Correlations between Performance in a Virtual Reality Game and the Movement Assessment Battery Diagnostics in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Rasha Wattad,Shahar Shefer,Sigal Portnoy,Lidia V Gabis,Sarit Tresser

doi:10.3390/app10030833

Abstract

We aimed to compare the performance in a Virtual Reality (VR) game between Typically Developed (TD) children and children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). We then compared the performance in a VR game with the sub-grades of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Twenty TD children (10 boys; mean and SD age 5.1 ± 0.6) and 10 children with DCD (4 boys; mean and SD age 5.6 ± 0.6) participated in the study. The parents filled out the DCD questionnaire. The MABC was administered. Each subject stood on a pressure pad and played a non-immersive VR game. The game score, hand path length, and movement of center of pressure were recorded. The game score achieved by the control group was ~22% higher compared to the game score achieved by the research group (p = 0.042). The path length of the right hand strongly correlated with the visual-motor coordination MABC subcategory score (r = 0.902, p < 0.001), with the balance MABC subcategory score (r = 0.769, p = 0.009), and with the total MABC score (r = 0.667, p = 0.035). This VR game might provide a preliminary distinction between TD children and children with DCD. Furthermore, investigation of hand path length may reflect the visual-motor coordination impairment of the child.

Highlights

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have difficulty with fine and/or gross motor coordination [1,2]
We compared the performance in a Virtual Reality (VR) game between Typically Developed (TD) children and children with DCD, and explored the correlations between the performance of children with DCD in the game and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC)
Our main findings were that the VR game score was able to discriminate between TD

Summary

Introduction

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have difficulty with fine and/or gross motor coordination [1,2] Their clumsiness may cause difficulties in performing activities of daily living, e.g., dressing up and eating with utensils. They tend to limit their participation in physical activities in early childhood and beyond [3]. It has been recently suggested that it would be useful to understand DCD as a deficit in the perception–action relationship, in the context of the demands of the task, and the understanding of the child of his or her own action capabilities [7] This view emphasizes the need for a comprehensive

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