Awareness about developmental coordination disorder

Steenbergen, Bert; Valtr, Ludvík; Dunford, Carolyn; Prunty, Melissa; Bekhuis, Hidde; Temlali, Taha Yassine; van Abswoude, Femke; Lust, Jessica M.; Warlop, Griet; Augustijn, Mireille; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C. M.; Wilson, Peter H.

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1345257

Front. Public Health

2024

DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1345257

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Awareness about developmental coordination disorder

Bert Steenbergen,

Ludvík Valtr,

Carolyn Dunford

et al.

Abstract: The present paper is designed to promote awareness of DCD outside the academic world. With a prevalence of 5–6% it is one of the most common disorders of child development. It is therefore surprising that so little is known about it among professionals in child healthcare and education. Parents have expressed frustration about this lack of awareness, including the general public. The general aim of this paper was to describe those critical aspects of DCD that will promote awareness.

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Cited by 3 publications

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Which outcomes are key to the pre-intervention assessment profile of a child with developmental coordination disorder? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Smits-Engelsman,

Denysschen,

Lust

et al. 2024

Biomedical Journal

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Which outcomes are key to the pre-intervention assessment profile of a child with developmental coordination disorder? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Smits-Engelsman,

Denysschen,

Lust

et al. 2024

Biomedical Journal

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Harnessing real-life experiences: the development of guidelines to communicate research findings on Developmental Coordination Disorder/dyspraxia

Purcell,

Dahl,

Gentle

et al. 2024

Res Involv Engagem

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Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, affects 5–15% of school-aged children (Hamilton and Sutton, Am Fam Physician 66:1435, 2002) and significantly impacts a child’s ability to learn motor skills and perform everyday activities efficiently and effectively (Zwicker et al., Eur J Paediatr Neurol 16:573–81, 2012). These motor deficits can have a negative impact on academic performance, vocational choices and leisure pursuits (Zwicker et al., Eur J Paediatr Neurol 16:573–81, 2012) and profoundly impact quality of life (Izadi-Najafabadi et al., Res Dev Disabil 84:75–84, 2019). DCD persists into adulthood (Kirby et al., J Adult Dev 18:107–13, 2011), impacting motor as well as emotional and behavioural status (Tal Saban and Kirby, Curr Dev Disord Rep 5:9–17, 2018). Despite the continued increase in research in the field of DCD, awareness of DCD remains poor (O’Kelly NL., From invisibility to invincibility: Guidelines for supporting families through the diagnosis and journey with developmental coordination disorder, 2012) even though it has higher prevalence rates when compared to, for example, autism spectrum disorder (Yan et al., J Autism Dev Disord :1–7, 2024), which in part may be due to a lack of accessible research findings. A fundamental feature of the research process is disseminating research findings. This should involve community members in design and delivery to ensure the accessibility of research findings.In 2022 the DCD-UK committee established a DCD Research Advisory Group (DCD-RAG) which met over the course of 12 months to: (1) identify issues of inaccessible research findings; (2) determine the need for a repository for research summaries; (3) co-create guidelines for authors and (4) agree a process for reviewing research summaries to be housed on the Movement Matters website. The new co-produced research repository, author guidelines and process were launched at the DCD-UK conference in Manchester 2023 and subsequently shared on social media and through the DCD research email list. The creation of the DCD-RAG and the process that we undertook together to create a non-academic repository for DCD research summaries are described. It is hoped that this repository will enable the wider public, community members and professionals to be able to readily benefit from accessible research, increasing a deeper and broader understanding of the evidence in the field.

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A Qualitative Investigation into the Experiences of Students with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD/Dyspraxia) in Higher Education

Gentle,

Ivanova,

Martel

et al. 2024

EJIHPE

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Developmental coordination disorder (DCD/Dyspraxia) is a commonly misunderstood and under-recognized specific learning difficulty (SpLD) in educational settings. This lifelong condition affects fine and gross motor coordination and significantly interferes with many activities of daily living, academic achievement, and employment opportunities. However, most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are unaware of its prevalence within their context, even though 5% of the general population have DCD and the enrolment of students in UK Higher Education with a known disability has increased by 42.4% between 2018 and 2023. Thus, understanding the lived experiences of students with DCD within Higher Education in the UK remains a considerable gap in knowledge. Through the use of focus groups, the lived experiences of 10 students with DCD at two UK HEIs were investigated. The thematic analysis identified four main themes: ‘Awareness of DCD’, ‘Participation in Higher Education for individuals with DCD’, ‘Wellbeing’, and ‘Everyday living’. Students shared that HEIs appeared to lack awareness of DCD and felt they had an inability to specify the correct support at university. Importantly, whilst the students in the study were not always confident in identifying the specific support they needed, they shared the strategies they used to aid their university experience. The students described the physical toll that many everyday living tasks can take, which subsequently negatively impact academic participation and wellbeing. On a positive note, many of the students discussed positive experiences at university, such as enjoying their own autonomy (and flexibility) to be independent and inform strategies for their own learning. Importantly, the findings from this work highlight the complexity and heterogeneity of DCD and the need for a tailored approach to supporting individuals with this condition. Given the importance of educational qualifications to enter the workplace, and the contribution of employment to quality of life, these findings help signpost areas where HEIs can improve the experiences of students with DCD that may also enhance academic success.

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Awareness about developmental coordination disorder

Cited by 3 publications

References 63 publications

Which outcomes are key to the pre-intervention assessment profile of a child with developmental coordination disorder? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Which outcomes are key to the pre-intervention assessment profile of a child with developmental coordination disorder? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Harnessing real-life experiences: the development of guidelines to communicate research findings on Developmental Coordination Disorder/dyspraxia

A Qualitative Investigation into the Experiences of Students with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD/Dyspraxia) in Higher Education

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