Visual-motor integration (VMI) skills, defined as the coordination of fine motor and visual perceptual abilities, are a very good indicator of a child’s overall level of functioning. Research has clearly established that children with intellectual disability (ID) have deficits in VMI skills. This article presents a meta-analytic review of 10 research studies involving 652 children with mild ID for which a VMI skills assessment was also available. We measured the standardized mean difference (Hedges’ g) between scores on VMI tests of these children with mild ID and either typically developing children’s VMI test scores in these studies or normative mean values on VMI tests used by the studies. While mild ID is defined in part by intelligence scores that are two to three standard deviations below those of typically developing children, the standardized mean difference of VMI differences between typically developing children and children with mild ID in this meta-analysis was 1.75 (95% CI [1.11, 2.38]). Thus, the intellectual and adaptive skill deficits of children with mild ID may be greater (perhaps especially due to their abstract and conceptual reasoning deficits) than their relative VMI deficits. We discuss the possible meaning of this relative VMI strength among children with mild ID and suggest that their stronger VMI skills may be a target for intensive academic interventions as a means of attenuating problems in adaptive functioning.

In this paper, a new, serious Kinect-based game for autistic children in Serbia is presented. The main purpose of this game is fine-tuning of motor skills, and performance improvement of basic cognitive tasks through practicing five game categories: Sorting, Math exercises, Catching, Imitation and Seeking. It is a user-friendly game, with colorful interface, approachable for autistic children. Therapists can monitor numerical scores and graphical representation of the results. This way, while the child plays and performs integrated task of motor and cognitive exercises, the therapists can quantitatively and objectively assess child's progress, based on gesture precision, smoothness, repeatability, reflexes, and results from mathematical tasks.

Child engagement refers to the time spent interacting with physical and social environments according to age, abilities, and a situation. The aim of this study is to assess the functioning of children in early childhood routines using engagement assessment instruments relative to the presence of developmental disabilities, age, gender, and parental characteristics within the contexts of preschool and family routines. The sample comprised 150 children aged 3–5 (AS = 4.02, D = 0.78), including typically developing children (N = 49) and children with developmental disabilities (N = 101). To assess the children’s engagement in preschool classrooms, we used the Classroom Measure of Engagement, Independence, and Social Relationships (ClaMEISR), and the Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure was used to assess the children’s engagement in family routines. The results obtained indicate a significantly higher rate of engagement in routines and activities among girls and older children. Parental characteristics associated with children’s engagement included employment and marital status. Children with developmental disabilities, compared to their typically developing peers, had lower levels of engagement in social relationships and functional independence in daily routines. The results indicate that both instruments have a high internal consistency and are thus suitable for future use in the Republic of Serbia.

This study was conducted with the aim to determine the frequency and predictors of problematic mobile phone use in adolescents with mild intellectual disability (MID) and typically developing adolescents (TDA). The sample included 623 TDA and 67 adolescents with MID. The Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale, Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used as primary outcome measures. The percentage of MID and TDA participants with problematic mobile phone use was 11.9% and 9.8% respectively, but there were twice as many participants who belong to the risk group among the participants with MID (20.9%) than among TDA ones (10.2%). Problematic use of mobile phones was related to the number of years of mobile phone usage, more frequent use, female gender, younger age, as well as with a lower level of self-esteem, and a higher level of loneliness. This study showed that almost every third adolescent with MID is having problematic or risky mobile phone use.