Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is characterized by a significant delay in the acquisition and execution of motor skills, impacting children's daily activities and school performance. The ...most recent prevalence estimates indicate that this disorder affects between 5 and 6% of school-age children. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of investigating the prevalence of DCD in different Brazilian regions.
To explore the prevalence of risk for DCD and probable DCD in children aged 6 to 10 years from two Brazilian regions.
199 children aged 6 to 10 years old from public schools in the South (n=89) and Southeast (n=108) regions of Brazil participated in this cross-sectional study. Parents/guardians signed the informed consent form under ethics approval. For screening and identification of alterations in motor function, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2) was used, following all the criteria for the diagnosis of DCD recommended in the literature. The assessment was conducted in schools by trained professionals with experience in motor assessment. Prevalence of risk (≤15% percentile) and probable DCD (≤5% percentile) in both regions was calculated and analyzed descriptively. MABC-2 total scores and component scores were compared by region using t-tests, with a significance level of 5%.
The sample of this study consisted of 54.3% girls with a mean age of 7.95 (± 1.34) years and 45.7% boys with 7.88 (± 1.47) years. There were no differences between the mean age and sex distribution of participants between regions. No differences were found between regions in the total MABC-2 scores (p= 0.28). When analyzing the components of the instrument, the regions showed differences in the following domains: Manual Dexterity (p= 0.002), Aiming and Catching (p=0.01) and Balance (p= 0.01). It was observed that in the Balance component score, children from the South region had higher average scores compared to children from the Southeast region. Children from the Southeast region had higher average scores compared to children from the Southern region in Aiming and Catching and Manual Dexterity. In children from the Southern region of Brazil, 10.1% of the participants had probable DCD and 18% were at risk for DCD. Therefore, 71.9% had a typical motor development. A higher prevalence was found in the Southeast region, with 27.3% of children with probable DCD, 7.3% risk and 65.5% with typical motor performance.
The prevalence of DCD and the scores of children in specific motor domains were different across South and Southeast regions of the country. Thus, exploring other contextual factors that may have contributed to these findings is warranted.
The present study made progress towards identifying differences in the motor profile of children from two different regions of the country. Collecting representative data from other regions of the country will help to understand possible variations in motor performance according to the context where the child is inserted.
The most common neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., developmental dyslexia (DD), autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)) have been the subject of numerous neuroimaging studies, ...leading to certain brain regions being identified as neural correlates of these conditions, referring to a neural signature of disorders. Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), however, remains one of the least understood and studied neurodevelopmental disorders. Given the acknowledged link between motor difficulties and brain features, it is surprising that so few research studies have systematically explored the brains of children with DCD. The aim of the present review was to ascertain whether it is currently possible to identify a neural signature for DCD, based on the 14 magnetic resonance imaging neuroimaging studies that have been conducted in DCD to date. Our results indicate that several brain areas are unquestionably linked to DCD: cerebellum, basal ganglia, parietal lobe, and parts of the frontal lobe (medial orbitofrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). However, research has been too sparse and studies have suffered from several limitations that constitute a serious obstacle to address the question of a well-established neural signature for DCD.
Although motor problems are highly prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), they remain underdiagnosed. Questionnaire-based screening for motor problems could optimize current ...clinical practice. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the developmental coordination disorder questionnaire (DCDQ) to screen for co-occurring motor problems in individuals with ASD (n = 115; aged 5–15 years). Results indicated an excellent internal consistency; concurrent and discriminant validity with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, second edition. Sensitivity was excellent, but specificity was lower. The positive and negative predictive values indicate that the DCDQ can be used to detect motor problems in children with ASD and can exclude the presence of developmental coordination disorder.
Previous studies have shown that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)/Dyspraxia have poorer maths performance compared to their neurotypical (NT) counterparts. However, no studies ...have explored the cognitive and emotional factors affecting the maths performance of adults with DCD. This study, therefore, investigated the role of working memory (WM), maths anxiety (MAS), and maths self-efficacy on the maths performance of adults with DCD. We found that adults with DCD had lower WM and maths performance and were more maths anxious than their NT peers. However, there were no significant differences in maths self-efficacy. When looking at the predictors of maths performance, we found a positive relationship between WM resources and the DCD maths performance, possibly indicating that they relied more on WM resources to perform simple mental arithmetic tasks than NTs. On the other hand, MAS had an inverse relationship with the NT maths performance but not with the DCD performance. The reasons and implications of these findings will be discussed.
