Underlying neurophysiological and biomechanical mechanisms related to postural control of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder differ from those in typically developing children.

Background: Although many studies have provided important insights into postural control in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), relevant aspects remain unresolved.

Aims: To investigate the underlying mechanisms related to postural control in children with and without DCD during standing tasks, using global, structural, and spectral descriptors of the Center of Pressure (CoP) trajectory.

Methods: Sixty-eight children (9.

Characteristics of sensory processing changes in children with developmental coordination disorder: A systematic review.

Background: Sensory processing difficulties are common in neurodevelopment conditions, such as developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and can significantly impact daily living activities.

Aims: To systematically review the literature to (1) synthesize the characteristics (sections and patterns) of sensory processing alterations in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), (2) compare these characteristics with those of children with typical development or associated comorbidities, and (3) identify which characteristics may be present from early childhood.

Methods: This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and was submitted and registered in PROSPERO.

Object Weight and Hand Dominance Impact Kinematics in a Functional Reach-to-Drink Task in School-Aged Children.

This study evaluates the effects of object weight and hand dominance on the end-point kinematics of the hand-to-mouth (withdrawal) movement in a functional reach-to-drink task for typically developing school-aged children. Using 3D motion capture, speed (average velocity and peak velocity), straightness (ratio), and smoothness (number of velocity peaks and log dimensionless jerk) of hand movements were calculated for the withdrawal motion with three different bottle weights (empty, half-filled, and full). Average velocity (550.

Short- and Long-Term Changes in Balance After Active Video Game Training in Children With and Without Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Active video games (AVG) have been used as training tools and are known to ameliorate balance performance in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Our aim was to evaluate balance using clinical tests and by measuring body sway using a force plate with a mixed design of vision (eyes open/eyes closed), surface (rigid/soft), and support (stance/semitandem) before, and after, training and 4 months later (follow-up). Thirty-six DCD children and 40 typically developing children participated in the study, of which 50 children (26 DCD; 24 typically developing) were retested after 4 months.

Association between Contextual Factors and Affordances in the Home Environment of Infants Exposed to Poverty.

Home environments of infants exposed to poverty exhibit fewer affordances for child development. This study aimed to investigate the association between contextual factors and affordances in the home environments of infants facing poverty. Term infants ( = 128) were divided into two groups: (1) exposed group (EG), comprising term infants exposed to poverty, and (2) comparison group (CG), consisting of term infants classified with medium and high socio-economic status.

Late preterm and very preterm infants differ in the acquisition time and quantity of reaches with grasping at reaching onset: an exploratory study.

Introduction: The onset of manual reaching allows the expansion of the infant's interaction with the environment. When born preterm, infants become vulnerable to problems in the development of reaching. However, it is still unknown whether there are differences in reaching according to the degree of prematurity.

Task-Related Differences in End-Point Kinematics in School-Age Children with Typical Development.

Understanding whether and how children with typical development adapt their reaches for different functional tasks could inform a more targeted design of rehabilitation interventions to improve upper extremity function in children with motor disabilities. This prospective study compares timing and coordination of a reach-to-drink, reach-to-eat, and a bilateral reaching task in typically developing school-aged children. Average speed, straightness, and smoothness of hand movements were measured in a convenience sample of 71 children, mean age 8.

Health-related quality of life in children with developmental coordination disorder: a systematic review.

The aims of this study were (1) to synthesize evidence of the general health-related quality of life in children with DCD compared to their typically developing peers, and (2) to verify which domains of HRQOL are more compromised in children with DCD. A systematic search was carried out to identify cross-sectional studies that evaluated self-perception and/or the parent's perception of the HRQOL in children with and without DCD as an outcome. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed, and the effect size calculated.

Active Video Games Performance and Heart Rate on the Wii or Kinect in Children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder.

Our objective was to compare changes in game performance and intensity of heart rate (HR) between two types of active video game (AVG) in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Additionally, we assessed the level of improvement per game as well as the perceived exertion and enjoyment during training. Seventy-six children, 36 with DCD and 40 without (TD) were randomly assigned to a 5-week program of Wii-Fit or Xbox-Kinect training 2× a week.

Psychometric properties of the Infant Motor Profile (IMP): A scoping review protocol.

Introduction: The IMP is a novel video-based instrument to assess motor behavior of infants. It evaluates gross and fine motor behavior in five domains: variation, adaptability, symmetry, fluency, and performance. The latter assesses motor milestones, the other four domains assess qualitative aspects of movements.

Sticky Mittens Training to Improve Reaching Skills and Manual Exploration of Full-Term and At-Risk Infants: A Systematic Review.

Aim: To systematically review evidence of the effectiveness of sticky mittens training to improve reaching skills and manual exploration of full-term and at-risk infants and optimal training dosage.

Methods: The Cochrane Collaboration and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guided this systematic review. The electronic search was performed from September 2017 to August 2021 on PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Cochrane databases.

Parental Practices and Environmental Differences among Infants Living in Upper-Middle and High-Income Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Parental practices and environmental factors can impact a child's development and, consequently, functionality. The objective is to assess the parental practices and environmental differences in healthy and at-risk infants at 3-6 months of age living in upper-middle (Brazil) and high-income (Italy) countries. A total group of 115 infants was identified and classified into four groups: healthy Italian infants (H_IT); Italian infants exposed to biological risk factors (R_IT); healthy Brazilian infants (H_BR); and Brazilian infants exposed to environmental risk factors (L_BR).

