Emotional issues may follow motor problems in kids
A new study suggests the way kids with severe coordination problems see themselves may influence their emotional wellbeing later in life.
Coordination issues - sometimes diagnosed as developmental coordination disorder (DCD) - prevent people from accomplishing everyday tasks, such as using scissors or buttoning their shirts. The disorder can lead to frustration at school, at home and on the playground.
“Traditionally it was believed that children would outgrow any motor problems but there is now much evidence that these difficulties may continue into adolescence and beyond,” wrote Daniela Rigoli, the study’s lead author and a researcher at Curtin University in Western Australia, in an email.
For the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, Rigoli and her colleagues decided to see if, and how, the link between coordination and emotional issues like anxiety and depression is influenced by the way children with DCD see themselves.
Boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 16 years old were recruited from five randomly selected secondary schools and through advertisements.
What is Developmental Coordination Disorder?
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) (APA, 2000) occurs when a delay in the development of motor skills, or difficulty coordinating movements, results in a child being unable to perform everyday tasks. A diagnosis can be made by a medical doctor who will ensure: 1) that the movement problems are not due to any other known physical, neurological, or behavioural disorders; and, 2) whether more than one disorder may be present. The characteristics of children with DCD, however, are usually noticed first by those closest to the child because the motor difficulties interfere with academic achievement or with activities of daily living (e.g., dressing, playground skills, handwriting, gym activities). DCD is believed to affect 5-6% of children who are schoolaged and tends to occur more frequently in boys. DCD can exist on its own or it may be present in a child who also has learning disabilities, speech/language impairments and/or attention deficit disorder. In this booklet, the coordination difficulties that are discussed are those that are often seen in children with developmental coordination disorder.
The 93 adolescents were tested for their coordination - manual dexterity, aiming, catching and balance - and filled out a questionnaire about their “self perceptions.” The questions covered the teens’ social, academic and physical abilities, and their physical appearance. The participants also answered questions on anxiety and mood.
Of the 38 girls and 55 boys, five tested positive for a “significant movement disability.” Another two scored within the “at risk” category, which meant they had or potentially had some minor movement problems.
Characteristic Features of Children with DCD
When describing children with DCD, it is important to recognize that they are a very mixed group. Some children may experience difficulties in a variety of areas while others may have problems only with specific activities. The following is a list of some of the more common characteristics that may be observed in a child with DCD.
Physical Characteristics
1. The child may appear to be clumsy or awkward in his/her movements. S/he may bump into, spill, or knock things over.
2. The child may experience difficulty with gross motor skills (whole body), fine motor skills (using hands), or both.
3. The child may be delayed developing certain motor skills such as tricycle or bike riding, ball catching, handling a knife and fork, doing up buttons, and printing.
4. The child may show a discrepancy between his/her motor abilities and his/her abilities in other areas. For example, intellectual and language skills may be quite strong while motor skills are delayed.
5. The child may have difficulty learning new motor skills. Once learned, certain motor skills may be performed quite well while others may continue to be performed poorly.
6. The child may have more difficulty with activities that require constant changes in his/her body position or adaptation to changes in the environment (e.g., baseball, tennis or jumping rope).
7. The child may find activities that require the coordinated use of both sides of the body difficult (e.g., cutting with scissors, stride jumps, swinging a bat, or handling a hockey stick).
8. The child may exhibit poor balance and/or may avoid activities which require balance.
9. The child may have difficulty with printing or handwriting. This skill involves continually interpreting feedback about the movements of the hand while planning new movements, and is a very difficult task for most children with DCD.
Of those with definite or possible movement disorders, one student in the at-risk category had slightly increased depressive symptoms, and two students with movement disabilities reported high levels of depressive symptoms.
According to Rigoli, the findings suggest that the way children think of themselves is what ties motor coordination to current and future emotional wellbeing.
“For example, if a child with motor difficulties also has negative beliefs about their social and academic competence, this may act as a risk factor for further emotional difficulties such as increased anxiety or depressive symptoms,” she told Reuters Health.
The opposite is true for adolescents with positive thoughts, which is why Rigoli said promoting positive beliefs in the abilities of children with DCD may help avoid emotional problems.