Group composed of 21 children and adolescents aged between 9 and 19 years old, treated by hemodialysis in two hospitals of Belo Horizonte. Just in case of some evidence of difference in the results within group A, because of the two types of dialysis (via fistula or catheter), this group can be subdivided in subgroups A1 (n=10) and A2 (n=11), respectively.

Group A was already on hemodialysis, the intervention was not performed by the researcher. Our goal was only to evaluate some characteristics of these individuals.

Group composed of 21 children and adolescents matching age and gender for the Group A participants. The individuals were recruited in schools of Belo Horizonte.

The manual functioning of upper limbs were assessed by the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test, a standardized test composed by manual tasks based on daily activities. The test is divided into seven sub-tests: (1) writing, (2) flipping cards, (3) small objects lifting, (4) spoon usage, (5) blocks stacking, (6) large and lightweight objects lifting, and (7) large and heavy objects lifting.

The Semmes Weinstein monofilaments test was used to evaluate the skin threshold sensitivity. In this test, the damage to the skin sensitivity is classified in colors. The eyes are blindfolded and the nylon monofilaments are applied to the hands of participants until the touch is felt in the dermatomes, regarding the distribution of the ulnar, median and radial.

The handedness setting was defined by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory,