Long-Term Effects of a Movement Intervention Program for Children With Probable Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

Purpose: To examine long-term effects of a task-oriented intervention program for children with probable developmental coordination disorder in a physical education setting. Method: Sixty-nine boys and girls (7–10 years) were divided into two groups: intervention (n = 36) and control (n = 33). All children participated in physical education classes twice a week. The intervention group also had two weekly sessions focused on gross motor skills development for 12 weeks. Children were assessed by the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2, three times: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Results: The intervention group showed superior results (p ≤ .05) posttest in: manual dexterity (d = 0.71), balance (d = 0.86), and total score (d = 1.02), and at follow-up in: manual dexterity (d = 1.05), balance (d = 0.86), and total score (d = 0.94). Conclusion: Task-oriented intervention provided a retained positive effect in the development of motor competence in children with probable developmental coordination disorder.