Background

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental condition usually diagnosed after five years of age.

Aims

To evaluate parent-reported early markers of DCD between birth and six years of age.

Methods and procedures

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of twelve children diagnosed with DCD. Up to three interviews were performed per family. The interviews were then transcribed ad-verbatim and analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach.

Outcomes and results

The first theme ‘Child-specific features’ discusses the children’s challenges in diverse developmental domains (motor milestones, activities of daily living, play and exploration, fatigue and sleep, participation, sensory processing, coping skills and friendships, and verbal skills), varying in severity for each child and each domain. The second theme ‘Features in the context’ discusses subtle markers in the direct environment of the children such as quests for explanations and therapy, specific participation choices, concerns by other caregivers, and the emergence of secondary consequences.

Conclusions and implications

This study reports the presence of early features of DCD from the first year of life and suggests important topics to discuss with parents in the diagnostic process of DCD.

中文翻译：

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发育性协调障碍早期特征的家长报告：一项定性研究

背景

发育协调障碍 (DCD) 是一种神经发育疾病，通常在五岁后诊断出来。

目标

评估父母报告的出生至六岁之间的 DCD 早期标志物。

方法和程序

对 12 名被诊断患有 DCD 的儿童的父母进行了深入的半结构化访谈。每个家庭最多进行三次访谈。然后将访谈逐字转录并使用归纳主题分析方法进行分析。

结果和成果

第一个主题“儿童特定特征”讨论了儿童在不同发展领域（运动里程碑、日常生活活动、玩耍和探索、疲劳和睡眠、参与、感觉处理、应对技巧和友谊以及语言技能）中面临的挑战，每个子项和每个域的严重性。第二个主题“背景中的特征”讨论了儿童直接环境中的微妙标记，例如寻求解释和治疗、具体的参与选择、其他照顾者的担忧以及次要后果的出现。

结论和启示

这项研究报告了从一岁开始就出现的 DCD 早期特征，并提出了在 DCD 诊断过程中与父母讨论的重要话题。