Dr Madeleine Portwood conducted assessments of 400 three- to three-and-a-half-year-olds in Durham after noticing more children being referred to her movement difficulties service by Durham County Council. She found that 57 per cent did not achieve the expected levels of movement skills for their age.
Dr Portwood said, 'We found some children were more than six months behind where they should be developmentally. They had difficulty balancing, they couldn't stand on one foot, couldn't run in a straight line. Some of the children were three-and-a-half and had less movement than a two-and-a-half-year-old.'
But only 6 per cent of the children continued to have movement and balance problems after taking part in a 20-week activity programme devised by Dr Portwood.
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