The visuomotor process of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder and its relationship with functionality in activities of daily living

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between visuomotor processing and functionality in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The sample consisted of 52 children, 35 children with DCD (mean age=7.11 years) and 17 without DCD (mean age=7.11 years). The identification of DCD was carried out using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children Second Edition (MABC-2) and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire – Brazil (DCDQ BR). To evaluate ADL functionality, the Developmental Coordination Disorder Daily - Questionnaire (DCDDaily-Q) was used, and the Trail Making Test (TMT-L) was used to assess visuomotor processing. There were no significant differences in visuomotor processing between the group with and without DCD. When analyzing the scores of the instruments, it was possible to identify that children with poorer visuomotor processing had a lower score on the DCDQ (r= −0.253; p= 0.010) and in the Balance domain of the MABC-2 (r= −0.336; p= 0.015), and a higher score in the “school” domain of the acquisition subscale (r= 0.210; p= 0.048) and the “Leisure” domain of the participation subscale (r= −0.278; p= 0.046) of the DCDDaily-Q. Children with poorer visuomotor processing performance seem to have a higher chance of indicating DCD, poorer balance, decreased participation in leisure activities, and delays in the acquisition of school tasks. This data allows for more accurate evaluations and diagnoses to guide interventions in both the educational and health domains.