Visuomotor adaptation, internal modelling, and compensatory movements in children with developmental coordination disorder.
Kids with DCD can recalibrate vision fine—train movement precision instead.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team watched kids with DCD wear prism goggles that bent their vision sideways.
Kids had to point at targets while a camera tracked every finger move.
The same test was given to typically developing kids for comparison.
What they found
Both groups learned to aim straight after a few tries.
Kids with DCD were just as good at fixing the visual shift.
Yet their pointing was slower, less accurate, and wobblier overall.
How this fits with other research
Delgado-Lobete et al. (2020) saw odd sensory scores in the same population.
That feels like a clash, but it isn’t: the brain can sense and adapt yet still send messy movement commands.
Spanoudis et al. (2011) warned that most DCD studies skip real-life tasks.
Elisa’s lab data now show clinicians exactly which motor piece to target—precision, not adaptation drills.
Why it matters
Stop wasting time on prism goggles or visuomotor adaptation games.
Shift goals to clean, fast, consistent movements in handwriting, dressing, and sports.
Use timed fine-motor tasks and variability charts to track progress.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is one of the most prevalent developmental disorders in school-aged children. The mechanisms and etiology underlying DCD remain somewhat unclear. Altered visuomotor adaptation and internal model deficits are discussed in the literature. AIMS: The study aimed to investigate visuomotor adaptation and internal modelling to determine whether and to what extent visuomotor learning might be impaired in children with DCD compared to typically developing children (TD). Further, possible compensatory movements during visuomotor learning were explored. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Participants were 12 children with DCD (age 12.4 ± 1.8, four female) and 18 age-matched TD (12.3 ± 1.8, five female). Visuomotor learning was measured with the Motor task manager. Compensatory movements were parameterized by spatial and temporal variables. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Despite no differences in visuomotor adaptation or internal modelling, significant main effects for group were found in parameters representing movement accuracy, motor speed, and movement variability between DCD and TD. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Children with DCD showed comparable performances in visuomotor adaptation and internal modelling to TD. However, movement variability was increased, whereas movement accuracy and motor speed were reduced, suggesting decreased motor acuity in children with DCD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104624