Iranian Rehabilitation Journal

en Bilateral Coordination and Academic Performance in Children: A Scoping Review کاردرمانی Occupational therapy مروري Reviews <div style="text-align: justify;">Objective: Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between bilateral coordination and academic performance; however, their findings remain inconsistent. This study aimed to review the literature regarding the relationship between bilateral coordination and academic performance in children to identify the populations studied, and summarize the assessment tools employed in current research. Methods: This review followed the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and was reported according to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus for studies published between 2010 and 2025. Keywords and MeSH terms were combined using Boolean operators. Additionally, the first 20 pages of Google Scholar search results were screened by title and abstract to identify relevant studies. Quantitative observational and interventional studies investigating the relationship between bilateral coordination and academic performance in students from preschool to high school age were included. Data were extracted and charted in a structured Excel spreadsheet and analyzed descriptively. Results:Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. In typically developing children, bilateral coordination was found to be significantly associated with basic mathematics skills (numbers, patterns, spatial reasoning) and spelling, while inconsistent associations were observed between bilateral coordination and reading and handwriting outcomes. In children with cerebral palsy or developmental coordination disorder, bilateral coordination was related to writing abilities, and in children with specific learning disorders, greater deficits were noted in those with dyscalculia. The Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2) was the most frequently used assessment tool for bilateral coordination. The small number of included studies and the heterogeneity of outcome measures limited the ability to draw firm conclusions about causality Conclusion:Bilateral coordination appears to play an important role in certain academic skills, particularly basic mathematics and writing performance. Given the inconsistent results regarding higher-level academic abilities, further rigorous research using comprehensive assessment tools and larger samples is recommended and employ longitudinal or interventional designs to better clarify the role of bilateral coordination across specific academic domains. Nonetheless, inconsistencies across existing studies underscore the need for standardized assessment tools and further high-quality research involving larger and more diverse samples.</div> Bilateral Coordination, Bimanual Coordination, Bilateral Integration, Academic Performance, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Handwriting, Children 0 0 http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2657-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mona Ghaffarifard Badkoubeh monaghaffarifrd@gmail.com No Student in Occupational Therapy University of Rehabilitation Sciences and Social Health. Hooshang Mirzaie hooshang_mirzaie@yahoo.com Yes Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Rehabilitation Sciences and Social welfare. Mina Ahmadi Kahjoogh mina_ot5520@yahoo.com No Department of Occupational Therapy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Saeid Fatorehchy saeidfatorehchy@yahoo.com No Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Rehabilitation Sciences and Social welfare.