Impact Of Developmental Coordination Disorder Research Articles

Caregiver burden and mental health: Parent perspectives when raising a child with developmental coordination disorder

BackgroundChildren with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are at high risk for mental health disorders, stemming from challenges participating in motor activities. Parents of children with DCD report increased caregiver burden exacerbated by insufficient support and services for their child. A paucity of literature exists on parent and child mental health associated with a DCD diagnosis. AimsTo explore parent perceptions of their child’s mental health, and the impact of DCD on family and parental mental health. Methods and proceduresImplementation of a secondary analysis using the impACT for DCD, a cross-sectional online survey of parents of children with self-reported suspected or confirmed diagnosis of DCD living in British Columbia, Canada. Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis. Outcomes and resultsOf the 237 participants, more than one third of parents (36%) rated their own mental health to be fair or poor, and the majority (90%) expressed concern for their child’s mental health. Themes emerged on the impact of DCD on child, parent, and family, influenced by access to resources. Conclusions and implicationsStandard of care for DCD needs to include services and supports that address caregiver burden and mental health of children with DCD and their families. What this paper addsThis paper explores parent perceptions of their child(ren)'s and their own mental health when raising a child with DCD in British Columbia (BC). In BC, there is a lack of research on the mental health challenges families face when their child has a diagnosis of DCD. Amongst health care providers, there tends to be a focus on DCD as a motor disorder, with limited understanding and acknowledgement of the mental health component for children and their families. Thus, this study will inform health-care providers, parents, educators, and policy makers on parent-identified mental health needs and the essential services and supports. Unique to this study was the inclusion of a descriptive and exploratory content analysis, providing a holistic understanding of parents’ perceptions regarding the impact of DCD on their children and themselves. Our results revealed that parents perceive significant inter-connected impacts of DCD on the child, parents, and family, leading to poor mental health for parents and their child(ren). Limited access to resources and supports results in a negative trajectory for family mental health and well-being. Study results indicate the critical importance of addressing mental health, in addition to motor challenges. Healthcare providers need to adopt a family-centred approach to address the physical and psychosocial impairments associated with DCD, ensuring positive outcomes for children and their families.

Impact of developmental coordination disorder in childhood on educational outcomes in adulthood among neonatal intensive care recipients: a register-based longitudinal cohort study

ObjectivesDevelopmental coordination disorder (DCD) is related to poorer educational outcomes among children and adolescents. Evidence on this association into adulthood is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether probable DCD...

Life Impact of Developmental Coordination Disorder: Qualitative Analysis of Patient and Therapist Experiences

DCD are one of the more commonly occurring forms of Developmental disorder managed by therapists and their teams worldwide. The impacts of this disorder are not restricted to limitation in activity of daily living and participation in sports and academic activities with peer groups, but may also result in long term physical co morbidities, psychological, and social consequences. There is currently no gold standard assessment tool in the identification of DCD; however specific patient-reported outcome measures DCDQ remains in practice. This analysis aimed to develop a conceptual framework of life impacts of developmental coordination disorder from the experiences of caregivers and parents who have DCD Children as well as the health professionals who treat them. A qualitative investigation was done using semi-structured interviews with people (n=12) who had handling children with DCD (Caregivers/patients) and Therapists (n=6) who treat children with DCD. Interviews with caregivers were recorder and 1 therapist has been individually allotted for transcribing each phrase and codes them. The recorded and coded phrases were finally grouped in categories. Experience of health professionals ranged from 1 year to 15 years working with people with DCD. Health professionals included a pediatrician (1), physiotherapists (2), psychiatrist (1) and an occupational therapist (1). The conceptual framework derived from interview data included five themes (Physical, Occupational, Psychological, Daily Living, and Social). Therapist responses did not reveal any additional items, but majority of responses focus on physical and occupational therapy scope. The nature of life impact following DCD affects many areas of life. The findings from this research have provided an empirically derived conceptual framework from which a gold standard outcome measure can be designed for a geographic location.

The impact of developmental coordination disorder on educational achievement in secondary school

BackgroundDevelopmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common developmental disorder but its long term impact on health and education are poorly understood. AimTo assess the impact of DCD diagnosed at 7 years, and co-occurring developmental difficulties, on educational achievement at 16 years. MethodsA prospective cohort study using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). National General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam results and Special Educational Needs provision were compared for adolescents with DCD (n=284) and controls (n=5425). ResultsAdolescents with DCD achieved a median of 2 GCSEs whilst controls achieved a median of 7 GCSEs. Compared to controls, adolescents with DCD were much less likely to achieve 5 or more GCSEs in secondary school (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.21–0.34), even after adjustment for gender, socio-economic status and IQ (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.44–0.81). Those with DCD were more likely to have persistent difficulties with reading, social communication and hyperactivity/inattention, which all affected educational achievement. Nearly 40% of adolescents with DCD were not in receipt of additional formal support during school. ConclusionsDCD has a significant impact on educational achievement and therefore life chances. Co-occurring problems with reading skills, social communication difficulties and hyperactivity/inattention are common and contribute to educational difficulties. Greater understanding of DCD among educational and medical professionals and policy makers is crucial to improve the support provided for these individuals.

