Motor, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Skills Among Children With Disabilities Over Time

Abstract

Preschoolers demonstrate rapid growth in motor, cognitive, and socioemotional (SE) skills. The Early Childhood Longitude Study–Birth Cohort was used to investigate the discrepancy in fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, and SE skills between children with and without disabilities. Findings indicated that, compared with typically developing children (TDC), children with disabilities (CWD) have (a) significant discrepancies in preschool and kindergarten among these skills, (b) an increased discrepancy in fine motor and cognitive skills from preschool to kindergarten, (c) the largest gaps in gross motor skills at preschool and kindergarten, and (d) no significant change in SE gaps from preschool to kindergarten. The findings provide evidence to support the discrepancies in motor, cognitive, and SE skills between CWD and TDC that occur as early as preschool, and that these discrepancies are not getting smaller as children enter kindergarten.