Evaluation of Motor Skills in Children with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome.
RTS brings big visuomotor delays that rise and fall with cognitive level—plan tasks one step below the child’s mental age.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cazalets et al. (2017) watched kids with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) copy shapes and trace lines.
They scored how well the kids matched the model and kept the pencil on track.
What they found
The RTS group made far more errors than same-age peers.
The worse the child scored on IQ tests, the shakier the visuomotor performance.
How this fits with other research
Freeman et al. (2015) saw the same IQ-motor link in Down syndrome, and Alaimo et al. (2015) found huge visual-motor gaps in Prader-Willi syndrome.
Faso et al. (2016) showed Williams syndrome plateau at a five-year-old level, echoing RTS results.
All four rare-ID papers paint the same picture: visuomotor skills lag far behind age norms.
Why it matters
If you work with a child who has RTS, expect drawing, writing, and cutting to be tough. Start with thick pencils, raised-line paper, and hand-over-hand guidance. Track both IQ and motor scores so you can set goals that fit the child’s level, not their age.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) is a rare genetic disease that associates intellectual disability with somatic characteristics. We have conducted a study of the overall motor abilities of RTS participants. Static postural performance as well as gait parameters were somewhat decreased, although not significantly compared to typically developing (TD) participants. In contrast, the motor skills requiring a high level of visuomotor coordination were considerably degraded in RTS participants compared to TD participants. We also found that cognitive status was significantly correlated with performance for tasks requiring a higher level of visuomotor coordination in RTS but not TD participants. Our study demonstrates a reduction in the motor performance of RTS participants and a link between the level of intellectual disability and motor capacities.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2017 · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3259-1