Cognitive, perceptual, and motor profiles of school-aged children with developmental coordination disorder
Dorine Van Dyck1,2, Simon Baijot2,3, Alec Aeby2,3,4
1Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et Neuroimagerie Translationnelles, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Insights
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in children is heterogeneous, often involving motor, perceptual, and executive function deficits. This study identified five subtypes, highlighting distinct cognitive and perceptual profiles beyond motor skills.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is characterized by motor impairments, but often co-occurs with visual perceptual and executive function deficits.
- The heterogeneity of DCD suggests potential underlying subtypes with distinct profiles.
- Comprehensive assessment is crucial for understanding the multifaceted nature of DCD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the motor, perceptual, and cognitive profiles of children with DCD at a group level.
- To identify distinct subtypes within a sample of children with and without DCD using data-driven clustering.
- To explore the relationship between identified subtypes and specific neurodevelopmental impairments.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (15 tests) and motor assessment (Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2) were administered to 50 children with DCD and 31 typically developing (TD) peers (aged 7-11).
- Hierarchical agglomerative and K-means clustering analyses were performed on the pooled sample to identify distinct subgroups.
- Impairment percentages for various domains were calculated for children with DCD.
Main Results:
- Children with DCD frequently exhibited impairments in executive functions (92%), praxis (68%), attention (52%), visual perception (46%), and visuomotor skills (36%).
- Clustering identified five subtypes: four primarily comprising children with DCD and one of TD children.
- Subtypes were characterized by distinct patterns of perceptual or cognitive impairments, rather than solely motor or praxis deficits, with motor and praxis measures failing to discriminate between DCD subtypes.
Conclusions:
- DCD is a heterogeneous condition with distinct subtypes defined by specific perceptual and cognitive profiles.
- Motor and praxis assessments alone are insufficient to differentiate DCD subtypes.
- Comprehensive evaluation of perceptual and cognitive skills is essential for a thorough understanding and management of DCD.
Abstract:
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a heterogeneous condition. Besides motor impairments, children with DCD often exhibit poor visual perceptual skills and executive functions. This study aimed to characterize the motor, perceptual, and cognitive profiles of children with DCD at the group level and in terms of subtypes. A total of 50 children with DCD and 31 typically developing (TD) peers (7-11 years old) underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological (15 tests) and motor (three subscales of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2) assessment. The percentage of children with DCD showing impairments in each measurement was first described. Hierarchical agglomerative and K-means iterative partitioning clustering analyses were then performed to distinguish the subtypes present among the complete sample of children (DCD and TD) in a data-driven way. Moderate to large percentages of children with DCD showed impaired executive functions (92%) and praxis (meaningless gestures and postures, 68%), as well as attentional (52%), visual perceptual (46%), and visuomotor (36%) skills. Clustering analyses identified five subtypes, four of them mainly consisting of children with DCD and one of TD children. These subtypes were characterized by: (i) generalized impairments (8 children with DCD), (ii) impaired manual dexterity, poor balance (static/dynamic), planning, and alertness (15 DCD and 1 TD child), (iii) impaired manual dexterity, cognitive inhibition, and poor visual perception (11 children with DCD), (iv) impaired manual dexterity and cognitive inhibition (15 DCD and 5 TD children), and (v) no impairment (25 TD and 1 child with DCD). Besides subtle differences, the motor and praxis measures did not enable to discriminate between the four subtypes of children with DCD. The subtypes were, however, characterized by distinct perceptual or cognitive impairments. These results highlight the importance of assessing exhaustively the perceptual and cognitive skills of children with DCD.
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