Helene J. Polatajko

European Academy for Childhood Disability (EACD): Recommendations on the definition, diagnosis and intervention of developmental coordination disorder (long version)*

This clinical practice guideline on developmental coordination disorder (CPG-DCD) for German-speaking countries, particularly Germany and Switzerland, is strongly in accordance with the European recommendations of the European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD) from May 2010 (Brussels) and an international consensus, the International Leeds Consensus (2006).

The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure: A Research and Clinical Literature Review

Backround. It has been 13 years since the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was published. In that time there has been a remarkable growth in its acceptance as an outcome measure within the occupational therapy practice and research. Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to review the emerging research and clinical literature related to the COPM since 1994 and to document its impact upon occupational therapy practice and research throughout the world. Method. A systematic search was conducted to the professional and research literature in English publications (primarily occupational therapy). Eighty-eight papers that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed, 86% of which examined the COPM in relation to its psychometric properties (19 papers), research outcomes (33 papers) or practice (33 papers). Results. Overall, although there are a few limitations discussed in the review, the conclusion is that the COPM is a valid, reliable, clinically useful and responsive outcome measure acceptable for occupational therapist practitioners and researchers. Practice Implications. The COPM is used with a wide variety of clients, enables client-centred practice, facilitates evidence-based practice and supports outcomes research.

Understanding performance deficits in developmental coordination disorder: a meta‐analysis of recent research

Aim  Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a significant disorder of childhood, characterized by core difficulties in learning fine and/or gross motor skills, and the attendant psychosocial problems. The aim of the meta‐analysis presented here (the first on DCD since 1998) was to summarize trends in the literature over the past 14 years and to identify and describe the main motor control and cognitive deficits that best discriminate children with DCD from those without.

Efficacy of interventions to improve motor performance in children with developmental coordination disorder: a combined systematic review and meta‐analysis

Aim  The aim of this study was to review systematically evidence about the efficacy of motor interventions for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and to quantify treatment effects using meta‐analysis.

Naming and Framing Occupational Therapy: A Lecture Dedicated to the Life of Nancy B.

The case of Nancy B. is testimony to the importance of occupation to living and hence the importance of occupational therapy. Yet the importance of the discipline is poorly recognized. It is argued that the failure of occupational therapy to gain wide recognition is due to a problem in communicating its importance simply, easily and clearly and that the discipline needs to be named and framed in positive and powerful terms. The values on which to base this naming and framing are articulated. Based on the Occupational Therapy Values Statement, it is proposed that the discipline be framed in an Enablement Model and that, accordingly, occupational therapy be described as the discipline concerned with enabling occupational competence guided by an understanding of the individual, the environment and their interaction in determining occupational competence.

I'm Doing As Much As I Can: Occupational Choices of Persons with a Severe and Persistent Mental Illness

Abstract Competitive employment is important for meeting many needs that contribute to health. For persons with a mental illness, entering or re‐entering the workforce is often an unattainable goal. Despite rehabilitation efforts, unemployment rates remain very high. This study used in‐depth, long interviews and member checking to explore what persons with a severe and persistent mental illness do in the absence of competitive employment. The study was designed to discover what supported or hindered their evolving occupational life paths. The major findings of this study were that persons with a mental illness make choices constrained by fear of relapse and socio‐economic realities, to engage in occupations that will maintain or enhance their social connections, and most importantly, their health.

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and their ability to disengage ongoing attentional focus: More on inhibitory function

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), along with their Control counterparts, completed two endogenous, spatial precue tasks. When the precue arrow was informative (.80) with respect to target location, the spatial precue effect results demonstrated that children with DCD take significantly longer than Control individuals to volitionally disengage (inhibit) attention from an endogenously cued location (i.e., a disengagement inhibition deficit). When the precue was uninformative (.25), we found, contrary to a common assumption, that the precue arrow automatically moved attention in the direction of the arrow, and, in addition, that DCD children may also be less able to inhibit the precued-induced urge to move attention (i.e., an initiation inhibition deficit). This type of inhibitory difficulty was also indicated for manual response inclinations produced on catch trials. Overall, DCD children appeared to have an elevated difficulty suppressing the initiation of incorrect, stimulus-provoked movement urges, be they manual or attention in nature.

The Effect of a Sensory Integration Program on Academic Achievement, Motor Performance, and Self-Esteem in Children Identified as Learning Disabled: Results of a Clinical Trial

A multicenter clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of sensory integration therapy on the academic achievement, motor performance, and self-esteem of learning disabled children who have sensory integrative dysfunction. A sample of 67 children was randomized into one of two groups: sensory integrative (SI) and perceptual-motor therapy (PM). The Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery, the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, the Behavioral Academic Self-Esteem Rating Scale, and the Personality Inventory for Children were administered before therapy, after 6 months of therapy, and 3 months following cessation of therapy. Both the SI and PM groups improved on academic and motor measures. No group differences were detected on any measure. The implications of the findings and possible interpretations are discussed and future studies suggested.

Verbal Self-Guidance as a Treatment Approach for Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Systematic Replication Study.

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) experience many occupational performance difficulties in all areas of daily living. For the most part, research has failed to identify an effective treatment approach for these children. Verbal self-guidance (VSG), a new approach, first explored by Wilcox and Polatajko (1993), appears to have good potential in helping children with DCD become competent in the occupations of their choice. The purpose of this study was to carry out a systematic replication of the first VSG study to determine if a different therapist could achieve similar results. Repeating the VSG procedure with four different children, using a single case study design, a different therapist was able to replicate the earlier findings. This provides further evidence of the potential of VSG as an effective approach for enabling children with DCD to surmount their motor challenges.

On the ability of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) to inhibit response initiation: The simon effect

The ability of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) to inhibit the initiation of an incorrect manual response urge was examined using a typical Simon task. While the size of the Simon effect was the same for both DCD (N = 20) and Control (N = 20) groups of children, showing no difference with respect to the time needed to complete the inhibition an unwanted response, children with DCD produced significantly more errors of the type which reflected a reduced ability to successfully effect the inhibition operation when it was required. This result is consistent with some earlier findings pointing to an inhibitory deficit for children with DCD (Wilson & Maruff, 1999).