The present study aimed to quantitatively assess the motor characteristics of children with developmental disabilities—often described as “awkward” or “clumsy”—from the perspective of visuomotor coordination, and to develop educational support tools applicable in real classroom environments. The participants were ten elementary and junior high school students in Japan who had been clinically diagnosed with developmental disabilities and were attending special support schools or classes. Two tasks were employed: (1) a reading-aloud task commonly used in school lessons, and (2) a sequential number-search task. Eye movements during these tasks were recorded using an eye tracker. Fixation locations, durations, and sequences were analyzed and compared with those of five typically developing peers. Furthermore, given that Japanese texts can be written vertically or horizontally, the study examined how text orientation influences eye movement during reading. Results revealed that typically developing students directed their gaze toward upcoming characters prior to vocalization, following the text in an orderly manner. In contrast, students with developmental disabilities exhibited unstable and dispersed gaze behavior, frequently skipping characters and losing their reading position. In the number-search task, typically developing students smoothly identified numbers in order, whereas those with developmental disabilities demonstrated a narrower visual field and required more time to locate the next number. Future work will integrate eye-tracking and video-analysis data to identify “points of difficulty” and develop a practical “support protocol” that can be implemented by teachers without specialized expertise, thereby facilitating inclusive and data-driven educational support.

Authors:
Kotomi Shiota, Waseda University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Kotomi Shiota is a researcherat the Waseda University. She works as an external specialist in special needs schools in Japan. Her research interests include inclusive education and education for people with severe physical and mental disabilities.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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