Aquatic Physical Therapy for Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Aquatic therapy is an intervention for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) that has not been investigated formally. This was a pilot randomized controlled trial to investigate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an aquatic therapy program to improve motor skills of children with DCD. Thirteen children (mean age 7 years 1 month; 10 males) with DCD were randomly allocated to receive either six sessions of aquatic therapy (once weekly session of 30 min for 6-8 weeks) or to a wait-list (control group). The intervention and measures were demonstrated to be feasible, but barriers, such as limited appointment times and accessibility, were encountered. Analysis of covariance indicated that at posttest, mean scores on the Movement Assessment Battery were higher for children who received aquatic therapy compared to those on the wait-list (p = .057). Similar trends were noted on the physical competence portion of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance (p = .058). Participation levels, as measured by a parent questionnaire, showed improvement for both groups. Potential facilitators and barriers to implementation of an aquatic therapy for children with DCD are discussed.