The Effects of Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this literature review was to detect and study the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention programs, such as physical activities and sports, on children and adolescents with Developmental Motor Coordination Disorder (DCD) to improve their motor skills. The sample for this study consisted of 48 (100%) papers, specifically, 40 (83.5%) articles, 3 (6.2%) doctoral theses, 2 (4.1%) master’s theses and 3 (6.2%) papers from conference proceedings from the year 2014 to 2022. To search the sample, the following terms were used: DCD or dyspraxia, physical activity programs, intervention, physical intervention, physical education, etc. The results for the existence of statistically significant results and internal validity of intervention programs using physical activities and sports in children and adolescents with DCD showed that a large number of intervention programs improved the children’s motor skills as well as their daily functionality. In contrast, other interventions failed to improve dynamic and static balance. The negative result could be due either to the short duration of the interventions or to the improper suboptimal design—organization of the methodology of these programs—such as the heterogeneous intervention samples and the use of inappropriate and reliable assessment tools.

Addressing complexity in motor learning: Practical strategies for teachers and coaches

“…It facilitates the adaptation of functional components that respond to environmental demands while allowing the rest of the motor pattern to remain unchanged. This nuanced perspective, advocated by scholars like Bosch (2010) and Zaragas et al (2023) challenges the notion that identifying suitable movement for a motor situation must entail altering all movement parameters.…”

“…According to this perspective, movement is sustained, repeated, and executed until stability is assured. The system, in response to any compromise URL: www.onlinesciencepublishing.com | February, 2024 in stability, even with minimal or extreme disturbances, seamlessly transitions to a new movement (Zaragas et al, 2023).…”

The Influence of Physical Activity Regime on Body Composition in Teenagers With and Without Intellectual Disabilities

“…The research suggests that physical activity in and outside school has a positive influence on teenagers' physical, psychological, and social evolution. More precisely, it has been proven that physical activity enhances the quality of life (Poitras et al, 2016), decrease the risk of disease, increase mental and emotional wellbeing (Ferrero-Hernández et al, 2023;Owen et al, 2016;Zaragas et al, 2023), improve school performance and motor skills (Aksovic et al, 2023), increase the frequency of prosocial behaviours (Sakalidis et al, 2023) and improve self-concept ( van Tuyll van Serooskerken et al, 2022).…”