Cheng Y.T.Y.1, Fong S.S.M.1
1The University of Hong Kong, School of Public Health, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Background: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) affects motor planning and coordination of children, resulting in poor balance performance and frequent falls. Some DCD children may also exhibit problems with mental attention. Mental inattention may further jeopardize motor performance and postural control. Yet, the mental attention during reactive postural control has not been investigated in this population.
Purpose: The aim of this pilot study was to compare the reactive balance performance and concurrent mental attention level between DCD children and typically-developing (TD) children.
Methods: A cross-sectional exploratory study was carried out. DCD and TD children aged 6 to 9 years old were recruited from the community in Hong Kong. Children with a comorbid diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were excluded. The reactive balance performance was assessed using the Motor Control Test (MCT) on a computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) machine. The mental attention level during the MCT was measured using a NeuroSky Mindwave Mobile EEG headset. The MCT latency scores and the corresponding mental attention levels during backward and forward platform translations were compared between DCD children and the typically-developing children.
Results: 120 DCD children (mean age ± standard deviation = 7.38 ± 1.25 years) and 100 typically-developing children (mean age ± standard deviation = 6.73 ± 1.12 years) participated in the study. The MCT latency score during backward platform translation in DCD children was significantly faster than the TD children [mean difference = 14.83, 95%CI = 1.08, 28.59, p = 0.048], while the MCT latency score during forward platform translation in DCD children was significantly slower than the TD children [mean difference = -12.26, 95%CI = -24.30, -0.22, p=0.024]. The EEG-derived attention scores were significantly lower in DCD children than TD children during both MCT backward [mean difference = -3.24, 95%CI = -5.88, -0.60, p=0.042] and forward [mean difference = -4.39, 95%CI = -7.21, -1.58, p=0.031] platform translations.
Conclusion(s): This was the first study to show that the reactive balance performance in DCD children was direction-specific, with a better performance during backward platform translation. The mental attention level during reactive balance control in DCD children was lower than the TD children in all MCT platform translation conditions.
Implications: Reactive balance training in DCD children should include perturbations from different directions and incorporate a mental attention training component.
Funding acknowledgements: Partially supported by an ECS grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (27100614).
Topic: Paediatrics
Ethics approval: Approved by Human Research Ethics Committee (EA291214), the University of Hong Kong
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
