Evaluation of the Relationship Between Fine Motor Skills and Demographic Indices in Students With Hearing Impairment

Purpose: Human hands, thanks to their fine movements, are efficient tools to work, play, and do daily life activities, especially in students with specific requirements such as the ones with hearing impairment. Methods: Thirty-two students (14 males and 18 females) with hearing impairment with the mean age of 8.43 years participated in the current research. The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted in a cross-sectional format using convenience sampling method. The research tools included demographic questionnaire, the Conners scale, and Purdue pegboard test. The data were analyzed by SPSS 23, and the results were evaluated based on mean value comparison tests for 2 groups (2 independent samples T-Test), and also more than 2 groups (ANOVA). Results: Average (SD) scores of different parameters were obtained as follows: speed of dominant hand, 6.67(1.20); speed of non-dominant hand, 4.81(1.42); coordination of hands, 1.34(2.96); hand skill, 14.48(3.64), and assembly, 8.26(5.31). Gender, handedness, and cause of hearing impairment did not play a significant role in the acquired scores of the hand skills (P>005). Average scores of both hands’ skill was significantly different between the rural and urban groups (P=0.013), and the average score acquired for hand skill in the rural group was higher than that of the urban group. Also, concerning the relationship between the parents’ education and hand skill, a significant relationship was observed between the mothers’ education and the students’ hand skills (P=0.006). Conclusion: The effects of mothers’ education and living place on fine motor movement were more significant than the other causes such as hearing impairment, handedness, and gender. Therefore, the necessity of rehabilitation and instructional interventions of fine (delicate) hand movements is emphasized for hand performance improvement in daily life activities, education, as well as ambient and recreational experiences.