Motor skills in children with strabismus.

Purpose: To assess the extent to which strabismus in children was associated with motor difficulties and to examine which parameters of strabismus were most closely associated with motor development.

Methods: The motor skills of children who were suffering from strabismus, were tested binocularly using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (MABC-2) and compared with the motor performance of monocularly tested healthy controls without any ophthalmologic disease.

Results: A total of 40 children with strabismus (mean, 7.25 ± 3.83 years; 19 females) and 18 controls (mean age, 8.33 ± 5.42 years; 6 females) were tested. According to the MABC-2 test, of the 40, 19 had no motor disability, and 21 were at risk of or already presented significant motor disabilities. Results of the MABC-2 were significantly lower for strabismic children without binocularity compared to those with binocularity (P = 0.002). Lack of binocularity was associated with significantly lower performance for static balance (P = 0.003) as well as for catching tasks (P = 0.042).

Conclusions: Lack of binocularity and stereopsis in children is associated with significant motor skills impairment, in particular for static balance and catching tasks. These results should be confirmed with a larger sample, including older patients, to assess the compensation mechanisms that develop with age and the actual effects of strabismus on overall motor performance.