Self-reported mood, general health, wellbeing and employment status in adults with suspected DCD.
A job is a mood booster for adults with DCD, and programs like Project SEARCH prove you can make those jobs happen.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked the adults with suspected Developmental Coordination Disorder about their mood, health, and work life.
Each person filled out short paper surveys on depression, anxiety, life satisfaction, and job status.
They split the group into employed and unemployed to see if work was linked to better mood.
What they found
Unemployed adults scored higher on depression and lower on life satisfaction.
Both groups still reported lots of anxiety and general health problems, but the jobless group felt worse.
Simply having a job, any job, was tied to brighter mood and higher life satisfaction.
How this fits with other research
Schall et al. (2020) went a step further. They ran a real program, Project SEARCH plus ASD supports, and tripled competitive employment for autistic young adults.
Amanda et al. only showed the link; Carol showed you can cause the link with a strong internship plan.
McCauley et al. (2018) agree that jobs don’t happen in a vacuum. Their case study says employers, families, and policy must all pitch in for adults with ASD to keep the gains that Amanda’s team spotted.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with DCD, ASD, or similar profiles, treat employment as a mental-health intervention.
Start early, loop in local businesses, and track mood before and after job placement. A paycheck may do more for depression than extra clinic hours.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects around 2-6% of the population and is diagnosed on the basis of poor motor coordination in the absence of other neurological disorders. Its psychosocial impact has been delineated in childhood but until recently there has been little understanding of the implications of the disorder beyond this. This study aims to focus on the longer term impact of having DCD in adulthood and, in particular, considers the effect of employment on this group in relation to psychosocial health and wellbeing. Self-reported levels of life satisfaction, general health and symptoms of anxiety and depression were investigated in a group of adults with a diagnosis of DCD and those with suspected DCD using a number of published self-report questionnaire measures. A comparison between those in and out of employment was undertaken. As a group, the unemployed adults with DCD reported significantly lower levels of life satisfaction. Whilst there was no significant difference between those who were employed and unemployed on General Health Questionnaire scores; both groups reported numbers of health related issues reflective of general health problems in DCD irrespective of employment status. While both groups reported high levels of depressive symptoms and rated their satisfaction with life quite poorly, the unemployed group reported significantly more depressive symptoms and less satisfaction. Additionally, the results identified high levels of self-reported anxiety in both groups, with the majority sitting outside of the normal range using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. These findings add to the small but increasing body of literature on physical and mental health and wellbeing in adults with DCD. Furthermore, they are the first to provide insight into the possible mediating effects of employment status in adults with DCD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.01.003