Motor coordination and visual information processing in high school students at risk of developmental coordination disorder: Two year follow-up study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in children is characterised by the execution being substantially below that expected given the individual's chronological age. This deficit can negatively affect the psychological and social development of the children and their academic achievements. A few studies provided the evidences on the persistence of impaired motor coordination up to the middle and older adolescence. Although DCD is the heterogeneous syndrome, it seems to be associated with problems in visual information processing. AIMS: The first aim of the study was to examine how a below-average motor coordination in the adolescents can be associated with visual information processing ability. Second aim was to reveal the short-term pathway of impaired motor coordination during adolescence and whether their persistence and reduction, respectively, could be associated with a level of visual information processing. METHODS: In the first phase of the study the below average motor coordination identified by the MABC-2 test (Henderson, Sugden, & Barnett, 2007) in the students of the high and vocational schools (n = 52) was analysed on its relation to the ability of visual information processing. This ability was assessed by the simple and choice reaction tests (FiTRO Reaction Check device). In the 2nd phase of the study the students with moderate and significant motor difficulties (n = 34) were reassessed two years after the initial testing to examine the changes in motor coordination and its potential association with a level of visual information processing. RESULTS: The below-average motor coordination correlated with the several measures of choice reaction with a determination of R2 9-15%, while a level of selective attention and physical growth of the adolescents were not the significant factors of motor skills. Of 34 adolescents 18 students demonstrated the reduction of motor difficulties in two years, and the persistence of the risk of DCD was revealed in 16 adolescents. In the adolescent men and women with the reduction of motor difficulties over time the clinically significant (effect size) and/or statistically significant differences and the changes in some measures of visual information processing were found in comparison to the adolescents with the persistence of motor difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first one which tried to reveal possible motor coordination development in the adolescents at risk of DCD in a short term developmental interval. The impaired motor coordination can progress to a normal level till during the adolescence stage. It seems that persistence of motor coordination deficit can be linked to less efficient motor response selection rather than the deficit in the sensory registration of stimuli.

Keywords

• motor coordination
• development
• educational psychology
• school
• movement skill