Emotional and behavioural problems in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: Exploring parent and teacher reports.
Children with DCD look hyper and moody on standardized ratings, so behavior screening belongs in every motor treatment plan.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Fusar-Poli et al. (2017) asked parents and teachers to fill out the SDQ for 8- to young learners with Developmental Coordination Disorder. They compared the scores to same-age kids who move typically.
The team wanted to know if children with DCD show more emotional and behavior problems than peers.
What they found
Kids with DCD scored higher on every SDQ scale. The biggest gap was hyperactivity.
Some children with DCD had very high scores, others only slightly raised. Wide spread means you cannot guess one child from the group average.
How this fits with other research
Caçola et al. (2017) reviewed 11 studies and found ASD and DCD have different behavior footprints. Laura’s data fit that view: DCD shows high hyperactivity, not the social-communication pattern seen in ASD.
Boets et al. (2011) saw preschoolers with DCD join in and enjoy play less than peers. Laura’s older sample adds that, by school age, these same kids also show more emotional and behavior problems. Together the two papers trace a line from early participation issues to later mental-health risk.
Tal-Saban et al. (2021) found that adding DCD to Global Developmental Delay lowers social skills in kindergarten. Laura’s study shows the hit continues into elementary years, now showing up as hyperactivity and emotional upset.
Why it matters
If you work with school-age kids who seem clumsy, do not wait for motor goals to be met before checking behavior. Run the SDQ or a quick teacher interview at intake. Spotting hyperactivity or mood issues early lets you fold self-regulation strategies into motor sessions and refer for extra help before problems snowball.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add the SDQ to your intake packet for any child referred for coordination concerns; score and graph it alongside motor baselines.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Although characterised by motor impairments, children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) also show high rates of psychopathology (anxiety, depression, low self-esteem). Such findings have led to calls for the screening of mental health problems in this group. AIMS: To investigate patterns and profiles of emotional and behavioural problems in children with and without DCD, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Teachers and parents completed SDQs for 30 children with DCD (7-10 years). Teacher ratings on the SDQ were also obtained from two typically-developing (TD) groups: 35 children matched for chronological age, and 29 younger children (4-7 years) matched by motor ability. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Group and individual analyses compared parent and teacher SDQ scores for children with DCD. Teacher reports showed that children with DCD displayed higher rates of emotional and behavioural problems (overall, and on each subscale of the SDQ) relative to their TD peers. No differences were observed between the two TD groups. Inspection of individual data points highlighted variability in the SDQ scores of the DCD group (across both teacher and parent ratings), with suggestions of elevated hyperactivity but comparably lower levels of conduct problems across this sample. Modest agreement was found between teacher and parent ratings of children with DCD on the SDQ. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: There is a need to monitor levels of emotional and behavioural problems in children with DCD, from multiple informants.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.08.001