Social responsiveness in children with developmental coordination disorder

• Published in: Revista brasileira de fisioterapia (São Carlos (São Paulo, Brazil)) Brazil)), 2024-01, Vol.28 (1), p.100591-100591, Article 100591
• Main Authors: De Roubaix, Amy, Roeyers, Herbert, Van Waelvelde, Hilde, Bar-On, Lynn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Autism spectrum disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder - complications; Child; Child development; Developmental coordination disorder; Humans; Motor skills; Motor Skills Disorders; Original Research; Social responsiveness; Social skills; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1413-3555; 1809-9246
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2024.100591

•Children with DCD experience social responsiveness difficulties even without ASD.•These social responsiveness difficulties are not only a secondary consequence.•ASD might be underdiagnosed in children with DCD. Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in performing motor tasks. Research suggests social skills are also altered. To investigate (1) whether the presence of DCD affects social responsiveness, (2) whether the co-occurrence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects social responsiveness in children with DCD, and (3) whether there is an association between motor performance and social responsiveness in children with DCD. Based on parental reports, children aged 5 to 15.5 years were assigned to one of three groups: DCD only (noASD, n = 67), DCD and suspected ASD (sASD, n = 13), and DCD and confirmed ASD (cASD, n = 22). Parental answers to the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2) and the DCD-Questionnaire (DCD-Q) were compared to norm values using one sample t-tests, and between groups using ANOVA and MANOVA. Pearson correlation coefficients explored the relationship between the SRS-2 and DCD-Q in the total group and per group. Compared to norm values, difficulties in all areas of social responsiveness were reported in children with DCD, regardless of group (p