Certain research on the development of motor skills of children with hearing impairment shows that their abilities are not age-appropriate, although they have the same basis for development as hearing children. Education of children with hearing impairments is predominantly focused on hearing and speech rehabilitation, while activities related to music and sports are mostly neglected. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of musical-rhythmic stimulation on the development of selected motor skills of children with hearing impairment aged six to fifteen. For this purpose, a special music and dance program of workshops for 26 children with hearing impairments (12 boys and 14 girls) was created for the period of four and a half months. At the beginning of the program implementation, the initial measurement of body coordination and speed of movement was performed, and the final measurement through five standardized tests at the end. The paired samples t-test was used to analyze the effects of applied musical-rhythmic and dance stimulations. The results of the research indicated certain statistically significant differences in the ability to coordinate the body and speed of movement, i.e. that the program of music and dance workshops has a positive effect on the development of selected motor skills in children with hearing impairment.

Određena istraživanja o razvoju motoričkih sposobnosti djece s oštećenjem sluha pokazuju da njihove sposobnosti nisu u skladu s dobi iako imaju iste osnove za razvoj kao i čujuća djeca. Edukacija djece s oštećenjem sluha dominantno je usmjerena na rehabilitaciju sluha i govora, a aktivnosti vezane za glazbu i sport uglavnom su zanemarene. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati učinke glazbeno-ritmičkih stimulacija na razvoj odabranih motoričkih sposobnosti djece s oštećenjem sluha u dobi od šest do petnaest godina. Zbog toga je kreiran poseban glazbeno-plesni program radionica za 26 djece s oštećenjem sluha (12 dječaka i 14 djevojčica) u trajanju od četiri i pol mjeseca. Na početku realizacije programa provedeno je inicijalno mjerenje koordinacije tijela i brzine pokreta te po završetku finalno mjerenje kroz pet standardiziranih testova. Za analizu efekata primijenjenih glazbeno-ritmičkih i plesnih stimulacija korišten je t-test za završne uzorke (paired samples test). Rezultati su istraživanja ukazali na određene statistički značajne razlike u sposobnostima koordinacije tijela i brzine pokreta, odnosno da program glazbeno-plesnih radionica ima pozitivan učinak na razvoj odabranih motoričkih sposobnosti kod djece s oštećenjem sluha.

Throughout most of history, children with hearing impairments were on the margins of society. Because of their place in society, research about the possibility of music perception and engaging actively as a professional musician and dancer, started at the end of the 20th century. Although that progress started at the end of the 20th century, children with hearing impairments from Bosnia and Herzegovina don't have enough support of educational system which could include them in art education. This situation we can especially see in field of music and dance, which are very hard for adjustment because of their sensory impairment. To prove that children with hearing impairments can perceive music and improve their motor ability with the help of dance which is not at their age level, we created a special educational program which consists of music-dance workshops, where the main goal is to improve body coordination and speed of movement with music-rhythmic stimulations and dance. In this program, which last four and half months, we included 14 girls with hearing impairments from eleven to fifteen years of life. At the beginning of this program, we performed initial measurement of body coordination and movement speed, and at the end of this four-and-a-half-months long program, we performed final measurement through five standard tests: Eight with banding (MKOS), Steps aside (MKKS), Envelope test (MKKT), Slalom with three medical balls (MKS3M) and Long jump backwards (MKSUU). For effect analysis of applying musical-rhythmic stimulation, we used t-test for final samples (paired samples test). The results of this research are showing us that there is statistically significant difference in ability of body coordination and movement speed and that this musical-dance workshop program has positive impact on development of chosen motor ability.