Low-Cost Virtual Reality Intervention Program for Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

Purpose:To explore the feasibility of using a low-cost, off-the-shelf virtual reality (VR) game to treat young children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and to determine the effect of this intervention on motor function. Methods: Nine children, aged 4 to 6 years, referred to physical therapy because of suspected DCD participated in 10 game-based intervention sessions. Outcome Measures: Outcome measures included Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (M-ABC-2), the DCD Questionnaire (DCD-Q), the 6-minute walk test, and 10-m walk test. Results: Statistically significant changes were observed in the total standard score (P = .024) and the balance subscore (P = .012) of the M-ABC-2 and in the DCD-Q (P < .05). The children seemed to be motivated and to enjoy the interaction with the VR environment. Conclusion: VR games seemed to be beneficial in improving the children's motor function. (Pediatr Phys Ther 2013;25:467-473)

Motor Intervention With And Without Nintendo® Wii For Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: Protocol For A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Various studies have already demonstrated the efficacy of intervention programs based on virtual reality for these children [19,20,35,36,[21][22][23][24][31][32][33][34], but the absence of further protocol systematization has been an important hindrance for professionals and researchers in this field to clearly understand the impact of such interventions on children's activity performance. [19,[22][23][24] are scarce, and their results tend to demonstrate that despite the benefits of virtual reality, conventional interventions seem to be more effective in the improvement of motor performance of children with DCD [19,[22][23][24]. Due to limitations and differences between the protocols adopted, though, these results must be interpreted carefully.…”

“…The handful of existing studies that compare interventions with and without virtual reality for children with DCD still show limitations about evidence created by the virtual reality intervention [19,[21][22][23][24].…”

Motor Intervention With And Without Nintendo® Wii For Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: Protocol For A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…The protocol is based on the domains of the MABC-2 domains. Various studies have already demonstrated the efficacy of intervention programs based on VR for these children [19][20][21][22][23][24][31][32][33][34][35][36], but the absence of further protocol systematization has been an important hindrance for professionals and researchers in this field to clearly understand the impact of such interventions on children's activity performance.…”

“…The handful of existing studies that compare interventions with and without VR for children with DCD still show limitations about evidence created by the VR intervention [19,[21][22][23][24]. Moreover, it is not clear whether one type of intervention offers greater gains than the other due to the shortcomings from the scarce previous studies already published.…”

Virtual Sensorimotor Balance Training for Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Feasibility Study

“…41 Children showed significant post-intervention improvements on balance and motor outcomes on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (2 nd Edition). Results demonstrated the feasibility of balance training using components similar to our STABEL system.…”