Motor skills of children newly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder prior to and following treatment with stimulant medication.
Stimulants only partly fix motor delays in ADHD—keep checking and add therapy.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Brossard-Racine et al. (2012) watched kids who just learned they have ADHD. None had taken stimulant pills before.
The team tested the kids’ motor skills, gave daily methylphenidate for three months, then tested again.
What they found
About half the kids moved a little better after pills, but 55 percent still scored in the delayed range.
In plain words, stimulants helped some, yet most still needed extra motor support.
How this fits with other research
Pan et al. (2009) showed kids with ADHD already start behind in running and catching. Marie’s team shows pills only partly close that gap.
Bucci et al. (2014) saw steadier standing right after a dose, but Marie’s longer view says day-to-day skill stays shaky.
Gao et al. (2026) meta-analysis finds video-game play boosts motor skills too. Pairing games with pills could cover what drugs miss.
Why it matters
You can’t assume three months of stimulants will fix motor delays. Schedule a quick motor screen at every med check. If scores lag, send the family to OT and add active play breaks in your behavior plan.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Motor difficulties are common in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although preliminary evidence has suggested that methylphenidate can improve the motor skills in children with ADHD and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), the effect of stimulant medication on motor performance in children newly diagnosed with ADHD with or without motor impairment remains unclear. A cohort study of 49 medication-naïve children (39 male; mean age 8.4±1.3 years) with ADHD was conducted. Children were evaluated using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and the developmental test of visual motor integration at diagnosis and again three months following daily treatment with a stimulant medication. Motor difficulties were highly present at baseline (73.5%) but resolved in a subset after treatment with stimulant medication, suggesting that their motor difficulties may be attributed in part to their attentional problems. Nevertheless, motor impairment persisted in 55.1% of the sample. The severity of the behavioural symptoms was significantly associated with balance skills in children without motor impairments (r(2)=0.30, p<0.01) and with visual motor integration skills in children with persisting motor difficulties (r(2)=0.27, p<0.01). Attentional difficulties negatively affect the motor skills of children with ADHD. Following the use of stimulant medication, an important subset continued to demonstrate motor difficulties. The improvement in behaviour was insufficient to resolve motor problems and these children should therefore be targeted for rehabilitation services.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.06.003