Social participation of teenagers and young adults with developmental co-ordination disorder and strategies that could help them: results from a scoping review.

The impact of developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) on teenagers' and young adults' participation is not well documented. This article aims to synthesize the current knowledge on social participation, which is the performance of an individual in realizing his or her daily activities and social roles within its life environment. Strategies and interventions to support youths (15-25 years old) with DCD were also synthesized. A scoping review interrogating three databases and using 'snowballing techniques' was performed to identify both scientific and grey literature published between 2004 and 2014. Over 1000 documents were screened and 57 were read in full; 28 met inclusion criteria. A charting form based on 12 life habits described in the disability creation process and developed by two reviewers was used to extract data and report the results. All life habits were reported to be affected for teenagers and young adults with DCD, with education and interpersonal relationships being the most frequently discussed. During adolescence and adulthood, new tasks and subsequent difficulties emerge, such as driving. Mental health difficulties emerged as a key theme. Few strategies and interventions were described to support social participation of youths with DCD. Many life habits are challenging for youths with DCD, but few evidence-based strategies and interventions have been designed to help them to increase their social participation.

A Multidimensional Approach to the Study of Emotion Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Although deficits in emotion recognition have been widely reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), experiments have been restricted to either facial or vocal expressions. Here, we explored multimodal emotion processing in children with ASD (N = 19) and with typical development (TD, N = 19), considering uni (faces and voices) and multimodal (faces/voices simultaneously) stimuli and developmental comorbidities (neuro-visual, language and motor impairments). Compared to TD controls, children with ASD had rather high and heterogeneous emotion recognition scores but showed also several significant differences: lower emotion recognition scores for visual stimuli, for neutral emotion, and a greater number of saccades during visual task. Multivariate analyses showed that: (1) the difficulties they experienced with visual stimuli were partially alleviated with multimodal stimuli. (2) Developmental age was significantly associated with emotion recognition in TD children, whereas it was the case only for the multimodal task in children with ASD. (3) Language impairments tended to be associated with emotion recognition scores of ASD children in the auditory modality. Conversely, in the visual or bimodal (visuo-auditory) tasks, the impact of developmental coordination disorder or neuro-visual impairments was not found. We conclude that impaired emotion processing constitutes a dimension to explore in the field of ASD, as research has the potential to define more homogeneous subgroups and tailored interventions. However, it is clear that developmental age, the nature of the stimuli, and other developmental comorbidities must also be taken into account when studying this dimension.

Troubles développementaux de la coordination (TDC) : perspective clinique et synthèse de l’état des connaissances

BackgroundImpairments in fine motor skills and clumsiness are common in children and adolescents who are referred to child and adolescent psychiatrists. Here, we propose an overview of the current state of knowledge useful to the clinician faced with praxis disorders. MethodDevelopmental dyspraxia now match with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in DSM-5. We cover the clinical aspects of the disorder, including etiological and pathophysiological views. ResultsFine motor skill examination with occupational therapist and validated testing is the basis of positive diagnosis. Clinical manifestations of DCD are numerous as its etiological and pathophysiological bases. This may be explained by the impact of DCD on early affective development, learning acquisition and social interaction quality in children. The frequency of co-occurring disorders of DCD (such as visual-spatial impairments, attention deficit, depression, school refusal, etc.) argues for the need to apprehend them taking into account the overall functioning of the child and adolescent. This comprehensive approach is crucial in defining the principles of their care management that should include motor skill remediation as well as treatment of all comorbidities. ConclusionDCD is common in child and adolescent psychiatric practice. It is often misdiagnosed because of prominent comorbidities and requires a multidisciplinary approach.

Social participation by children with developmental coordination disorder compared to their peers

Purpose: Two objectives are being pursued: (1) to describe and compare the level of social participation of children aged 5–13 with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) to children of the same age with typical development (TD) and (2) to describe and compare the level of social participation of two subgroups of youths with DCD, e.g. children with dyspraxia affecting both the motor sphere and the verbal sphere (mixed dyspraxia) and children with developmental dyspraxia. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 27 youngsters with DCD: 9 having developmental dyspraxia and 18 having mixed dyspraxia, compared to 27 same-age peers with TD. Life habits (LIFE-H) for children was used to measure social participation. Results: Levels of lifestyle achievements among youngsters with DCD are significantly lower than those of TD youngsters in all categories. Noteworthy differences were found between subgroups of youngsters with DCD in the categories of life habits related to communication and education. The group with mixed dyspraxia obtained the lowest scores. Conclusions: The achievement of a normal lifestyle by youngsters with DCD is upset in all spheres of life. The impact of DCD on the level of participation of these youngsters is quite significant and affects all lifestyles measured in this study. Children with mixed dyspraxia are particularly affected. These facts must be taken into consideration by anyone involved in the lives of these youngsters.Implications for RehabilitationIt is necessary to encourage social participation of DCD sufferers aged 5–13 in all spheres of life.Special attention should be paid to those who have a speech disorder.Life habits concerning communication and education may be related; greater efforts should be made to limit the negative impact on other lifestyles.Social participation of DCD sufferers should be measured periodically and appropriate resources must be made available to promote training and support for clinicians.It is important to provide tools to measure social participation for both stakeholders and parents.

