The profile of performance skills and emotional factors in the context of participation among young children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.
For preschoolers with DCD, poor process skills and low hope/coherence predict reduced participation, so target these alongside motor goals.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lihi and colleagues watched preschoolers with Developmental Coordination Disorder during daycare. They scored how well the kids did everyday tasks and how the kids felt about joining in.
The team also asked parents about hope, effort, and fun levels. Then they ran numbers to see which skills best predict who joins activities.
What they found
Kids with DCD scored lower on process skills like using scissors or opening lunch boxes. They also felt less hope and less enjoyment than peers.
Process skills, not strength or balance, were the strongest predictor of joining in. Emotional factors added extra risk.
How this fits with other research
Boets et al. (2011) saw the same drop in independence and fun in preschoolers with DCD. The new study adds the why: poor process skills and low hope drive the gap.
Spanoudis et al. (2011) warned that most DCD papers skip real-life participation. Lihi et al. answer that call by showing what to measure.
Fusar-Poli et al. (2017) later found school-age kids with DCD show more hyperactivity and wider behavior problems. Together the studies trace a line: early motor-planning trouble links to later emotional and social hurdles.
Why it matters
Stop waiting for the child to “outgrow” clumsiness. Screen process skills—opening snacks, putting on shoes, using crayons—during natural routines. Add quick hope and coherence check-ins with parents. Target these areas in goals and monitor every quarter. You may lift both motor success and the child’s willingness to join play.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Participation is a person's involvement in daily activities in a variety of environments, roles and life situations. Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) experience difficulties in gaining academic achievements or in their engagement in activity of daily living. Motor difficulties have a negative effect on the ability to participate, as well as on various affective components. Senses of coherence, effort and hope have not yet been assessed, within the context of participation, in children with DCD. The purpose of the present study is to look into the relations between participation and senses of coherence, effort and hope among children with DCD, in comparison to typically developed children. Fifty subjects aged 5-6 years participated in the study, 25 of whom are children diagnosed with DCD, the other 25 being typical children. The DCD diagnosis was established according to the DSM-IV criteria and the M-ABC test. All children completed the coherence questionnaire for children as well as the children's questionnaire on effort and hope. Parents completed the Children Participation Questionnaire (CPQ), and the Performance Skills Questionnaire (PSQ). Children with DCD had lower performance skills, lower sense of coherence, hope, and effort than their peers. They less enjoy their participation and their parents are less satisfied in comparison to control group. Significant correlations were found between sense of coherence and hope to participation. Process skills were found to be the main predictor for explaining child's participation. While treating children with DCD we have to consider also socio-psychological aspects that may be weakened.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.07.019