One-third of children had clinical signs of developmental coordination disorder 6 months after their international adoption.

Aim: Our aim was to fill a gap in the research about the prevalence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) among internationally adopted children. We explored the prevalence of signs of DCD and the associations between those and behavioural problems six and 18 months after adoption.

Methods: The data came from the ongoing Finnish Adoption Study 2 and this research focused on the international adoptions of children under 7 years of age between 2012 and 2016. Their motor development was tested with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition to identify DCD symptoms. Behavioural symptoms were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Only children aged 3 years plus were tested.

Results: The 95 children (70% boys) arrived in Finland at a mean age of 3.3 years. Six months later, 35% of the 49 children who were tested had clinical DCD symptoms and this has fallen to 13% of 67 at 18 months. Symptoms at 6 months were associated with higher internalising CBCL scores at 18 months.

Conclusion: DCD symptoms in internationally adopted children were double the rate in the general child population 18 months after adoption. Early motor problems 6 months after adoption were associated with later behavioural symptoms.