Development and psychometric properties of the Italian little developmental coordination disorder questionnaire...

Early identification of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in children is fundamental to provide the best chance of improving their outcomes. The Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (LDCDQ) is a screening tool to identify preschool children who may warrant a diagnosis of DCD.

This study conducted a transcultural translation and adaptation of the Italian version of the Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (LDCDQ-IT) and evaluated the psychometric properties of the tool, establishing also the optimal cut-off scores.

Parents/carers of 3- and 4-year-old Italian preschoolers completed the LDCDQ-IT (n = 352 typically developing children; n = 24 children at risk for motor coordination problems). One sub-sample (n = 52) completed the LDCDQ-IT a second time; another sub-sample (n = 90) was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2).

The LDCDQ-IT showed high internal consistency (α=0.96) and good test-retest reliability. Children's age and gender did not influence total scores. Correlations obtained between the LDCDQ-IT and MABC-2 total scores (r = 0.52, p < 0.001) suggest concurrent validity of the LDCDQ-IT. Using a cut-off score of ≤ 65, overall sensitivity and specificity were 79 % and 75 % respectively.

The LDCDQ-IT demonstrates promising psychometric properties, making it a useful tool for the early identification of DCD. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS?: This study provides valuable insights into the psychometric properties and cut-off point for the Italian Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (LDCDQ-IT), a screening tool for identifying potential motor coordination problems in 3- and 4-year-old children. We observed good evidence of reliability, concurrent, and discriminative validity, proving that it may be a helpful questionnaire for assessing daily motor skills.