Developmental coordination disorder

Author(s):  
Christopher Gillberg ◽  
Elisabeth Fernell ◽  
I. Carina Gillberg ◽  
Björn Kadesjö

ADHD is often comorbid with other psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorders, and is associated with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in about half of all cases. Therefore, clinicians who are working with patients with ADHD need to be aware of the very strong association with motor impairment and should be able to diagnose motor control problems. There are evidence-based interventions for DCD, which makes it important for clinicians to be able to provide adequate assessment and early diagnosis. Several well-researched screening instruments are available, in particular the test of motor impairment, the movement assessment battery for children, and the screening devices designed by a Swedish group.

Author(s):  
Nadja Schott ◽  
Nancy Getchell

Background: Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) frequently have difficulties performing gross motor skills such as the overarm throw. Our study examines the differences in both qualitative and quantitative characteristics of overarm throwing for accuracy between typically developing (TD) and children with DCD. Methods: A total of 74 children (36 females/38 males) aged between 7 and 11 years, participated in this study. The authors used the Movement Assessment Battery for Children—second edition to assess motor impairment. In total, 37 (50%) met the criteria for DCD. Each participant completed 10 overarm throws for accuracy at a target. The authors assessed movement quality using the component approach (Roberton & Halverson, 1984) and quantity using target accuracy. Results: The analyses revealed significantly lower throwing accuracy in DCD versus TD children. Children with DCD also demonstrated fewer component combinations and lower developmental levels than their TD peers. Finally, product scores tracked with process scores. Discussion: Both qualitative and quantitative measures clearly showed that children with DCD are at a disadvantage in controlling a ball during overarm throwing. They used stability profiles that limited coordination variability. TD participants performed more combinations of higher developmental levels to achieve more accurate throws, suggesting they controlled variability to optimize the accuracy of their throws.


2008 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 457-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Liang Tsai ◽  
Sheng-Kuang Wu

The study explored the relations of visual perceptual deficits and motor impairments in 60 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (120.8 ± 4.0 mo.) and 60 controls (121.0 ± 5.3 mo.), who were matched by sex (29 boys and 31 girls) and age. They were separately assessed on fine and gross motor-dexterity tasks of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, static balance and reaction time of lower extremities with eyes open or closed, and the Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills–Revised. Analysis showed the children with Developmental Coordination Disorder performed significantly worse than the control group, but only the visual perception and motor skills with timed responses were significantly correlated. When visual information was controlled, no significant correlation was noted, so motor-free visual perception appears to be significantly related to motor performance having a speed component in these children.


2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-680
Author(s):  
Carlos Norberto Fischer ◽  
Pedro Henrique de Carvalho Teixeira ◽  
Marcela de Castro Ferracioli ◽  
Cynthia Yukiko Hiraga ◽  
Ana Maria Pellegrini

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a chronic and usually permanent condition found in children, is characterized by motor impairment that interferes with a child's activities of daily living and with academic achievement. One of the most popular tests for the quantitative diagnosis of DCD is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Based on the Battery's standardized scores, it is possible to identify children with typical development, children at risk of developing DCD, and children with DCD. This article describes a computational system we developed to assist with the analysis of results obtained in the MABC test. The tool was developed for the web environment and its database provides integration of MABC data. Thus, researchers around the world can share data and develop collaborative work in the DCD field. In order to help analysis processes, our system provides services for filtering data to show more specific sets of information and present the results in textual, table, and graphic formats, allowing easier and more comprehensive evaluation of the results.


2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Dunford ◽  
Cheryl Missiuna ◽  
Eddy Street ◽  
Jo Sibert

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have a motor impairment that affects their ability to perform everyday tasks. Although severity of motor impairment can be measured, methods for assessing the perceived impact of DCD on daily activities have not been established. The purpose of this study was to use a child-focused approach to understand children's views of the impact of DCD on the activities that they perform daily. Children aged 5–10 years, referred with coordination difficulties to occupational therapists, were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children: children who received scores below the 15th percentile were included. The Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting System (PEGS), a pictorial scale validated as a method for engaging children with disabilities, was administered to examine the children's perceptions of their competence in performing everyday activities and to identify goals for therapy. Parent and teacher concerns were collected by a questionnaire. The children, parents and teachers shared many concerns about the impact of DCD on physical tasks and on academic activities such as handwriting. The children expressed additional concerns, however, about their ability to perform daily self-care tasks and leisure activities, which were rarely recognised by the adults. Children require specialised methods to enable them to express their views and the PEGS appears to be suitable for this purpose.


