Low Motor Competence or Developmental Coordination Disorder? An Overview and Framework to Understand Motor Difficulties in Children

Childhood motor difficulties and cognitive impairment in midlife: A 40-year cohort study.

“…The kind of MD present in DCD affects “the acquisition and execution of coordinated motor skills” and are characterized by clumsiness as well as slowness and inaccuracy of movement (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). The MD seen in DCD can be conceived of as persistently poor motor skills, but they are distinct from mere low motor skills that are due to a lack of practice (Tamplain & Cairney, 2024). The MD can be heterogeneous and affect postural control, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, or a combination of these (Tamplain & Cairney, 2024; Williams et al, 2014).…”

“…The MD seen in DCD can be conceived of as persistently poor motor skills, but they are distinct from mere low motor skills that are due to a lack of practice (Tamplain & Cairney, 2024). The MD can be heterogeneous and affect postural control, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, or a combination of these (Tamplain & Cairney, 2024; Williams et al, 2014). Although the possibility of a continuum between DCD and cerebral palsy has been discussed (Williams et al, 2014), MD of the kind present in DCD, characterized by slowness and inaccuracy of movement, are distinct from the motor disorders seen in cerebral palsy, which are typically categorized as spasticity, choreoathetosis, ataxia, and dystonia (Rosenbaum et al, 2007).…”

“…Its diagnosis requires, in addition to MD (Criterion A), the following criteria: (B) the deficit in motor skills significantly and persistently impacts the individual’s activities, (C) the onset is in the “early developmental period,” and (D) the deficits are not better explained by intellectual disability or visual impairment and cannot be attributed to a neurological condition that affects movement, including cerebral palsy (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). The recent literature on childhood MD often employs DCD terminology even when no diagnosis has been made, in an attempt to unify research, as suggested by a consensus established during a conference on DCD (Tamplain & Cairney, 2024). Studies of DCD can therefore be relevant to childhood MD more generally.…”