A staged approach for identifying children with developmental coordination disorder from the population

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Developmental Psychology
• Child Psychiatry

Background:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often co-occur.
• Accurate identification of these conditions is crucial for timely intervention.
• Population-based screening methods need refinement for early detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize motor, attention, and intellectual profiles in a population-based sample of children.
• To evaluate recruitment and identification strategies for children with motor impairment and ADHD/ADD.
• To determine the prevalence of DCD and its comorbidity with ADHD/ADD in a school-based population.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage, cross-sectional, school-based survey was employed.
• Initial screening identified children with motor coordination difficulties and existing ADHD/ADD diagnoses.
• A second-stage assessment confirmed or ruled out Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in screened children and a control group.

Main Results:

• Out of 2943 children screened, 284 showed possible motor impairment, with 113 undergoing full assessment.
• Sixty-eight children met diagnostic criteria for DCD; 26 of these also had ADHD.
• The second-stage assessment significantly increased the identification of children with comorbid ADHD and DCD.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights the importance of integrated screening for DCD and ADHD.
• Refined diagnostic criteria reduced the confirmed DCD cases, emphasizing diagnostic precision.
• The findings underscore the high comorbidity and the effectiveness of a two-stage screening approach for identifying children with both DCD and ADHD.