Table 3. Description of studies included.
| Study | Design | Variable(s) | Disorders (n) | Group matching | Age (years) | Summary of findings | Observations | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alloway, Rajendran, and Archibald (2009) | Cross-sectional | Working memory (Automated Working Memory Assessment) | SLI (15) DCD (55) ADHD (83) AS (10) |
Similar age Children in SLI group did not show motor difficulties |
8-11 | DCD: noticeable visuospatial
deficits AS: only showed poor performance on verbal short-term memory |
*Autism group had Aspergers | High |
| Cosper et al. (2009) | Interventional | Attention (Vigilance task, Model
III-R) Motor skills (Bruininks– Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Short Form) |
ADHD + PDD (2) ADHD + DCD (10) |
Similar age | 6-13 | All children made significant improvements in complex visual choice reaction time and visuomotor control after the training | *Both groups had ADHD combined with another disorder, Autism was considered “PDD”, no comparison between groups | Low |
| Dewey, Cantell, and Crawford (2007) | Cross-sectional control group | Motor skills (Bruininks– Oseretsky
Test of Motor Proficiency-Short Form) Gestural skills (Gestures Testa) |
ASD (49) DCD + ADHD (38) ADHD (27) DCD (46) TD (78) |
Similar age All groups obtained IQ > 70 (except for 5 children in ASD group) All groups were tested for ADHD Most children with ASD scored low on motor functioning, all DCD did, and all TD obtained high scores |
5-18 | Children with ASD, DCD, and DCD+ADHD
were significantly impaired on motor coordination skills Only ASD showed a generalized impairment in gestural performance |
*ASD group had PDD and AS | High |
| Foulder-Hughes, and Prior (2014) | Qualitative | Perceptions about transition (Interviews) | DCD + ASD (4) DCD (1) ASD (1) |
Similar age | 10-11 | Children with DCD and/or ASD have anxiety related to Physical Education when transitioning schools | *Qualitative study | Average |
| Kozulin et al. (2010) | Interventional | Cognitive functioning (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised, Raven Coloured Matrices) | DS (51) Genetic Intellectual disorders (12) Non-genetic Intellectual disorders (39)bASD (11) CP (13) DCD (45) ADHD (2) Other (15) |
Similar age | 5-7 (mental age) | IE-basic is a valid program to enhance general cognitive functioning in children with learning disabilities and a mild to moderate intellectual impairment | *Children recruited in different countries | Low |
| Kinnealey et al. (2012) | Interventional | Attending behaviors (Videotape) Sensory behaviors (The Sensory Profile) Perceptions (Journaling) |
ASD (3) Dyspraxia (1) |
No matching | 13-20 | Reduction in classroom sound as measured by a decibel meter after the installation of the Owens Corning Basement Finishing System | *Findings are not clear | Low |
| van Swieten et al. (2010) | Cross sectional control group | Motor and executive planning (Grip selection task with stimuli on computer screen) | DCD (27) ASD (20) TD (70) |
Similar age DCD was ensured to have typical executive level planning, since ASD has problems with such tasks |
5-14 | DCD: Showed the predicted bias towards Minimal
Rotation, and the proportion of children with DCD who showed this bias
was higher than even the youngest group of
TD children ASD: Performed identically to age-matched controls |
*Clear difference between DCD and ASD groups | High |
| Wisdom et al. (2007) | Cross sectional | Intelligence (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children) Language (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals) Motor coordination (McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development) Social ability (Theory of mind tasks, Emotion Recognition Scales) Executive functioning (Go/No-Go Task) Working memory (Trailmaking/Me mory Updating and the Goal Neglect Task) |
ASD (30) RELD (30) DCD (22) |
Similar age | 3-13 | AD and DCD groups have poorer fine and gross
motor coordination and better response inhibition than the RELD
group AD and DCD groups differ in fine and gross motor coordination, emotion understanding, and theory of mind scores (AD always lower) |
*Discusses DCD as part of the autism diagnosis | High |
| Sumner et al. (2016) | Cross sectional control group | Motor ability (Early motor abilities
questionnaire, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales– gross and fine
motor scales) Social functioning (Benton Test of Facial Recognition, Face processing battery, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales – socialization domain) |
ASD (30) DCD (30) TD (20) |
Similar age All groups had IQ > 70 TD group had did not meet criteria for DCD and ASD on assessments |
7-10 | Children with DCD and ASD were delayed in
reaching early motor milestones (DCD more than ASD) Children with ASD and DCD had similar fine- and gross motor skills Children with ASD and DCD were worse on face processing measures compared to TD children |
*Discusses the notion that DCD may have problems with social functioning | High |
| Green et al. (2015) | Cross sectional control group | Self-perception of movement and social
difficulties (Harter's Self- Perception Profile for
Children) Teacher's perception of movement and social difficulties (The Teacher Rating Scale) Motor skills (Movement Assessment Battery for Children) Social communication (Autistic Diagnostic Inventory-Revised) |
AS (11) DCD (9) TD (20) |
Similar age | 6-10 | Children with AS and DCD rated themselves as
less competent than the TD group (especially in athletic and social
domains, with a significant difference between AS and TD for the
athletic domain) Teachers significantly perceived both the groups with AS and DCD as less competent than the TD group |
*Discuss the lack of formal diagnosis in the DCD group and the unusual good “ball skills” in this group as possible explanation for lower perception in AS group | High |
| Caeyenberghs et al. (2016) | Cross sectional control group | Cortical thickness (MRI) Motor ability (Movement Assessment Battery for Children) Visuomotor integration (Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration) |
ASD + DCD (8) ASD (15) DCD (11) TD (19) |
Similar age All groups had IQ > 75 ADHD was excluded from all groups |
8-12 | ASD children showed increased normalized path
length and higher values of clustering coefficient compared with TD and
DCD Children with ASD and DCD exhibited changes that were more widespread than those seen in children with only DCD |
*Concludes that DCD and ASD are neurodevelopment al disorders with a low degree of overlap in abnormalities for cortical thickness, and the cooccurrence of DCD + ASD was associated with a distinct topological pattern | High |
a
Previously used by authors
Note: Acronyms stand for Developmental Coordination Disorder [DCD], Autism Spectrum Disorders [ASD], Specific Language Impairment [SLI], Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD], Down Syndrome [DS], Cerebral Palsy [CP], Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder [RELD], and typical development [TD]).