Detection and prevalence of motor skill disorders.
Almost half of elementary kids show motor delays, so quick screens and movement goals should be routine in every psycho-educational plan.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team gave a short motor-skill survey to 1,000 school kids .
They asked teachers and parents to rate balance, running, and ball skills.
No kids were trained; the goal was simply to count how many showed delays.
What they found
Four out of every ten children scored in the “at-risk” range.
Most delays were mild, but 14 % showed clear neuromaturational lags.
Boys and girls were affected equally across all grade levels.
How this fits with other research
Chezan et al. (2019) pooled 18 trials and found balance training helps kids with ID, but ball-skill gains are still shaky.
Liang et al. (2026) used wrist sensors and showed these same kids move 13 fewer minutes of vigorous play each day—real-world proof the survey flags matter.
Rihtman et al. (2026) lowered the screen age: their free LDCDQ now catches coordination problems in preschool, building on the 2009 school-age numbers.
Smits-Engelsman et al. (2023) gave kids with DCD active video-game drills; balance and agility jumped, yet skills stayed inside the game—showing why early detection plus transfer teaching is key.
Why it matters
If four kids on your caseload likely have motor delays, add a two-minute LDCDQ or teacher checklist before you write goals. Pair the score with an accelerometer weekend sample to see if low activity backs the rating. Then pick tasks that matter—balance beams, playground races, or Wii Fit—while planning real-world transfer like kicking a real ball right after the virtual one. Early numbers drive early action.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The main goal of this research was to establish the prevalence, form of manifestation, level and kind of motor skill disorders in three area of motor development functioning: neuromaturation, coordination and balance. The sample included 1165 children, between 6.5 and 11 years of age. The protocol was constructed and contained tests for the evaluation of neuromaturation, coordination and balance based on Levine tests [Levine, D. M. (1980). The child with learning disabilities. In P. A. Sheiner, The practical management of the developmental disabled child. Toronto-London: C.V Mosby Company], Ozeretski's motoric test (1975) and ACADIA test (Atkinson, Johnston, & Lindsay, 1981). Extracted coordination disorders were noticed in 37.3%, disharmonic lateralization in 59.5%, balance disorders in 28.7%, and the malfunction of neuromaturation, in 38.9% of the total sample. The findings indicate a significant influence of the age of the pupils on the prevalence of symptoms of delaying in neuromaturation development, disbalance and dyscoordination, as well as the influence of the gender of the pupils on the appearance of delaying in neuromaturation.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2009 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.05.003