Developmental coordination disorder Flashcards
What is another term for Developmental Coordination Disorder?
- Developmental Clumsiness,
- Minimal Cerebral Dysfunction,
- Developmental Apraxia,
- Dyspraxia,
- DCD
What is the prevalence of Developmental Coordination Disorder in children ages 5-11 years?
5% to 8% cross-nationally
What is the male to female ratio of children affected by Developmental Coordination Disorder?
Between 2:1 and 7:1
males typically affected more than females
What percentage of children with learning disabilities have motor coordination or visual motor problems?
90%
Which common co-morbid problems are associated with Developmental Coordination Disorder?
- Attention ADHD
- Dyslexia
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
At what age is Developmental Coordination Disorder usually diagnosed?
6 to 12 years
How does the American Psychiatric assoication classify DCD and coordiantion
- Motor coordination problems in children and adolescents who have no obvious physical or mental impairments
- have been classified as having sensory integration problems
- marked impairment in the development of motor coordination
- this goes into adult hood
What are the implications of motor skills deficits in children with DCD?
- Significant interference with activities of daily living
- Impact on academic/school productivity
- Effects on leisure and play
What is the onset period for symptoms of Developmental Coordination Disorder?
Early developmental period
What must be ruled out for a diagnosis of DCD according to the DSM-V?
- progressive lesions of the cerebellum
- mental retardation
- pervasive development disorder
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- brain injury
- global development delay
- autism
- cerebral palsy
- muscular dystrophy
- ataxia and dysarthria
What are the four diagnostic criteria for Developmental Coordination Disorder?
- Motor skills below expected age (considering opportunities to learn and practice motor skills)
- Significant interference with daily activities (self-care, academics, work, leisure, play)
- Early onset of symptoms (early development period)
- Not better explained by another medical condition
(last two require the involvement of family practitioner or developmental pediatrician to rule out other explanations; in many states only an MD or psychologist is permitted to make dx)
True or False: Developmental Coordination Disorder can be diagnosed solely based on a child’s clumsiness.
False
What psychosocial difficulties are children with DCD at increased risk for?
- Anxiety (may be selective mutism)
- Depression
- Overweight or obesity
- Compromised physical fitness
- ADHD
- austim
- specific learning disabilities
- hypermobility
- decreased participation of daily living
- dont want to move = hate gym
DCD affects movement and perception; those ith co-morbities have poorer outcomes
What brain areas are involved in the diagnosis of DCD? And where are there smaller volumes of neuroanatomixal structures
- Parietal cortex
- Frontal cortex
- Cerebellar cortex
AND
- cerebellum and basal ganglia
What are some possible causes of Developmental Coordination Disorder?
- Anoxia at birth (low O2)
- Low birth weight
- Prenatal, perinatal, or neonatal risk factors
- intraventricular hemorrhage
What are common early signs of Developmental Coordination Disorder?
- Messy when eating
- Late walker
- Awkward
- late talker due to issues with immitation
- Excessive frustration and crying (difficult to console)
- demand adult attention
- typically not identified until school age
What are some motor control deficits observed in children with DCD?
- Difficulty maintaining postures
- Atypical postural control strategies/Increased co-contraction of joints
- difficulties with execution phase: controlling variable movements, inaccurate reaching, gait coordination
What type of feedback do children with DCD rely heavily on during motor tasks?
Visual feedback
intervention strategies for children with DCD?
- Task-oriented functional practice
- involve family
- consider self organization practice with variability, feedback and declarative knowledge
- relevant to ADLs
- child centered
- referrals
- need clear goals and outcome measures for individual children
- physical education and perceptual motor training are the best ways to treat coordination disorder
- using a computer to take notes; may help the if they struggle with writting
- children with developmental coordination disorder are 3x more likely to be overweight than other children their age
What activities are recommended for children with DCD to encourage physical fitness?
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Skating
- Predictable sports activities
What is the role of family involvement in the treatment of DCD?
Involvement is crucial for support and encouragement in practice
What tool is most often used for evaluating Developmental Coordination Disorder?
DCD Questionnaire
What are some common questions to ask parents regarding a child with suspected DCD?
- Was your child born preterm?
- At what age did your child first walk independently?
