questionnaire about everyday situations revolving around the child's balance and posture abilities. Results. Amblyopic children performed significantly worse than the controls according to the MABC subtests and the parents' questionnaire total score. In the scale of perceived competence evaluation the amblyopic children had lower scores in half of the items as well as in the total mean score, but the differences between the groups were not significant. Among the study group, significant correlations were found between several items in the parents' questionnaire and the children's' mean balance score in MABC. Conclusions. Amblyopia may negatively impact children's motor abilities as expressed by the objective measures in daily living, while self perception is less affected.