Developmental coordination disorder in children with CAS (Iuzzini-Seigel et al., 2022)

<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) evidence a high rate of co-occurring fine and gross motor deficits. This clinical focus article reports a preliminary investigation of characteristics of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), a neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by poor motor proficiency and functional limitations, in this population.</p> <p><strong>Method:</strong> Children with CAS underwent a comprehensive motor evaluation using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children–Second Edition, the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire, and a developmental history questionnaire to determine if they met criteria for a DCD diagnosis as specified in the <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition</em> (DSM-5).</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>Six out of seven participants met DCD criteria based on the DSM-5 criteria. Four of these children had a co-occurring diagnosis of developmental language disorder, and all met criteria for DCD.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Consistent with previous research, the majority of participants demonstrated motor deficits and 85% met criteria for DCD. Despite this high rate of motor deficits, only 57% had previously undergone a physical/occupational therapy evaluation and intervention and only one had a previous diagnosis of DCD. These findings suggest that formal movement assessments are essential for children with a CAS diagnosis.</p> <p><br></p> <p><strong>Supplemental Material S1. </strong>Resource sheet on DCD symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and treating DCD. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Iuzzini-Seigel, J., Moorer, L., & Tamplain, P. (2022). An investigation of developmental coordination disorder characteristics in children with childhood apraxia of speech. <em>Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools</em>. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_LSHSS-21-00163</p> <p><br></p> <p><br></p>