Grant: Operating Grant

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is the term used to describe children who we used to call "clumsy". In Canada, about 1 to 2 children in every classroom has DCD. Parents and teachers tell us these kids 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 and unfit by the time they are teenagers. We believe this is because they struggle with sports and play and, since they know they are not good at it, they choose not to do it. The problem is that the right research study has not been done yet so we do not know if this is the case or if there are reasons why they have these problems. Other research studies have looked at older children who already had trouble doing motor activities or who were already overweight and unfit. To understand how to help kids with DCD, we need to begin when they are young and still learning how to be active and play with their friends. In our study, we will test the motor skills of 2100 children ages 4 and 5 because we are not sure that we can identify kids with DCD until age 4. We expect to identify 300 children who have DCD according to medical criteria and we will randomly pick another 300 who are developing typically and who do not have motor problems. These children will then be seen every 9 months for a total of 5 visits. During these visits, we will examine their motor coordination, how much physical activity they do, how fit they are, their diet and how much they weigh. What makes our study new and exciting is that we will study how all these things relate to each other and how they change over time. Understanding these relationships, and working with knowledge users who can put the implications of these into practice, will help us make sure that kids with DCD are able to get the right type of support, at the right time, so they don't become unfit or obese.