Factors associated with mathematical capacity in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.
Kids with DCD are at high risk for math deficits—screen visuoperceptual skills first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested the kids who had a DCD diagnosis. Each child took a short math test and a battery of vision, motor, and attention checks. The study had no control group; it simply asked which skills best predicted the math scores.
What they found
Children with DCD scored about six-tenths of a standard deviation below age norms in math. Poor visuoperceptual skill was the strongest single predictor. Together, visuoperceptual problems, inattention, visual-motor gaps, and motor severity explained one-third of the math variance.
How this fits with other research
Kanevski et al. (2023) seems to disagree: they saw no math gap in kids who had both ADHD and movement issues. The key difference is the extra ADHD group. Those kids may lean on verbal shortcuts to keep math scores level, while the DCD-only group in Eliane’s study lacks that backup route.
Chen et al. (2013) found that everyday memory problems in DCD vanish once verbal IQ is counted out. Add Eliane’s data and a pattern forms: when a task is visual (math or memory), check both visual and verbal ability before blaming the child.
Allen et al. (2016) reported a similar visual-deficit-to-math link in preterm children. The overlap shows that any child with visual-motor red flags—DCD, preterm, or otherwise—deserves early math screening.
Why it matters
If a learner has DCD, start math support by testing visuoperceptual and visual-motor skills, not just computation. Low scores there signal high risk for math failure and give you clear, visual-motor targets for intervention.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a condition characterized by difficulties in motor planning and coordination and affects 5 to 6% of all school-aged children. Children with DCD frequently present with difficulties with academic activities such as handwriting. However, no study to date has comprehensively described mathematical capacity and its potential associated factors in this high-risk group. AIMS: We aimed to describe the frequency and nature of mathematical difficulties of school-aged children with DCD and to evaluate potential factors associated with mathematical performance. METHODS: A total of 55 elementary school-aged children with DCD underwent comprehensive standardized assessments of mathematical, visuoperceptual (VP), attentional, visual-motor integration (VMI), and motor skills. The contribution of each factor to mathematical capacity was established using hierarchical multivariate linear regression models. RESULTS: Children with DCD (9.1 ± 1.5 years, 44 males) had lower overall mathematical capacity compared to normative data (-0.59 SD) on the KeyMath 3rd edition, with poorer performance in basic concepts and problem-solving. Thirty-eight percent of the sample performed below the 15th percentile in overall mathematical skills. VP skills were the most important factors associated with most mathematical domains. Thirty-four percent of the variance of overall mathematical capacity was explained by VP skills, inattention, VMI and motor impairments while controlling for household income (F [5,49]=5.029, p < .0001). CONCLUSION: Children with DCD present with mathematical difficulties in basic concepts and problem-solving, which are partially explained by VP skills. Our findings stress the important of systematically assessing mathematical difficulties children with DCD to ensure they receive the necessary support that leads to academic success.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104710