- Does your child have difficulty with fine motor activities?
What is the outlook for children diagnosed with Developmental Coordination Disorder?
The disorder does not get worse over time but may continue into adulthood
How prevalent is Developmental Coordination Disorder among school-aged children?
Affects 5%-6% of school-aged children
What are the long-term implications of Developmental Coordination Disorder?
Motor and psychosocial difficulties may continue into adulthood
What is the prevalence of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in school-aged children?
5%–6%
DCD is a prevalent childhood disability affecting a significant portion of the population.
How long does Developmental Coordination Disorder typically continue?
Usually continues into adulthood
Many of the motor and psychosocial difficulties associated with the disorder persist beyond childhood.
What is a common issue with the diagnosis of DCD by healthcare professionals?
Seldom diagnosed by general practitioners and pediatricians
DCD has been long under-recognized in clinical settings.
What type of interventions have been identified for children with DCD?
Evidence-based interventions
Recent systematic reviews and practice guidelines have highlighted successful treatment options.
What do longitudinal studies indicate about motor skill deficits in individuals with DCD?
Deficits in motor skills persisting into adolescence and adulthood
This highlights the long-term impact of DCD on motor abilities.
What kind of approach should interventions for DCD take according to the Leeds Consensus Statement?
Task-oriented, Functional, Relevant to daily living, Child-centered, Involve parents and teachers, Evidence-based
These principles ensure that interventions are effective and tailored to the needs of the child.
True or False: The severity of DCD does not change over time.
True
The disorder does not worsen but can lead to ongoing challenges.
Fill in the blank: DCD is often referred to as _______.
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia is another term that is often used interchangeably with DCD.
What are some difficulties associated with DCD?
what apects of their life are challenged?
Motor and psychosocial difficulties
These challenges can affect various aspects of daily life for children with DCD.
What is a key feature of successful interventions for children with DCD?
Involve parents and teachers
Collaboration with caregivers and educators is crucial for effective support.
What should the neurologic examination assess
- behavior
- cognition
- comprehension
- vision
- eye movements
- coordination
- motor activity
- focal and lateralized deficits
- tone
- strength
- stretch reflex
How do children with DCD typically move
- have significantly longer movement times and less accurate control
- rely on visual feedback
- require more time to execute motor tasks to optimize accuracy
Pathophyiology of DCD
- no specific pathologic process has been identified
- possible lesion of the periventricular white matter
- damage to CND may occur during third trimester
- may be related to cerebellar and basal ganglia dysfunction
- non-progressive disorder
- mirror neurons in fronto-parietal circuit know as the mirror neuron system
Mirror neurons
- mirror neurons are essential for imitation
- a key process in learning
- active from birth to learn, eat, dress, speak
- important in planning our actions and understanding intention behind actions
- essential for brain cells for social interactions, without them e would likely be blind to the actions, intentions and emotions of other people
What does cerebellar damage impact
- voluntary, coordinated movement
- rate, range, force, heterogenous motor skills
- poor cerebellar function, refleced in problems with posture balance and fast accurate control of movement
DCD
What are some issues with body structure and function and limitations
- muscle weakness
- poor coordination
- choreoform movements
- joint laxity
- poor visual perception
- awkward gait
- delayed and poor quality of fine and gross motor skills
- poor spatial organization
- inadequate information processing
- poor sequencing
- poor feedback
- poor short/long term memeory
- delayed oral-motor skills
Children with DCD may have
What do they have difficulty doing?
- trouble holding objects
- difficulty brushing their teeth
- difficulty turning a doorknob
- have an unsteady walk
- run into other children
- trip over their own feet
Motor learning deficits seen with DCD
- difficulty learning new skills to perform instrumental daily activities such as tying shoes, dressing, handwritting, playing sports and using playground
- difficulty with error correction and feedback:
- difficulty breaking tasks into parts,
- difficulty with anticipatory control
- heavy reliance on visual feedback: difficulty with skill transfer
Perceptural deficits with DCD
- visual spatial processing: determining size of object, visual memory
- difficulty with visual rehearsal
- slow processing of visual feedback: but tend to rely on it longer for learning,
- impaired use of proprioceptive feedback
- need visual feedback for increased movement; decreased movement velocity and increase movement accuracy
