Consequences of Comorbidity of Developmental Coordination Disorders and Learning Disabilities for Severity and Pattern of Perceptual—Motor Dysfunction

TLDR

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) struggle with age‑appropriate perceptual‑motor skills, and studies show that DCD frequently co‑occurs with ADHD and learning disabilities. The study investigated how comorbid DCD and learning disabilities affect the severity and pattern of perceptual‑motor dysfunction and discussed implications for their relationship. Children with comorbid DCD and LD exhibit greater perceptual‑motor impairment than those with DCD alone, especially in manual dexterity and balance, and display a distinct pattern of dysfunction.

Abstract

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have difficulty learning and performing age-appropriate perceptual—motor skills in the absence of diagnosable neurological disorders. Descriptive studies have shown that comorbidity of DCD exists with attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD). This study examined the consequences of the comorbidity of DCD and LD for the severity and pattern of perceptual—motor dysfunction. Compared to children with DCD without LD, children with co-morbid DCD and LD performed lower on a standardized assessment of perceptual—motor ability. Furthermore, it appeared that children with combined DCD and LD have particular difficulty performing manual dexterity and balance tasks but not ball-skill tasks. Implications for understanding the relationship between LD and perceptual—motor problems are discussed. We conclude that the comorbidity of DCD and LD not only affects the severity of perceptual—motor dysfunction but also is associated with a distinctive pattern of perceptual—motor dysfunction.