Alberta Innovates- Health Solutions

Dr. Deborah Dewey at the University of Calgary, with her training in psychology and kinesiology and experiences working with people with physical and mental problems, observed that children with certain types of motor-planning problems usually had specific problems with language-based activities.

“By motor-planning problems, I mean children who have difficulty coming up with the concept for an action. For example, when asked to mime brushing their hair, most kids will pretend there is a comb or brush in their hand. Children with language-development problems may pretend their finger or hand is the comb. Most of us don't have to think about how we would do a simple action. These kids have difficulties at that basic level.”

They also have difficulties with other motor skills, such as

• playing sports
• learning to ride a bike
• writing

Dr. Dewey and Dr. Bonnie Kaplan's (also a psychologist at the University of Calgary) research found a 30% association between children with motor problems and reading problems. Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) also have a 30% occurrence of motor problems.

The root causes of language- and motor-development problems are not known. “These development problems are not indicative of mental illness, although the frustration of trying to cope can lead to depression or anxiety. Research is the only way we can hope to understand the cause and to develop new and better therapies to help these children reach their potential,” says Dr. Dewey.

This study is only one aspect of Dr. Dewey's work.

• With Dr. Kaplan, she has completed a study on memory with ADHD children and those with ADHD and a reading disability

• With Dr. Reg Sauvé, she measured how infants take in information and if that can predict later language and thinking skills

• Another project studies the relationship between neurological development and social development in autistic children

• With Dr. Danielle Pacaud, she looks at the psycholosocial development of young adults with juvenile diabetes compared with those with asthma and those who are healthy

• She plans to assess genetic counselling services from the viewpoint of client satisfaction

• With Dr. François Bernier, she conducts a follow-up study on children diagnosed in the womb with a type of brain cyst. “We want to see if there are delays in the language and motor development of these children compared to children who do not have these cysts.”

For more information on ADHD, check the