Identifying developmental coordination disorder: consistency between tests.

TLDR

Because no gold standard exists for diagnosing developmental coordination disorder, researchers have examined how consistently different physical and occupational therapy tests identify affected children. This study evaluated whether three motor‑skill measures—BOT, M‑ABC, and DCDQ—consistently identified the same children. A total of 379 children were recruited, and 202 age‑matched participants (101 with DCD and 101 without) were included in the final analysis. The tests agreed on less than 80 % of cases, with differences in administration style contributing to divergent identification, underscoring the need for clinicians to integrate multiple information sources.

Abstract

In the absence of a gold standard to identify the presence of developmental coordination disorder in children, it is useful to examine the consistency of different tests used in physical and occupational therapy. This study examined three measures of motor skills to determine whether they consistently identified the same children. In total, 379 children participated in this study. The final matched samples consisted of 202 children ranging in age from 8 to 17 years: 101 met criteria for DCD and 101 children did not show any evidence of DCD. The results indicated that the overall agreement between the Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT), the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) was less than 80%. The difference in structure and style of administration between the BOT and the M-ABC appears to contribute to their tendency to identify different children. This study emphasizes the need for therapists to use clinical reasoning to examine multiple sources of information about a child's abilities.