A Review of 326 Children with Developmental and Physical Disabilities, Consecutively Taught at the Movement Development Clinic: Prevalence and Intervention Outcomes of Children with DCD

Data from 326 children taught consecutively in a physical education clinic were reviewed. Only 63 children (39 males, 24 females) (19%) met the diagnostic criteria for developmental coordination disorder (DCD) specified by the American Psychiatric Association (2000). The other children were diagnosed with neuromuscular disorders and medical conditions. After an average intervention period of 12 weeks, the mean performance percentile of children with DCD significantly improved beyond the cutoff of the diagnostic criteria. Student teachers’ knowledge of the constraint-based approach, in addition to knowledge of the more traditional information-processing approach, made no difference to the intervention outcome. Results showed that children with DCD benefited from either the constraint-based approach or the information-processing approach to individual physical education programs. This review also highlighted the need for direct services in the treatment of developmental and physical disabilities. In addition to treatment programs affiliated with universities, family focused or community based intervention may be realistic and potential solutions under the financial constraints on the educational and medical systems.