Motor Competence between Children with and without Additional Learning Needs: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level Study
Amie B. Richards,
Harriet G. Barker,
Emily Williams,
Nils Swindell,
Kelly A. Mackintosh,
Richard Tyler,
Lucy J. Griffiths,
Lawrence Foweather,
Gareth Stratton
Affiliations
Amie B. Richards
Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Harriet G. Barker
Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Emily Williams
Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Nils Swindell
Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Kelly A. Mackintosh
Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Richard Tyler
Health Research Institute, Movement Behaviours, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group, Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk L39 4QP, UK
Lucy J. Griffiths
Population Data Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Lawrence Foweather
Physical Activity Exchange, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 2EX, UK
Gareth Stratton
Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
The aim of this study was to examine associations in motor competence between children with additional learning needs (ALN) and typically developing children. This cross-sectional study involved a nationally representative cohort of 4555 children (48.98% boys; 11.35 ± 0.65 years) from sixty-five schools across Wales (UK). Demographic data were collected from schools, and children were assessed using the Dragon Challenge assessment of motor competence, which consists of nine tasks completed in a timed circuit. A multi-nominal multi-level model with random intercept was fitted to explore the proficiency between children with ALN and those without. In all nine motor competence tasks, typically developing children demonstrated higher levels of proficiency than their peers with ALN, with these associations evident after accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This study highlights motor competence inequalities at a population level and emphasises the need for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to prioritise motor competence development, particularly for children with ALN.
