The early motor development in children diagnosed with ADHD: a systematic review

Although there is limited knowledge about early signs of ADHD, deviations in motor development are suggested as a possible indicator of such early signs. The purpose of the present systematic review was to gather knowledge about motor development before three years of age in children later diagnosed with ADHD. A systematic search was completed in four research databases, and the quality of the identified studies was systematically assessed. Of 440 initial search results, only five studies met the inclusion criteria and were fully abstracted. Major methodological heterogeneity was found between the studies, and the results are pointing in various directions. One study found an association between delay in gross motor development and ADHD, while another did not. However, associations between both good early motor development as well as delayed were also found in one study. A study of premature infants showed no association between early motor development and attention problems at school age, and a study of high-risk children from a neonatal care unit found no association between abnormal general movements and later ADHD without comorbidity. The results of the studies are pointing in various directions. No firm conclusion can be drawn on early motor development in children with ADHD due to the very different results of the studies and the methodological heterogeneity.