The role of poor motor coordination in predicting adults' health related quality of life.
Childhood motor problems plus current self-perception predict adult quality-of-life in DCD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Engel-Yeger (2020) asked the adults with suspected DCD to fill out the Adult DCD Checklist.
The checklist asks about childhood motor problems and current self-perception.
Then each adult rated their health-related quality of life on the WHOQOL-BREF.
What they found
Adults with suspected DCD scored lower on every quality-of-life domain.
The biggest drops were in psychological, social, and environmental areas.
Childhood motor problems plus current self-perception predicted these low scores better than any single motor test.
How this fits with other research
Barton et al. (2019) showed that DCD kids move less and get less parental support. Batya now shows these early gaps grow into adult quality-of-life problems.
Omer et al. (2021) found that executive-function troubles partly explain why DCD kids feel anxious. Batya extends this by showing that self-perception, not just EF, keeps hurting adults.
Capio et al. (2013) mapped how severe motor problems in kids link to more daily-living deficits. Batya confirms the same pattern holds when those kids become adults.
Chen et al. (2013) warned that memory complaints in DCD kids may really be language issues. Batya adds that adult self-ratings also need context beyond raw scores.
Why it matters
When you assess an adult client with motor concerns, ask about childhood clumsiness and how they see themselves now. Use the ADC checklist. These two pieces predict life satisfaction better than any timed pegboard test.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and its functional restrictions may persist into adulthood. Nevertheless, the knowledge about DCD in adulthood and its association with health related quality of life (HRQOL) is limited. AIMS: To explore how individuals with suspected DCD experience DCD impacts as children and as adults and how these experiences predict their HRQOL. METHODS: Participants were 200 healthy individuals aged 20-64 (mean 32.66 ± 11.51): 18 with suspected DCD and 182 with normal motor performance (according to the Adult Developmental Coordination Disorder/Dyspraxia, ADC, Checklist cut-off score). Participants completed a sociodemographic/health questionnaire, the ADC and the WHOQOL-BREF which measures physical, psychological, social and environmental HRQOL. RESULTS: The group with suspected DCD had significantly lower HRQOL (except for the physical domain). In the general sample, current feelings about the individual's performance predicted all HRQOL domains. Among the study group, HRQOL was predicted by current perception of performance and difficulties experienced as a child. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The negative effects of DCD during childhood and adulthood may reduce adults' HRQOL, mainly in the psycho-social and environmental domains. The detailed profile provided by the ADC with its functional context may assist in evaluating DCD in adults and in tailoring intervention for improving HRQOL.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103686