FREQUENCY OF ATYPICAL SENSORY PROCESSING PATTERNS IN CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL COORDINATION DISORDER

M. Duque Weber¹, J. Lopes Cavalcante Neto², E. Tudella¹

¹Federal University of Sao Carlos, Department of Physiotherapy, São Carlos, Brazil, ²State University of Bahia, Department of Human Sciences, Jacobina, Brazil

Background: Sensory processing concerns the way in which sensory information passes through neural systems. The relationship between sensory stimuli and motor responses in typical sensorimotor development is a result of this process. Children with motor difficulties such as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) may present co-occurrence of sensory problems, since adaptive behavior responsiveness, and coordinated movement are considered outcomes of efficient reception and integration of afferent sensory signals.

Purpose: To verify the frequency of atypical sensory processing patterns in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out with ten schoolchildren in Brazil aged between seven and ten years old, of both sexes, divided into two groups: DCD group, with five children (8±1.2 years old, two boys); typical development (TD) group, with five matched peers (8±1.2 years old, two boys). All caregivers and children signed the informed consent form after explaining the study objectives and procedures. For DCD diagnosis, all four criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5th edition was followed using the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ), the Movement ABC-2 (MABC-2), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The Short Sensory Profile 2 was used to evaluate sensory processing patterns, and only the scores classify as “much more” or “much less” were considered. To describe the results, relative (%) and absolute (n) frequency and descriptive analyses were used.

Results: 60% of children in the DCD group presented atypical patterns and all of them with more than one. Of those, 40% presented patterns classified as “much more than others”. Child one presented the pattern bystander and seeker; and child two presented the pattern bystander, seeker, and sensor. Continuing in the DCD group, 20% of children present patterns classified as “much less than others”. That child presents sensor and bystander patterns. On the other hand, children in the TD group did not present any atypical pattern evaluated in this study. It is possible to notice that the atypical sensory processing patterns presented by children with DCD are variable.

Conclusions: Children with DCD present atypical sensory processing patterns, with variety in neurological threshold (low: sensor; high: seeker and bystander) and self-regulation strategy (passive: bystander and sensor; active: seeker). The only pattern not presented was the avoider (low neurological threshold and active self-regulation). These results are consistent with the literature since other studies showed a possible correlation between DCD and atypical sensory processing. However, those studies are often with co-occurrence such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which can be a bias. The authors suggest that more studies with a large sample and a rigorous methodology be carried out to confirm the results.

Implications: Our results elucidate the importance of including children with DCD in multidisciplinary intervention programs, which consider sensory processing in the assessment and intervention strategies of this population.

Funding acknowledgements: Grant 2020/12729-9, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).

Keywords:
Developmental Coordination Disorder
Sensory motor performance

Topics:
Paediatrics

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Federal University of Sao Carlos

Committee: Federal University of Sao Carlos Research Ethics Committee

Ethics number: 52286421.0.0000.5504