Decreased physical activity has been linked to poor fitness and obesity, resulting in increased risk for health concerns. The objective is to study the relationships between children's motor coordination and their physical activity, sedentary behaviour, fitness and weight status in a cross-cultural study in the United States and Israel. Participants included 118 children 6-11 years of age: 53 children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and 65 typical children. The US sample included 31 DCD children and 44 typical children. The Israeli sample included 22 DCD children and 21 typical children. Participants were assessed on Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2, strength test of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2 and Six-minute Walk Test and wore an accelerometer. Parents completed physical activity questionnaires and demographic information. Body mass index was calculated based on height and weight. Testing took place in two sessions. Findings are that in both Israel and the United States, children with DCD demonstrated significantly reduced physical activity, increased sedentary behaviour, poorer fitness and increased overweight compared with typical children. No significant differences were found for country. With relevance to clinical practice, fitness and obesity are major concerns for children with DCD in both countries. Inclusion of occupational therapy in health promotion for this population is critical. Additional studies with testers blind to group, larger samples and other countries are recommended.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelations between legibility of handwriting, atomistic factors, handwriting speed, and perceptual-motor body functions. The authors aimed to determine the contribution of these factors in predicting students' handwriting performance during copying and dictation and to assess performance differences under both of these writing conditions. The handwriting performance of 35 third graders with writing difficulties and 35 control subjects was assessed during copying and dictation. The control group performed significantly better on all measures during both copying and dictation. Only overall legibility predicted handwriting performance during copying, whereas both speed and overall legibility predicted handwriting performance during dictation. Only spatial organization significantly predicted overall legibility for both groups and conditions. The findings suggest that handwriting speed and overall legibility are separate constructs and that different components underlie writing during copying and dictation. These results have clinical implications for handwriting evaluation and intervention.

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Our objective was to examine the association of attention deficit and disorganization in boys with and without specific developmental disorder of motor function. Four groups of boys between the age of 7 and 12 years-(1) Disorganization + coordination disorder (n = 30); (2) Coordination disorder (n = 33); (3) Disorganization (n = 28); and (4) Control (n = 29)-were included. Teachers completed the Questionnaire for Assessing the Students' Organizational Abilities for the Teacher and the Conners' Teachers Rating Scale-Revised. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children and 2 subscales of an intelligence test (vocabulary and similarities) were administered. A significantly increased rate of attention deficit in children with organizational deficit was identified. Attention deficit in children with specific motor disorder was exclusively associated with an organizational deficit. Organizational deficit in childhood is highly associated with attention deficit, and this association is particularly relevant in children with specific coordination disorder.