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Identifying play characteristics of pre-school children with developmental coordination disorder via parental
Sara Rosenblum1, Pola Waissman2, Gary W Diamond3
1The Laboratory of Complex Human Activity and Participation (CHAP), Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Haifa, Israel.
Insights
Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) exhibit distinct play patterns compared to typically developing peers. These differences in play participation, environmental factors, and impairments highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve daily functioning.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Occupational Therapy
- Child Development Studies
- Movement Science
Background:
- Motor coordination deficits in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) significantly impact their participation in daily activities.
- Understanding the specific play characteristics of children with DCD is crucial for developing effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and compare the play characteristics of young children with DCD and typically developing children.
- To examine differences in activity and participation, environmental factors, and child impairments between these groups.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 64 children aged 4-6 years, with 30 diagnosed with DCD and 34 as controls.
- Utilized the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) for evaluation.
- Employed parent-reported questionnaires including the Children's Activity Scale for Parents (CHAS-P), Children's Leisure Assessment Scale for preschoolers (CLASS-Pre), and My Child's Play Questionnaire (MCP).
Main Results:
- Children with DCD showed significantly poorer performance in play variety, frequency, sociability, and preference (CLASS-Pre).
- Distinct environmental characteristics and inferior performance in interpersonal interaction and executive functioning during play were observed in children with DCD (MCP).
- Motor and executive control, impacting daily living (ADL) performance, predicted global play participation.
Conclusions:
- The CLASS-Pre and MCP questionnaires effectively identify unique play characteristics of preschoolers with DCD through parent reports.
- Enhanced understanding of these play characteristics can inform theoretical knowledge and clinical practices.
- Improving insights into play patterns can lead to better daily participation for children with DCD.
Abstract:
Motor coordination deficits that characterize children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affect their quality of participation. The aim of the current study was to identify play characteristics of young children with DCD, compared to those of children with typical development in three dimensions: activity and participation, environmental factors and children's impairments.
Method:
Sixty-four children, aged four to six years, participated. Thirty were diagnosed as having DCD; the remaining 34 children were age, gender and socioeconomic level matched controls with typical development. The children were evaluated by the M-ABC. In addition, their parents completed a demographic questionnaire, the Children's Activity Scale for Parents (CHAS-P), the Children's Leisure Assessment Scale for preschoolers (CLASS-Pre), and My Child's Play Questionnaire (MCP).
Results:
Children with DCD performed significantly poorer in each of the four play activity and participation domains: variety, frequency, sociability, and preference (CLASS-Pre). Furthermore, their environmental characteristics were significantly different (MCP). They displayed significantly inferior performance (impairments) in interpersonal interaction and executive functioning during play, in comparison to controls (MCP). Moreover, the children's motor and executive control as reflected in their daily function as well as their activities of daily living (ADL) performance level, contributed to the prediction of their global play participation.
Discussion:
The results indicate that the use of both the CLASS-Pre and the MCP questionnaires enables the identification of unique play characteristics of pre-school children with DCD via parents' reports. A better insight into these characteristics may contribute to theoretical knowledge and clinical practice to improve the children's daily participation.
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