Assessment of Motor Skills and Overall Well-Being in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

A specific intervention was conducted for children with DCD (developmental coordination disorder) in order to assess their motor skills. There were 14 subjects in the control group (28%) who were aged 8, 10 (20%) who were aged 9, 13 (26%) who were aged 10, and 13 (26%) who were aged 11. Compared with the control group, the interventional group included 15 (30.6%) participants aged 8, 14 (28.5%) aged 9, 12 (24.4%) aged 10, and 8 (16.3%) aged 11. The mean age of the control group was 9.5 ± 1.16, while that of the intervention group was 9.26 ± 1.06. According to the gender distribution of participants, 52% of the control group were males and 48% were females, while 40.85% of the intervention group were males and 59.2% were females. In order to assess motor skills, a Mini BESTest was used, which contains 14 domains and a total score of 28 points. In the control group, mean scores were 8.62±1.14, 9.81±1.1, 10.8±1.14, and 12.2±1.2 at baseline, 2, 4, and 6 weeks, respectively, with a significant p-value of 0.002. Also, the intervention group demonstrated mean scores of 11.1±1.5, 12.7±1.7, 14.3±2.0, and 16.0±2.4 at baseline, 2, 4, and 6 weeks, respectively, with a highly significant p-value of 0.0001. Additionally, both groups were tested on their ability to cover a distance during a six-minute walk. Compared to the control group at baseline, the second week, the fourth week, and the sixth week, there were significant differences in distances. In the intervention group, as well as in the control group, p-values of 0.05, signifying significance, were detected at the end of each week for the third week. In the study, motor skills improved more in children with DCD than those in the control group. Although the study had limitations, such as a small sample size and a short intervention period, there were also some positive results. Although this research does not prove a cure for DCD, it contributes valuable information to the growing body of knowledge about the disorder and describes how to develop tailored interventions to improve motor skills, as well as overall well-being, in people with DCD.