Developmental Coordination Disorder in children with specific language impairment: Co-morbidity and impact on quality of life

Co-morbidity of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and the impact of DCD on quality-of-life (QOL) was investigated in 65 5-8 year old children with SLI (43 boys, age 6.8±0.8; 22 girls, age 6.6±0.8). The prevalence of DCD was assessed using DSM-IV-TR criteria (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2000) operationally defined in the clinical practice guideline (CPG): movement ABC scores below 15th percentile, scores on DCDQ and/or MOQ-T below 15th percentile, absence of medical condition according to paediatric-neurological exam. Quality of life (QOL) was measured with the TNO-AZL-Child-Quality-Of-Life (TACQOL) Questionnaire filled out by parents for the SLI group with and without DCD, and compared to a reference group (N=572; age 6.9±0.9). The TACQOL covers 7 QOL domains: physical, motor, cognitive and social functioning, autonomy, positive and negative moods. Prevalence of DCD in children with SLI was 32.3%. In children with SLI, mean QOL scores were significantly lower in the autonomy, cognitive, social and positive moods domains compared to the reference group. Children with SLI and DCD differed from children with SLI without DCD by significantly lower mean overall-, motor-, autonomy-, and cognitive domain-QOL scores. Clinicians should be aware that about one third of children with SLI can also be diagnosed with DCD. Assessment of QOL is warranted in order to assess which domains are affected in children with SLI with or without DCD.

Quality of life domains affected in children with developmental coordination disorder: a systematic review

The quality of life (QOL) of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is largely unknown, but evidence suggests that multiple QOL domains are affected by the disorder. While DCD is primarily considered a motor disorder, multiple studies have reported psychological and social concerns in children with this condition. Our primary aim was to present the current state of the evidence regarding the physical, psychological, and social QOL domains that can be affected in children with DCD. Systematic review of articles from seven databases through November 2010 (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, CDSR, DARE) was conducted. Search terms included developmental coordination disorder, dyspraxia, quality of life, life satisfaction, well-being, activities of daily living, and participation. Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. Studies meeting the following criteria were selected: (1) sample comprised solely of individuals with coordination difficulties consistent with DCD; (2) outcome measures related to physical, psychological, or socials domains of QOL; and (3) articles published in English. Data were extracted by one author and verified by a second. Outcomes were categorized according to physical, psychological and social domains of QOL and study quality was rated by case definitions of DCD based on diagnostic criteria as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - 4th edition. Forty-one articles were included. Most studies reported significantly poorer results in physical, psychological and social functioning in children with DCD compared with peers. Despite the impact of DCD on multiple domains, only one study used a QOL measure as an outcome. Although DCD impacts several QOL domains, the QOL of children with this disorder remains largely unknown. The next critical step is for clinicians and researchers to use QOL measures to gather information on how DCD may affect the QOL of children with this disorder.

Life Experiences of Young Adults Who have Coordination Difficulties

Little is known about the impact of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) during adolescence and young adulthood. This study explored the lived experiences of a nonclinical sample of nine university students who reported having significant coordination difficulties. A phenomenological approach was used that included two in-depth interviews asking participants to recall retrospectively their experiences throughout adolescence. Transcripts were coded to identify themes, and member-checking supported the credibility of findings. Strong pathways of resilience were found with participants who employed cognitive and behavioural strategies to manage their motor differences. Key themes emerged related to managing coordination differences including avoidance/withdrawal/adaptation, seeking compatible activities, using humour, and persevering. As adolescents matured, changing social contexts affected their self-efficacy and others' perceptions of them. The findings of this study challenge occupational therapists to move beyond impairment-based interventions to ecological interventions that facilitate social and community participation.

Children's Perceptions of the Impact of Developmental Coordination Disorder on Activities of Daily Living

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have a motor impairment that affects their ability to perform everyday tasks. Although severity of motor impairment can be measured, methods for assessing the perceived impact of DCD on daily activities have not been established. The purpose of this study was to use a child-focused approach to understand children's views of the impact of DCD on the activities that they perform daily.Children aged 5–10 years, referred with coordination difficulties to occupational therapists, were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children: children who received scores below the 15th percentile were included. The Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting System (PEGS), a pictorial scale validated as a method for engaging children with disabilities, was administered to examine the children's perceptions of their competence in performing everyday activities and to identify goals for therapy. Parent and teacher concerns were collected by a questionnaire.The children, parents and teachers shared many concerns about the impact of DCD on physical tasks and on academic activities such as handwriting. The children expressed additional concerns, however, about their ability to perform daily self-care tasks and leisure activities, which were rarely recognised by the adults. Children require specialised methods to enable them to express their views and the PEGS appears to be suitable for this purpose.