Motor intervention therapy for children with developmental coordination disorder: from behavioral improvement to...

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significantly delayed motor coordination, often accompanied by cognitive deficits and psychosocial adaptation issues, severely impacting children's lifelong development. Motor intervention serves as the primary treatment strategy for DCD, encompassing task-oriented, process-oriented, and technology-assisted paradigms. Existing evidence indicates that structured motor interventions effectively enhance motor skills, executive function, and social engagement in children with DCD. The core mechanism lies in inducing neuroplasticity-encompassing both functional reorganization (e.g., normalization of motor network activation, improved inter-regional connectivity) and structural changes (e.g., increased grey matter volume in key brain regions, optimized white matter microstructure). These changes ultimately facilitate behavioral improvement through optimized internal models and enhanced cognitive-motor coupling. This paper constructs an integrated "motor intervention-neuroplasticity-functional improvement" model, reviews intervention efficacy and mechanisms, identifies current research limitations in sample size, causal inference, and long-term follow-up, and outlines future directions such as precision rehabilitation and technology integration. It provides theoretical support for evidence-based interventions in DCD.