Intralimb coordination in children with and without developmental coordination disorder in one-handed catching

Area of Science:

• Movement Science
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatric Neurology

Background:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) impacts motor skill acquisition.
• Intralimb coordination is crucial for tasks like catching.
• Limited research exists on intralimb coordination in children with DCD during dynamic tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze intralimb coordination differences in children with and without DCD during 1-handed catching.
• To identify specific joint coordination patterns associated with DCD.
• To investigate variability in coordination strategies within groups.

Main Methods:

• Functional data analysis of 1-handed catching in children with (n=10) and without DCD (n=9).
• Examination of proximal (shoulder-elbow) and distal (elbow-wrist) joint coordination.
• Comparison of coordination patterns between DCD and typically developing groups.

Main Results:

• Children without DCD demonstrated near-perfect catching.
• Children with DCD caught significantly fewer balls.
• Distal joint coordination (elbow-wrist) differed between groups, while proximal joints (shoulder-elbow) showed decoupling in both.
• High intra-group variability was observed, particularly in the DCD group.

Conclusions:

• Children with DCD exhibit distinct intralimb coordination deficits during catching, primarily at distal joints.
• The assumption of universal coordinative tendencies requires caution, especially for children with DCD.
• Subgroup variations within the DCD sample suggest heterogeneous motor control challenges.