2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (9) ◽  
pp. 1221-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuschka S Niemeijer ◽  
Marina M Schoemaker ◽  
Bouwien CM Smits-Engelsman

Abstract Background and Purpose. Physical therapists' teaching skills often are disregarded in research studies. We examined whether the use of different teaching principles during neuromotor task training was associated with treatment effects. Subjects. Nineteen children (mean age=7 years 5 months, range=5–10 years) who had developmental coordination disorder and who performed below the 15th percentile on the age-related Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) and 11 physical therapists participated in the study. Methods. One intervention session for each child was videotaped. The frequency of the use of principles included in the motor teaching principles taxonomy (Niemeijer et al, 2003) was correlated with changes in motor performance on the M-ABC and the second edition of the Test of Gross Motor Development. Results. Providing clues on how to perform a task, asking children about a task, and explaining why a movement should be executed in a certain way were related to better movement performance. Discussion and Conclusion. Teaching principles may be associated with success in therapeutic situations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alretha Du Plessis ◽  
Monique De Milander ◽  
Frederik F. Coetzee ◽  
Mariette Nel

Background: Early identification of learners in low socio-economic environments with possible developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is important. Although various screening tools are available, it is unclear whether teachers can use the movement assessment battery for children - second edition checklist (MABC-2 checklist) to identify learners with possible DCD.Aim: To establish teachers’ ability to identify Grade 1 learners in low socio-economic environments with possible DCD.Setting: The study was conducted in the Mangaung Metro, Motheo District of the Free State Province, South Africa. Grade 1 learners aged 6–8 years (n = 200) from a low socio-economic environment attending quintile one to three schools were randomly selected for assessment. Twenty-nine teachers participated in the study.Methods: Kinderkineticists identified learners with possible DCD (displaying motor skills far below the child’s age) by means of the MABC-2 performance test. The teachers used the MABC-2 checklist to identify possible DCD. The convergent validity of the MABC-2 performance test and checklist was compared.Results: The convergent validity between the MABC-2 performance test and the MABC-2 checklist indicated a kappa (k) coefficient of 0.17, indicating a slight agreement between the performance test and the checklist. Overall, the specificity was 58% (105/180), and the sensitivity was 85% (17/20).Conclusion: Teachers could effectively identify learners with possible DCD. However, they demonstrated a low ability to identify learners without possible DCD when using the MABC-2 checklist. It is therefore recommended that the performance test should be used in conjunction with the checklist to obtain the most reliable results.


Author(s):  
Eric Taylor

This chapter describes disorders of motor control, language, and learning. Tics are sudden, stereotyped, repetitive, unwanted movements, and a severe form is called Tourette disorder. Their strong association with obsessional disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is described. Developmental coordination disorder is a group of problems suggesting immaturity in control, both of fine adjustments and of large movements of the limbs. Impairments of language development include receptive, expressive, and pragmatic problems, and can extend to signed language. Problems in learning to read and write and acquire other skills needed for school learning are very frequent in the population. Neuropsychological formulations have been influential in guiding policy and practice in schools. Generalized learning difficulties are conceptualized as intellectual disability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjana Narayan Bhat

Abstract Background Motor impairments are pervasive in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); however, children with ASD rarely receive a dual diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The Simons Foundation SPARK study engaged families affected by ASD through an online study. Objectives The DCD parent questionnaire (DCDQ) was used to assess the prevalence of a risk for motor impairment or DCD in children with ASD between 5 and 15 years of age. Design This study utilizes parent reports from a large database of children with ASD. Methods A total of 16,705 parents of children with ASD completed the DCDQ. We obtained our final SPARK dataset (n = 11,814) after filtering out invalid data, using stronger cut-offs to confirm ASD traits, and excluding children with general neuromotor impairments/intellectual delays. We compared DCDQ total and subscale scores from the SPARK dataset with published norms for each age between 5 and 15 years. Results The proportion of children with ASD at risk for a motor impairment was very high at 86.9%. Children with ASD did not outgrow their motor impairments and continued to present with a risk for DCD even into adolescence. Yet, only 31.6% of children were receiving physical therapy services. Limitations Our analysis of a large database of parent-reported outcomes using the DCDQ did not involve follow-up clinical assessments. Conclusions Using a large sample of children with ASD, this study shows that a risk for motor impairment or DCD was present in most children with ASD and persists into adolescence; however, only a small proportion of children with ASD were receiving physical therapist interventions. A diagnosis of ASD must trigger motor screening, evaluations, and appropriate interventions by physical and occupational therapists to address the functional impairments of children with ASD while also positively impacting their social communication, cognition, and behavior. Using valid motor measures, future research must determine if motor impairment is a fundamental feature of ASD.


2019 ◽  
pp. 135910531987825
Author(s):  
Tatiane Targino Gomes Draghi ◽  
Jorge Lopes Cavalcante Neto ◽  
Eloisa Tudella

We examined whether reported higher frequencies of anxiety and depression symptoms are related to the presence of developmental coordination disorder in school-age Brazilian children. A total of 272 children were assigned to six groups according to age and motor performance. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition evaluated the motor performance. The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and the Child Depression Inventory assessed anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. Brazilian children are at high risk for anxiety, regardless of motor performance and age. However, children with developmental coordination disorder report significantly more depressive symptomatology in 10–12 years compared to typically developing children.


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