Prevalence of children ‘at risk’ of developmental coordination disorder in a primary school in East London, South Africa

Abstract

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects motor skills in 5-6% of children globally, impacting academic and sporting performance. This study investigated the screened ‘at risk’ of DCD prevalence in a group of children in a single school in the Eastern Cape, South Africa and how this impacted on academic performance and sporting participation. The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (2007) (DCDQ’07) was used as a parent-completed, standardised outcome measure. Demographic, coordination, academic and sporting performance data was collected from 69 children, mean age of eight years (range five to eleven years). Eight children (11.6%; n=69) screened positive for ‘at risk’ of DCD. The male to female ratio of ‘at risk’ of DCD was found to be 2.5:1, closely matching global norms. Boys and those repeating a school grade were significantly more likely to have fine motor and handwriting coordination difficulties (p=0.04 and p= 0.001 respectively). Children who had repeated a grade also showed more difficulty with controlling the amount of pressure or effort required to write or draw (p=0.00). Running speed and pattern was shown to affect boys more than girls (p=0.03). Children not participating in team sports were significantly more likely to experience overall coordination difficulties (p=0.010). Academic performance was shown to be significantly affected in children who had repeated a grade and who were found to be ‘at risk’ of DCD compared to those ‘not at risk’ (p=0.0179). Although higher than the global diagnosed prevalence, screened ‘at risk’ of DCD prevalence results are similar to other South African data. Increased awareness of the disorder and early screening may aid optimal referral of children ‘at risk’ of DCD with the aims of thereby improving academic performance and sporting participation.