PILOT EVALUATION OF A MOTOR PROGRAMME AIMED AT SUPPORTING MOTOR PERFORMANCE IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WITH DYSPRAXIA

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a pilot evaluation of a motor programme designed to support the development of motor competencies and motor performance in preschool children with dyspraxia. The programme was developed as a systematically structured intervention aimed at strengthening selected basic motor skills and supporting successful participation in movement activities. The research sample consisted of five preschool-aged boys with dyspraxia who participated in the programme over a three-month period, with three intervention sessions per week. Selected motor competencies were assessed before and after the intervention using seven motor tasks focusing on locomotor skills, jumping abilities, and balance. The results indicated a positive change in the performance of all five participants. The mean total score increased from 15.4 points at baseline to 25.8 points at post-intervention assessment. The greatest improvement was observed in hopping on the right leg and in two-foot jumping tasks. Due to the very small sample size and the ordinal nature of the assessment, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare baseline and post-intervention scores. All five participants demonstrated a positive direction of change in the total score. The two-tailed test yielded p = 0.0625, which did not reach statistical significance at the α = 0.05 level. Given the directional hypothesis of improvement following the intervention, the one-tailed test yielded p = 0.03125. The calculated effect size was r = 0.84, indicating a very large effect. The findings suggest a positive trend in the development of the assessed motor competencies and provide preliminary support for the potential of a systematically structured motor programme to enhance the motor performance of preschool children with dyspraxia. However, due to the pilot nature of the study and the very small sample size, the findings should be interpreted with caution and further investigated in a larger sample.