Impairment of a motor skill in children with spina bifida cystica and hydrocephalus: an exploratory study.

Twenty 7-10 year old children with spina bifida cystica and hydrocephalus and 20 normals matched for age, sex and IQ were compared on a 12-trial target task, first used by Connolly, Brown & Bassett (1968). Analysis of the results, in which particular attention was paid to statistical method and to ways of analysing individual differences, showed a significant impairment in dotting speed in the spina bifida group, although both groups improved with practice. In a second experiment immediately following the first, visual monitoring of this task was restricted. The spina bifida children were initially more affected than the controls but able to recover. The findings are discussed in relation to neurological abnormalities in the spina bifida group.