Gross and fine motor skills of left-handed preschool children.

From a population of 765 preschool children 4-6 years old, 31 children (4.1%) were identified as left-handers. Using the two motor subscales A (gross motor) and D (fine motor) of the Griffiths Test No. II, these children were compared with 31 right-handers, matched for age, sex, and preschool attended. Right-handed children received higher quotients than left-handed on both Griffiths' subscales, with a significant difference only on Scale D. However, the differences between right- and left-handed children arose from the poorer performance of left-handed boys on fine motor tasks (Scale D). These differences could be responsible for learning difficulties that left-handed children face later at school. Such difficulties should be identified as early as possible to facilitate psychoeducational intervention in preschool programs.