Relationship between Motor Skills and Intellectual Functioning in Learners with Cerebral Palsy

This study examined how motor skills relate to verbal abstraction, form discrimination, and quantitative concepts in learners with cerebral palsy. The Gross Motor Function Classification System – Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-E&R), the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and an adapted version of the Pictorial Test of Intelligence – Second Edition were applied in assessing the gross motor skills, fine motor skills and the different components of intellectual functioning respectively. A sample size of 32 participants (21 males; 11 females) selected through simple random sampling were involved in the study. The findings of motor skill assessment revealed more than half of the participants scored in the upper echelons (level I and II) of the Gross Motor Function Classification System–Expanded and Revised as well as the Manual Ability Classification System. Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed statistically significant (P < 0.05) positive relationships between gross motor skills and verbal abstraction (r = 0.71), form discrimination (r = 0.62), and quantitative reasoning (r = 0.54). In a similar vein, fine motor skills demonstrated significant associations with verbal abstraction (r = 0.70), form discrimination (r = 0.68), and quantitative reasoning (r = 0.57). The findings have practical implications for inclusive education policy and interventions, particularly in low-resource settings such as Ghana, where context-specific assessment tools and targeted strategies are essential.