Article

We examined whether the behavioral impairments in finger torque control
evident in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) follow a
delayed or different developmental trajectory compared with their typically
developing peers. METHOD: Children with DCD (n=36; 18 males, 18 females; mean age
9y 7mo, SD 1y 8mo) and 36 typically developing children (15 males, 21 females;
mean age 9y 7mo, SD 2y), between 6 years 10 months and 12 years 7 months of age
were recruited from schools in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Particpants completed finger
torque control and maximum finger torque production tasks. The inclusion
criterion for children with DCD was a Movement Assessment Battery for Children
score below the fifth centile. Group means and cross-sectional age-related
landscapes of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Children with DCD were more
variable (p<0.001), less accurate (p=0.007), and less irregular (p<0.001), on
average, in their finger torque control than their typically developing peers,
despite producing nearly equivalent levels of maximum torque (p=0.49). Despite
these mean differences, the cross-sectional age-related changes in torque control
were similar in the two groups (all p>0.05). INTERPRETATION: The developmental
trajectory of finger torque control in children with DCD, compared with typically
developing children, is delayed. This suggests the behavioral deficits in finger
torque control in children with DCD persist as a function of age, rather than
progressing or resolving.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2012 Mac Keith
Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS