The relationship between motor milestone achievement and childhood motor deficits in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.
Kids with ADHD walk on time, so later clumsiness comes from something other than baby motor delay.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lee et al. (2021) asked parents to recall when their children first sat, crawled, and walked. The team compared kids with ADHD, kids with Developmental Coordination Disorder, and neurotypical peers.
They wanted to know if late motor milestones predict later motor problems in ADHD.
What they found
Children with ADHD hit every milestone on time. Their early timeline looked just like the typical group.
Later motor deficits were still common, but those deficits did not track with ADHD symptom severity.
How this fits with other research
Blanco-Martínez et al. (2025) pooled data from many studies and found medium-sized motor competence deficits in ADHD. The new survey fits inside that bigger picture: milestones are fine, yet school-age movement gaps remain.
Capio et al. (2013) showed specific fine- and gross-motor gaps in Czech kids with ADHD. Jenna’s work explains why those gaps appear after infancy—milestone timing is not the cause.
Uljarević et al. (2017) linked late milestones to more repetitive behaviors in autism. The ADHD story is different: milestone timing is normal, so clinicians should look elsewhere for the source of motor issues.
Why it matters
If you screen a child with ADHD, don’t assume early motor delay. Instead, test current skills like balance, ball play, or handwriting. Targeted motor practice can help, even though the baby milestones were met on schedule.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of motor impairment is high in ADHD, but we do not know if this stems from infancy. AIMS: 1) to compare the acquisition of motor milestones across three groups: Typically Developing (TD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD); 2) to determine the relationship between current motor ability and ADHD characteristics in children with ADHD. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The parents of children aged 8-16 years (ADHD, N = 100; DCD, N = 66; TD, N = 40) completed three online questionnaires: Motor milestone questionnaire; Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ'07) (concurrent motor ability); Conners 3 Parent Rating Scale Long Form (ADHD characteristics). OUTCOME AND RESULTS: When considered as a group, the ADHD group achieved motor milestones within a typical timeframe, despite concurrent motor impairments. Motor ability was not associated with ADHD characteristics. Latent Profile Analysis demonstrated that 56 % of the ADHD group and 48 % of the DCD group shared the same profile of motor milestone achievement, concurrent motor ability and ADHD characteristics. OUTCOMES AND CONCLUSIONS: Unlike children with DCD, the motor impairment often observed in ADHD is not evident from infancy. It is also not part of the ADHD phenotype. Individual differences analysis demonstrated the broad heterogeneity of the ADHD phenotype.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.103920