Ball skills in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD)

The purpose of this study was to compare ball skill performance of children with and without DCD in a one-on-one testing situation. A sample of 107 children (48 girls and 59 boys) aged between 7 and 11 years was recruited for this project. In total, 45 (42.1%) met the criteria for DCD, and 62 (57.9%) did not. Motor ability was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery (M-ABC). Each participant was required to complete ten overhand throws and to catch a ball adjusted to their hand size ten times. Video analysis was used to determine the developmental level of throwing and catching. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed a significant main effect of DCD for all developmental sequences of catching (p<0.05), for the number of catches (p<0.001) and for the accuracy of the throws (p<0.001). Furthermore, the data revealed that children with DCD displayed less advanced modal developmental sequence levels than normally developing children for throwing with respect to the arm action (p<0.05), the backswing (p<0.10) and the foot action (p<0.05). The findings from this study clearly showed that children with DCD are at a disadvantage in controlling a ball. Without a tailored intervention these children will not be able to participate properly in physical activities.