Abstract
Parents and teachers have knowledge of children’s daily motor performance yet may make different judgments about the levels of competence observed at home and school. The current study aimed to examine the discrepancies between parent and teacher reports using the Movement ABC-2 Checklist and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) on children with and without suspected Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The Movement ABC-2 Test was administered to 1276 children aged 5–10 years in China. The Movement ABC-2 Checklist and DCDQ were completed by both parents and teachers of all children. A total of 172 children achieving a score below the 15th percentile on the Movement ABC-2 Test were identified as children with suspected DCD. Both parents and teachers showed suitable agreement in judging children’s motor competence but low sensitivity in identifying children with DCD. Parent scores of children’s motor competence were more closely associated with test performance scores compared to teacher scores. Teachers tended to over-rate children’s motor competence. The motor difficulties identified by parents were associated with low Movement ABC-2 Test scores on Manual Dexterity and Balance components, while motor difficulties identified by teachers were associated with the Balance component only. The results demonstrated discrepancies between parent and teacher reports, suggesting the importance of using a range of measures to identify and describe motor difficulties in children.
Highlights
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is characterized by difficulties in motor performance in daily activities that are not consistent with the child’s age and intelligence and cannot be explained by a medical or neurological condition or by intellectual impairment [1]
We compared parent and teacher scores on 5–10-year-old children in China with and without suspected DCD, and our results suggested that both parents and teachers had suitable sensitivity in judging children’s motor competence, parents’ scores of children’s motor competence were more closely associated with motor test performance scores as measured by the Movement ABC-2 Test compared to teachers
The motor difficulties identified by parents in children with suspected DCD were associated with low test scores on Manual Dexterity and Balance as measured by Movement ABC-2 Test, while motor difficulties identified by teachers were associated with Balance difficulties only
Summary
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is characterized by difficulties in motor performance in daily activities that are not consistent with the child’s age and intelligence and cannot be explained by a medical or neurological condition or by intellectual impairment [1]. According to the DSM-V [1], DCD should be diagnosed based on the following criteria: (i) acquisition and execution of coordinated motor skills are below the expected level for age, given the opportunity for skill learning; (ii) motor skill difficulties significantly interfere with activities of daily living and impact academic/school productivity, prevocational and vocational activities, leisure, and play; (iii) onset is in the early developmental period; and (iv) motor skill difficulties are not better explained by intellectual or visual impairment or other neurological conditions that affect movement. A clinical assessment of motor proficiency is time-consuming and expensive, and a more practical approach is usually to use questionnaires as a first step in the assessment process to provide information on movement competence in everyday life settings (criteria i)
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