Do Children with High Intellectual Potential have an Early Motor Development and What is the Impact on IQ Profile?

Author(s): Soukaina Hamdioui, Adriano Cannafarina, Laurence Vaivre-Douret

Objective: The neuropsychomotor development in children with high intellectual potential (HIP, IQ>130) remains poorly studied. We aimed to explore their developmental trajectory of motor milestones and anamnestic data regarding their IQ profile.

Methods: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC-V), health record, and anamnestic questionnaires were analyzed in 68 healthy children (50 HIP/18 neurotypical), aged 6-13 years-old (mean 10y; SD 2.2). Fifty HIP-children were involved in intra-group analysis. Two groups were matched: 18 neurotypical (90130) random children.

Results: Significant-negative correlations were shown in the whole sample between full IQ and sitting (7 months) (r=-0.32, p=0.01, [95%CI=-0.52 to-0.09]), walking (12 months) (r=-0.30, p=0.03, [95%CI=-0.51 to-0.01], and the first sentences (18 months) (r=-0.60, p<0.001, [95%CI= -0.71 to-0.39]); with significant high rate of earlier development in HIP compared to neurotypical-children. Verbal-Comprehension-Index (VCI) was significantly higher in heterogenous profile while Visual-Spatial-Index (VSI), Fluid-Reasoning-Index (FRI), Working-Memory-Index (WMI), Processing-Speed-Index (PSI), were significantly higher in homogenous profile. Significant correlations (p<0.05) were shown between VSI, WMI, PSI and clumsiness in daily life activities, games and scholar abilities explaining 41% of the variance in the heterogenous profile of HIP-children.

Conclusion: An early motor development was found in HIP compared to neurotypical-children. We displayed an important part of the heterogeneous profile, highlighting the DSM-5 criteria of a developmental coordination-disorder which is early tracked down with significant difficulties impacting on daily life activities, games and scholar abilities. The findings underline the importance that clinicians analyze the variability of the index scores in the IQ prof