•Adults with DCD had lower working memory (WM) and maths performance than neurotypical (NT) peers.•Adults with DCD were more anxious about maths compared to NTs.•There were no significant differences in maths self-efficacy.•We found a positive relationship between WM resources and the DCD maths performance.•Maths anxiety (MAS) had an inverse relationship with the NT maths performance.
Motor difficulties associated with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are frequently apparent before the accepted diagnostic age of 5. Tools to support identification of DCD markers would ...allow provision of early intervention to reduce negative sequelae.
Establish psychometric properties and define preliminary cut-off scores for the Brazilian Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire - Brazil (LDCDQ-BR).
Parents of 3- and 4-year-old children (n = 312; 154 girls) from Belo Horizonte/MG, Brazil, completed the LDCDQ-BR, the Brazil Economic Classification Criterion and a demographic questionnaire. One sub-set of children (n = 119) was assessed with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children–2nd Edition; another sub-set (n = 77) completed the LDCDQ-BR a second time.
Rasch analysis indicated good item functioning with only one erratic item, suggesting unidimensionality. Item calibration reliability was excellent (0.97), children’s measures reliability was low (0.72), but implying separation of 2.46 motor ability levels. Significant, low correlations were found between the LDCDQ-BR and MABC-2 (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). Test-retest reliability was 0.77 (total score) and 0.44–0.78 (individual items). ROC curve analysis revealed sensitivity of 68% at a cut-off score of 64.
The LDCDQ-BR shows promising psychometric properties to support early identification of DCD.
•Rasch analysis was used to examine the measurement properties of the LDCDQ-BR.•Items were easy, but fit the Rasch model, suggesting unidimensionality.•Total score was valid, but subcategory scores were not.•The items discriminate two levels of motor ability.•Total score ≤ 64 suggests possible DCD in 3 and 4 years old Brazilian children.
The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) has been used to screen children who probably have developmental coordination disorder (DCD).
We systematically reviewed studies on the ...predictive validity of the DCDQ and performed a meta-analysis on its diagnostic accuracy.
Literature was searched through four electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. A total of 27 studies was selected based on the inclusion criteria. The sensitivity and specificity of the DCDQ were assessed using summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curves. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to the DCDQ type, reference standard, and participant type.
Overall, the DCDQ has a sensitivity of 0.70 and a specificity of 0.77, showing moderate diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve, 0.80). Subgroup analysis showed that the revised version of the DCDQ had higher diagnostic accuracy than the original version. When the reference standard was the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the sensitivity and specificity of the DCDQ were 0.87 and 0.83, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy was higher in clinical samples compared to the general population.
This study demonstrated that the DCDQ has adequate diagnostic accuracy, suggesting it can help screen children with motor skill deficits.
•Systematic review and meta-analysis examine the diagnostic accuracy of the DCDQ.•DCDQ shows appropriate sensitivity and specificity, especially based on the DSM.•DCDQ07 shows stronger psychometric properties than the original DCDQ.•Clinical samples have better diagnostic accuracy compared to the general population.
