Action-outcome Regularity Perceptual Sensitivity in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.
Young children with DCD show weaker detection of action-outcome regularity, which may hamper motor learning and sense of agency.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Nobusako et al. (2024) tested how well kids with Developmental Coordination Disorder notice that an action always leads to the same result.
They used a computer game where a button press made a shape appear right away or after a short delay.
The children had to tell if the action and outcome always matched or not.
What they found
Kids with DCD were worse at spotting the regular pattern, especially the younger ones.
Their sense of "I do this, then that happens" was weaker than in typically developing peers.
How this fits with other research
Debrabant et al. (2013) saw weaker brain timing signals in DCD kids who could not predict when to move.
The new study extends that idea: the brain timing problem now shows up as poor detection of action-outcome links.
Keating et al. (2024) looked at the same population in the same year but found more sensory issues, not less.
The two 2024 papers seem to clash—one says DCD kids miss regular patterns, the other says they feel extra sensory input.
The gap disappears when you see the tasks: Satoshi tested learning rules, Jennifer tested bright, loud, or scratchy sensations—different domains.
Why it matters
If a child cannot feel that "when I stack, the block falls," he will keep failing and quit trying.
Add simple cause-effect games to your motor plan: light goes on when hand reaches target, marble drops when button pressed.
Start young; the deficit is sharpest in early elementary years.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: An internal model deficit is considered to underlie developmental coordination disorder (DCD); thus, children with DCD have an altered sense of agency (SoA), which is associated with depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the perception of action-outcome regularity is present in early development, is involved in the generation of SoA, and has roles in adaptive motor learning and coordinated motor skills. However, perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity has not been examined in children with DCD. METHODS: We investigated perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity in 6-15-year-old children with DCD and age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) children. Both groups were assessed for coordinated motor skills with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd Edition, while the DCD group was assessed with the DCD Questionnaire, Social Communication Questionnaire, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Rating Scale, and Depression Self- Rating Scale for Children. RESULTS: Perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity was significantly reduced in children with DCD. However, there was a significant correlation between perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity and age in DCD and TD children. Perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity was significantly lower in younger children with DCD than in younger and older TD children, but there were no significant differences between older children with DCD and younger and older TD children. CONCLUSION: The current results suggest that children with DCD have significantly reduced perceptual sensitivity to action-outcome regularity at younger ages, which may alter SoA and inhibit internal model development, thereby reducing motor skill coordination.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2024 · doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01070-X