Evaluation of Motor Coordination in Boys with High-Functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorder Using the Japanese Version of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire

Children with high-functioning pervasive developmental disorder (HFPDD) often have motor coordination dysfunction. However, there is no assessment tool for screening developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in Japan, which makes it difficult to evaluate the actual motor impairments of children with HFPDD. We evaluated the motor coordination function of 54 school-age boys with HFPDD using the Japanese version of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ-J). We subsequently assessed the relationship between DCDQ-J scores and the results of the Japanese version of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) of 48 boys. The total and subscale DCDQ-J scores of the boys with HFPDD were significantly lower than the population means in the same grade: 37.0 % were below 2 standard deviations for the total score, 38.9 % for control during movement, 26.0 % for fine motor/handwriting, and 37.0 % for general coordination. Furthermore, the scores of Qualitative Abnormalities in Communication in the ADI-R were negatively correlated with control during movement, fine motor/handwriting, and total scores in the DCDQ-J. This study is the first to show Japanese children with HFPDD frequently exhibit considerably poor motor coordination according to the DCDQ-J. The screening or assessment of motor dysfunction in HFPDD using assessment tools such as the DCDQ could aid the development of interventions for these underestimated problems in Japan.