Development of Children With DCD Before the Age of Six

The Development of Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) Before the Age of Six: a Follow-up Study

The aim of this study is to map the early development of children with DCD and compare it to typically developing (TD) children.

At first we will investigate to what extent motor delay, reduced force, higher BMI, behavioral, ADL and participation problems occur in toddlerhood in DCD children and how this relates to TD children. We will also look into the evolution of these parameters in time (stability of development).

Secondly we will explore if the diagnosis of DCD can be predicted using a standardized test before the age of five.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Developmental Coordination Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Test Battery

Detailed Description

A longitudinal study design enables us to assess children at three different ages (3y, 4y and 5y).

Assessment scores (AIMS or/and BSID) before the age of three will be retrieved retrospectively in the clinical group.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 70

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Ghent, Belgium, 9000
    • Ghent University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 years to 5 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Children attending the Center of Developmental Disabilities Ghent.

Description

Inclusion Criteria DCD group:

1. The multidisciplinary team of the Center of Developmental Disabilities reports that the child has DCD or is at-risk for developing DCD and this at the age of 2 and/or 3 years.
2. At least one parent speaks Dutch to the child

Inclusion Criteria controlgroup:

1. The child is three years of age at the moment of the first testing
2. Little-DCD-Q score ≥ 55 at 3y
3. M-ABC-2 percentilescore ≥25 at 3y
4. No medical diagnoses possibly influencing the motor development (DCD, ADHD, ASS, CP,…)
5. No history of developmental motor stimulation (therapy) and/or support
6. Gestational age ≥37w
7. Birthweight ≥2500g
8. At least one parent speaks Dutch to the child

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Other

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
DCD Group; Children diagnosed with DCD or at-risk DCD at two or three years of age	Other: Test Battery; All toddlers (DCD children + TD children) included in the study will be tested at three points in time, that is at the age of 3y, 4y and 5y with an extensive test battery. Questionnaires will be filled in by parents and teachers. Children will be tested using different instruments.; Other Names: Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2; Beery-VMI-6; Functional Strength Measurement; Child Behaviour Checklist; Little-DCD-Questionnaire; DCD-Daily-Questionnaire; Vragenlijst motorische vaardigheden kleuters; Body mass Index; YC-PEM; Social Communication Questionnaire; Teacher Report Form
Control Group; Typically developing children	Other: Test Battery; All toddlers (DCD children + TD children) included in the study will be tested at three points in time, that is at the age of 3y, 4y and 5y with an extensive test battery. Questionnaires will be filled in by parents and teachers. Children will be tested using different instruments.; Other Names: Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2; Beery-VMI-6; Functional Strength Measurement; Child Behaviour Checklist; Little-DCD-Questionnaire; DCD-Daily-Questionnaire; Vragenlijst motorische vaardigheden kleuters; Body mass Index; YC-PEM; Social Communication Questionnaire; Teacher Report Form

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Developmental Coordination Disorder	Presence or absence of a diagnosis of DCD as defined by the DSM-V diagnostic criteria.	This will be assessed at the age of 5 years.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Movement Assessment Battery For children 2 - Dutch Version	The M-ABC-2-NL is a motor assessment battery for children age 3 to 16y including three subtests (manual dexterity, ball skills and balance). The test battery was translated to Dutch and Dutch-Flemish norms are available.	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.
Beery-Buktenica Developmental test of Visual-Motor Integration 6	The Beery-VMI-6 measures the visual-motor integration skills and consists of three subtests (visual-motor integration, motor coordination and visual perception).	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.
Child Behaviour CheckList	The CBCL consists of 120 items (3-pointscale) questioning the child's behavior. Two versions are available (teacher and parent) in two age-ranges (1.5y - 6y and 6y - 18y). The absence or presence of features of emotional disorder, anxiety disorder, AD(H)D, OCD, CD and somatic disorder are examined. Both versions (parent + teacher) within the age-range 1.5 - 6y will be used.	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.
Functional Strength Measurement	The FSM is a Dutch test assessing functional force in children 4 to 12y. The test consists of 8 items in two domains (upper extremity and lower extremity). Scores are presented either by limb (upper or lower limb) and/or by type of force (explosive power/endurance).	This will be assessed at the age of 4 and 5 years.
Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure	YC-PEM is a questionnaire for parents of children aged 0 to 6y. The test consists of 73 items on three participation scales (frequency, involvement and desire to change) and one environment scale (amount of support by environment) measured in three domains (home, kindergarden/school and community).	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.
Little-DCD-Questionnaire	The L-DCD-Q-NL originates in Israel and was designed for children 3 to 4y. It is a revision of the DCD-Q for older children. The Flemish translation expanded the age category from 3 to 5y. The L-DCD-Q is a parental questionnaire scoring 15 activities using a 5-point-Likert scale.	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.
Motor Skills Checklist (VMVK)	The VMVK is a Flemish teacher questionnaire consisting of 28 ADL-activities scored using a 4-point-scale. Norms are available for children age 3 to 5y.	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.
Body Mass Index	Height and weight will be determined.	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.
Social Communication Questionnaire	SCQ is a parental screening questionnaire for autism in children aged 4 years or older. The questionnaire consists of 40 yes/no questions.	This will be assessed at the age of 5 years.
DCD-Daily Questionnaire	The DCD-Daily-Q is a Dutch parental questionnaire (5 - 8y) consisting of 23 ADL-activities (3-point scale) in three domains: how often the child participates (participation scale), how well the child performs (quality scale) and the time the child needs to learn new skills (learning scale).	This will be assessed at the age of 5 years.
Teacher report form	The TRFconsists of 120 items (3-pointscale) questioning the child's behavior. Two versions are available (teacher and parent) in two age-ranges (1.5y - 6y and 6y - 18y). The absence or presence of features of emotional disorder, anxiety disorder, AD(H)D, OCD, CD and somatic disorder are examined.	This will be assessed at the age of 3, 4 and 5 years.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Ghent
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Amy Roubaix, University Ghent

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 8, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 6, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): January 6, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 27, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 28, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): October 1, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 10, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: motor development; toddler; prediction
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Motor Skills Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: B670201837290

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No