Millions of children are impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), which unfold early in life, have varying genetic etiologies and can involve a variety of specific or generalized impairments ...in social, cognitive and motor functioning requiring potentially lifelong specialized supports. While specific disorders vary in their domain of primary deficit (e.g. autism spectrum disorder (social), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (attention), developmental coordination disorder (motor) and developmental language disorder (language)), comorbidities between NDDs are common. Intriguingly, many NDDs are associated with difficulties in skills related to rhythm, timing and synchrony though specific profiles of rhythm/timing impairments vary across disorders. Impairments in rhythm/timing may instantiate vulnerabilities for a variety of NDDs and may contribute to both the primary symptoms of each disorder as well as the high levels of comorbidities across disorders. Drawing upon genetic, neural, behavioural and interpersonal constructs across disorders, we consider how disrupted rhythm and timing skills early in life may contribute to atypical developmental cascades that involve overlapping symptoms within the context of a disorder's primary deficits. Consideration of the developmental context, as well as common and unique aspects of the phenotypes of different NDDs, will inform experimental designs to test this hypothesis including via potential mechanistic intervention approaches. This article is part of the theme issue 'Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology'.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are distinct clinical groups with overlapping motor features. We attempted to (1) differentiate children with ASD from ...those with DCD, and from those typically developing (TD) (ages 8-17; 18 ASD, 16 DCD, 20 TD) using a 5-min coloring game on a smart tablet and (2) identify neural correlates of these differences. We utilized standardized behavioral motor assessments (e.g. fine motor, gross motor, and balance skills) and video recordings of a smart tablet task to capture any visible motor, behavioral, posture, or engagement differences. We employed machine learning analytics of motor kinematics during a 5-min coloring game on a smart tablet. Imaging data was captured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during action production tasks. While subject-rated motor assessments could not differentiate the two clinical groups, machine learning computational analysis provided good predictive discrimination: between TD and ASD (76% accuracy), TD and DCD (78% accuracy), and ASD and DCD (71% accuracy). Two kinematic markers which strongly drove categorization were significantly correlated with cerebellar activity. Findings demonstrate unique neuromotor patterns between ASD and DCD relate to cerebellar function and present a promising route for computational techniques in early identification. These are promising preliminary results that warrant replication with larger samples.
PURPOSEAn internal model deficit is considered to underlie developmental coordination disorder (DCD); thus, children with DCD have an altered sense of agency (SoA), which is associated with ...depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the perception of action-outcome regularity is present in early development, is involved in the generation of SoA, and has roles in adaptive motor learning and coordinated motor skills. However, perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity has not been examined in children with DCD. METHODSWe investigated perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity in 6-15-year-old children with DCD and age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) children. Both groups were assessed for coordinated motor skills with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd Edition, while the DCD group was assessed with the DCD Questionnaire, Social Communication Questionnaire, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Rating Scale, and Depression Self- Rating Scale for Children. RESULTSPerceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity was significantly reduced in children with DCD. However, there was a significant correlation between perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity and age in DCD and TD children. Perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity was significantly lower in younger children with DCD than in younger and older TD children, but there were no significant differences between older children with DCD and younger and older TD children. CONCLUSIONThe current results suggest that children with DCD have significantly reduced perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity at younger ages, which may alter SoA and inhibit internal model development, thereby reducing motor skill coordination.
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder that results in difficulty in motor coordination observed in school-going children that interferes with classroom ...performance. Suspected DCD (S-DCD) children may show poor motor, as well as academic performance at school, and hence the present study aimed to find out the prevalence of S-DCD in children of age 5–10 years in central India and to find its association with preterm and/or low birth weight (LBW).
A total of 716 normal school-going children of age 5–10 years (both genders) were included in the study from four schools of the city by stratified sampling method. Children with any diagnosed neurological, orthopedic, rheumatologic, metabolic, cardiopulmonary, or psychological disorders were excluded. Data was collected using the parent-administered Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire-2007 (DCDQ′07) and a parent/caregiver proforma. Children were sorted into three age subgroups (5–7.11 years, 8–9.11 years and 9–9.11 years).
Prevalence of S-DCD in 5–7.11 years (21.5%), 8–9.11years (23.9%) and is highest in 10–10.11 years (30.6%). Preterm children showed a higher prevalence of S-DCD (preterm: 29.54%, term: 23.10%). Children with LBW also showed a higher prevalence of S-DCD (30.15%) and among normal birth weight (21.43%). In children with both preterm and LBW history, the prevalence of suspected DCD was found to be 51.72%.
Prevalence of suspected DCD was found to be 23.9% in the 5–10 years age group. It was also observed that S-DCD is strongly associated with preterm, as well as low birth weight in children of age 5–10 years.
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