A Comparison of the Motor Skills of Young People in a Youth Detention Centre with Diagnosed Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, and a Reference Population

Materials and Methods: Participants completed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2), Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) including its associated subtests, and a handwriting screen. Results: Ninety-nine young people (n=47 PAE; n= 36 FASD) with a mean age of 16 years were assessed. There was an association between a FASD diagnosis and lower scores on the VMI (p=0.005). Participants with FASD and PAE had higher impairment levels on the VMI compared to the No-PAE group. Mean MABC-2 scores were within age expected levels across all groups. More fine motor skill difficulties were observed compared to gross motor skill difficulties. Handwriting skills were below age expected levels in 84% of participants. Those in the PAE and FASD groups had more difficulty with letter formations and spatial awareness. Conclusions: Visual motor integration and handwriting skills were often impaired in this population. Lower VMI scores were more prevalent in participants diagnosed with FASD, and therefore should be routinely assessed as part of a diagnostic assessment. Assessment of fine and gross motor skills enabled recommendations for intervention support that address deficits and build upon strengths. Further research is needed to confirm these results using larger populations, and to investigate possible confounding factors associated with high VMI and handwriting difficulties in this population.