Study of clinical characteristics in young subjects with Developmental coordination disorder
Marie Farmer1, Bernard Echenne2, M'hamed Bentourkia3
1Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiobiology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada.
Insights
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects children with motor impairments. This study identified three subtypes of DCD characteristics, including clumsiness, self-esteem issues, and language difficulties, aiding in better understanding and management.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Psychology
- Movement Science
Background:
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a chronic neurological condition impacting children's motor skills.
- DCD affects daily living, academic performance, and future professional and social behaviors.
- Understanding DCD characteristics is crucial for early intervention and support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency of various DCD characteristics in a pediatric cohort.
- To propose a subtyping system for DCD based on observed characteristics.
- To enhance the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for children with DCD.
Main Methods:
- Assessed 33 common clinical DCD characteristics in 129 children aged 4-18 years.
- Employed statistical analyses including Chi square, t-test, and correlation for differences.
- Utilized Ward clustering method for subtyping DCD characteristics.
Main Results:
- A male predominance was observed (3.17:1 ratio).
- Key characteristics included slowness, left-handedness/ambidexterity (47%), orofacial dyspraxia (36%), verbal dyspraxia (26%), anxiety (83%), and clumsiness (84%).
- Three distinct subtypes of DCD were identified through cluster analysis.
Conclusions:
- Children with DCD often present with multiple, overlapping difficulties.
- Subtypes identified were: (1) clumsiness-predominant, (2) self-esteem/peer relation issues, and (3) language/orofacial dyspraxia.
- These subtypes offer a refined framework for understanding DCD heterogeneity.
Background:
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a chronic neurological disorder observed in children. DCD is characterized by slowness in activities and motor impairment that affects the children's daily living and academic achievements, and later their professional and social behavior. Our aim in this work was to report characteristics frequencies in a group of children with DCD and to propose a subtyping of DCD characteristics.
Methods:
Thirty three clinical DCD characteristics, the mostly reported in the literature, were assessed in 129 patients, boys and girls aged from 4years to 18years, and their subtyping was proposed. The statistical analyses were carried out with the Chi square, the t-test and the correlation for the statistical differences, and with the Ward clustering method for subtyping.
Results:
We found that there were 3.17 boys for one girl, all patients were characterized as slow, 47% were left-handers or ambidextrous, 36% and 26% had orofacial and verbal dyspraxia, respectively, 83% were found anxious, and 84% were described as being clumsy.
Conclusions:
It appears from these results that a child with DCD expresses more than a single difficulty. Three subtypes emerged from the statistical analysis in this study: (1) clumsiness and other characteristics except language difficulties; (2) self-esteem and peer relation without clumsiness and language difficulties; (3) language difficulties and orofacial dyspraxia.
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