Using the HandTutor system improves DCD

In the March edition of Res Dev Disabil http://1.usa.gov/eqLKpL Dr. Nakai and his group from Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Japan investigated the relationship between coordination, fine motor movement and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tendencies or intelligence. The group used a Japanese version of the Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) Questionnaire as a screening tool for clumsiness. The group found that DCD, ADHD and children's grades are linked with academic performance improving in line with improvement in fine motor movement ability.
DCD interferes with academic performance and participation in physical activities and psychosocial functions, such as self-esteem, cognition, or emotion, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. DCD is a common pediatric condition and its prevalence is estimated to be 6% worldwide.
The HandTutor system has been shown to improve fine motor movement ability in patients with DCD.

Pediatric Therapists Report Sensory Issues Commonly Mistaken for ADHD and treatment is the therapy and not medication

CHICAGO, Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey from Pathways Awareness http://bit.ly/et8IgA of more than 500 pediatric occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech-language pathologists reports that more than two-thirds (68 percent) evaluated or treated children between 3 and 8 years old who had been previously misidentified with learning disabilities or behavioral issues. Of that two-thirds, an overwhelming majority (90 percent) reported they had seen children with deficits processing and integrating sensory information who had been misidentified as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Members of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the Pediatric Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association (NDTA) participated in the survey.
The HandTutor system is used by occupational therapists to treat development delay and the virtual functional tasks work on the childrens' motor sensory and cognitive movement impairments.

Youngsters with ADHD exhibited more than twice the amount of unintentional extra or "overflow" hand movements

In joint research published in the February edition of Neurology http://bit.ly/dXtqvp Dr. Donald Gilbert, director of the TMS Library at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and colleagues from Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore showed that youngsters with ADHD exhibited more than twice the amount of unintentional extra or "overflow" hand movements ADHD affects about 8 percent of American children, ADHD is a developmental disorder characterized by inattentiveness, impulsiveness and/or hyperactivity. According to recent studies, two-thirds of those with ADHD also struggle with other mental health and developmental conditions such as anxiety and learning disabilities and delay in motor skill development
The HandTutor system can help to improve children's eye hand co-ordination and treat children with fine motor skill problems and improve grip strength and improve functional performance of handwriting and cutting etc. The HandTutor provides active exercises through rehabilitation games that can train and improve the specific deficit in the ability of the child to use the appropriate grip strength thumb and index finger) to hold the pencil or pen. Fine motor training intended to improve this disability needs to work on exercises that teach the child how to balance the strength in the index finger and thumb flexor (closing) and extensor (opening) muscles.