Manual exploratory behaviors in six-month-old infants at environmental and biological risk.

Background: Exploratory behaviors are essential and may improve different skill development. Different risk factors may negatively impact neuromotor development, such as biological risk and environmental risk.

Objective: Assess and discriminate exploratory behaviors of infants at environmental or biological risk and infants at non-risk.

Type of active video-games training does not impact the effect on balance and agility in children with and without developmental coordination disorder: A randomized comparator-controlled trial.

Aim: To compare the effect of the Nintendo Wii-Fit and Xbox Kinect on motor performance and to assess differential effects in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and typical development (TD).

Method: In an assessor-blinded randomized comparator-controlled design, 68 participants (34 DCD and 34 TD) aged 7-10 years, were randomly assigned to train on one of two devices (34 Wii-Fit; 34 Xbox Kinect).

Results: Repeated measure ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of time on balance and agility variables (MABC-2, Wii Yoga stance, PERF-FIT side-hop, PERF-FIT ladder-stepping; all  ≤ 0.

Reaching skills in six-month-old infants at environmental and biological risk.

Objectives: To assess kinematic parameters and proximal and distal reaching adjustments of infants at biological or environmental risk and compare with reaching performance of six-month-old full-term infants without known risk factors.

Methods: This blinded cross-sectional study included 62 infants at six months of age divided into three independent groups: Group with no known risk factor (NRF), 28 full-terms with no risk factors; Low SES group (LSES):19 full-terms classified as low socioeconomic status and no biological risk; Very preterm group (VPT), 15 very preterm infants at six months corrected age and no environmental risk. Infants were placed in a reclined baby chair at 45°, and a malleable and unfamiliar object was presented to the infant at 5-second intervals to elicit reaching movements.

Does late preterm birth impact trunk control and early reaching behavior?

The aims of the study were to 1) verify the level of trunk control longitudinally and reaching behavior while sitting in two positions in late preterm (LPT) and full-term (FT) infants, 2) determine whether the level of trunk control relates to reaching outcomes. Twenty LPT infants and 36 infants born FT were assessed via three in-lab visits: at 6, 7, and 8 months. At each visit, the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) and reaching assessment were performed, where the infants were positioned sitting in the ring and at 90° of flexion of hips, knees, and ankles.

Lower Limb Sensorimotor Training (LoSenseT) for Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy: A Brief Report of a Feasibility Randomized Protocol.

Motor disorders in cerebral palsy (CP) are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation and impaired somatosensory functions have been reported in individuals with CP. To test the feasibility of a sensorimotor training protocol for lower limbs in children and adolescents with unilateral and bilateral CP, and to analyze the preliminary effects of this training on sensory and motor variables. This is a single-blind, prospective phase I feasibility randomized protocol.

Wii training versus non-Wii task-specific training on motor learning in children with developmental coordination disorder: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Wii-based interventions have shown significant benefits in motor learning for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD); however, studies comparing the effects of Wii interventions versus matched non-Wii interventions, such as task-specific training (TST), are scarce.

Objective: We compared motor learning in children with DCD who participated in 12 sessions of Wii-based training and those participating in 12 closely matched non-Wii TST sessions as well as when the highest improvements in performance occurred.

Methods: In total, 32 children with DCD (16 per group) were randomly allocated to receive the Wii intervention or TST during 12 sessions.

Motor intervention with and without Nintendo® Wii for children with developmental coordination disorder: protocol for a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Despite the benefits highlighted by motor interventions based on virtual reality for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), there are still doubts as to whether these are greater than those obtained with conventional interventions due to the absence of systematized protocols, and lack of evidence. Here, we present a protocol to systematically compare the effects of two motor-training programs (one Nintendo® Wii-based and the other no-Wii motor activities) on the motor learning in children with DCD.

Methods/design: Two intervention protocols (one based on Nintendo® Wii and the other no-Wii motor activities) will be carried out, with interventions occurring twice a week in 60-min sessions, with a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16 sessions per child.

Is Segmental Trunk Control Related to Gross Motor Performance in Healthy Preterm and Full-Term Infants?

The authors' aim was to verify the correlation between segmental trunk control and gross motor performance in healthy preterm (PT) and full-term (FT) infants aged 6 and 7 months and to verify if there are differences between groups. All infants were assessed at 6 and 7 months by means of Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) to identify the exact level of segmental trunk control and Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) to measure gross motor performance. A significant correlation between segmental trunk control and gross motor performance was found in healthy PT infants at 7 months and FT infants at 6 months.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression in schoolchildren with and without developmental coordination disorder.

We examined whether reported higher frequencies of anxiety and depression symptoms are related to the presence of developmental coordination disorder in school-age Brazilian children. A total of 272 children were assigned to six groups according to age and motor performance. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition evaluated the motor performance.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression in children with developmental coordination disorder: a systematic review.

Objective: To find evidence of the symptoms of anxiety/depression in children with developmental coordination disorder as compared to their typically developing peers at both the group and individual level, and to identify how many different tools are used to measure anxiety and/or depression.

Methods: Electronic searches in eight databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, PsycINFO, Embase, SciELO and LILACS), using the following keywords: 'Developmental Coordination Disorder,' 'Behavioral Problems,' 'Child,' 'Anxiety,' 'Depression,' 'Mental Health,' and 'Mental Disorders.' The methodological quality was assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale adapted for cross-sectional studies and the NOS for cohort studies.