Stability and change in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder
1School of Education, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Insights
Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) showed varied progress after intervention, with some improving significantly and others displaying fluctuating or persistent difficulties. This highlights the heterogeneous nature of DCD and the impact of life events on development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Occupational Therapy
Background:
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects 5% of children, presenting as significant motor skill impairments.
- Current provision through pediatric services is limited by professional resources.
- Children with DCD are a heterogeneous group requiring tailored support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal progression of children with DCD.
- To assess the impact of parent and teacher-led intervention on motor skills and overall development.
- To explore the varying profiles and influencing factors in children with DCD.
Main Methods:
- A 4-year longitudinal study of 31 children (aged 7-9) initially diagnosed with DCD.
- Intervention involved 16 weeks of parent and teacher-led activities.
- Children were assessed pre-, during, and post-intervention, with 26 monitored for motor skills, educational progress, and self-concept.
Main Results:
- 14 of 26 children showed sustained improvement and no longer met DCD criteria post-intervention.
- 8 children exhibited variable profiles, fluctuating in and out of DCD classification.
- 4 children consistently struggled with motor skills and required ongoing academic support.
Conclusions:
- Children with DCD demonstrate diverse developmental trajectories.
- Individual profiles are influenced by life events, supporting an ecological model of development.
- Understanding these variations is crucial for effective, individualized support strategies.
Background:
Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are a heterogeneous group who have a marked impairment in the performance of functional motor skills. Provision for these children is usually made via a paediatrician through occupational or physiotherapy; though with a prevalence rate of 5%, regular provision is rarely possible because of limited professional resources.
Methods:
This study covers a period of nearly 4 years and initially examined a group of 31 children first identified as having DCD at 7-9 years of age. The children were observed and assessed before, during and after a total of 16 weeks of intervention carried out by parents and teachers. This was followed by a period of monitoring of performance for 26 of the children in the motor domain plus other abilities such as educational progress and self-concept. Individual children were tracked using a variety of qualitative and quantitative approaches, building up longitudinal whole child profiles.
Results:
Following intervention, 14 of the 26 children have shown improvement and stability in all areas and no longer display DCD symptoms. Eight children have profiles which have shown variability, with the children moving in and out of the DCD classification, while the remaining four children have consistently scored poorly in their movement skills and in addition received ongoing support in school for academic subjects.
Conclusions:
The study has confirmed that children with DCD show varying profiles over a period of time and that the profiles have distinct characteristics related to events in the child's life. This approach to examining stability and change in the progressions of children's difficulties is in keeping with an ecological approach to explaining development with its multilayered influences creating changes.
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