Kinesthetic deficit in children with developmental coordination disorder

Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure and compare kinesthetic sensitivity in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and typically developing (TD) children between 6 and 11 years old. 30 children with DCD aged 6 to 11 years (5 in each age group) and 30 TD children participated in the study. Participants placed their forearms on a passive motion apparatus which extended the elbow joint at constant velocities between 0.15 and 1.35°s(-1). Participants were required to concentrate on detection of passive arm motion and press a trigger held in their left hand once they sensed it. The detection time was measured for each trial. The DCD group was significantly less sensitive in detection of passive motion than TD children. Further analysis of individual age groups revealed that kinesthetic sensitivity was worse in DCD than TD children for age groups beyond six years of age. Our findings suggested that individual with DCD lag behind their TD counterparts in kinesthetic sensitivity. Between the ages of 7 and 11 years the difference between groups is quantifiable and significant with 11 year old children with DCD performing similar to 7 year old TD children.

Keywords: Clumsy; Kinesthetic development; Passive motion sense; Perception; Proprioception.