Grant: Project Grant

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is the term used to describe children who struggle to learn tasks that require motor coordination. In Canada, about 1 to 2 children in every classroom have DCD. Parents and teachers tell us these children have problems learning to do everyday motor activities like tying shoelaces, playing ball, and climbing stairs. Some research has shown that these kids are more likely to be overweight, inactive, unfit, and to have more mental health problems by the time they are teenagers. Unfortunately, many of these children are not identified, and therefore do not get the help they need when they need it. To understand how to help kids with DCD, we need to be able to determine when they begin to be less active and less healthy, both physically and mentally. The goal of our study is to keep observing a large group of children with and without DCD who we have been following since they were 4 or 5 years old. We will continue following them once per year until they are 10 and 11 years old. At each visit, we will keep measuring their motor coordination, how much physical activity they do, how fit they are, their diet, and how much they weigh. We will also start to ask the children questions about how they feel about themselves and if they are feeling anxious or depressed. What makes our study new and exciting is that we will be able to find out when children with DCD start to become less active and less healthy. Working with doctors, teachers, and parents will help us make sure that we recognize kids with DCD as young as possible so that they are able to get the right type of support, at the right time, before they become inactive, obese, or depressed.