Stability of developmental coordination disorder from preschool to school age: A three-year prospective study

This three-year prospective study was to identify preschool children with DCD and track whether the status changed over the two years.This three-year prospective study was to identify preschool children with DCD and track whether the status changed over the two years.

122 children (mean age = 5.87 years, 62 boys) participated in this study at baseline, all with no neurological, visual, or intellectual impairments. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2nd Edition (MABC-2) test was used to assess their motor coordination. Based on the results, all children were categorized into three groups: typical development (TD, > 16th percentile), at risk for DCD (rDCD, 6th – 16th percentile), and probable DCD (pDCD, ≤5th percentile). Ninety children (mean age = 8.92 years; TD = 76, rDCD = 9, pDCD = 5) were repeatedly assessed using the MABC-2 test after two years and included in the final analysis. The Kappa statistic was used to indicate the agreement between the results of the MABC-2 test at two time points. 

There was a statistically significant agreement between the two assessments (k = .373, p .001), indicating that 74 children (82.2%; TD = 69, rDCD = 2, pDCD = 3) maintained the same status when they transitioned from preschool age into school age. In the third year, six children (8.0%) who were identified as TD at baseline became either rDCD or pDCD, four rDCD (57.1%) became TD, and 3rDCD became TD (37.5%). 

Although the overall results have shown significant agreement between the results at baseline and in the third year, the status of TD is relatively stable, compared to that of rDCD and pDCD. These findings further support the recommendation of the European Academy of Childhood Disability that, as typical motor development could largely vary between individuals, repeated motor assessments would be needed for a formal diagnosis of DCD.

As children’s motor development could be affected by various individual and contextual factors, the results of standardized motor assessments might be unstable. In order to achieve the accurate identification of DCD, health professionals should consider repeatedly administering the assessment over a period, if necessary.