Correlation between Motor Proficiency with Executive Function and Educational Performance of 7-11 Year-Old Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Backgroundand Aim: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a serious defect in the development of motor coordination. This disorder affects educational achievement and activities of daily living to a considerable amount. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the correlation between motor proficiency with executive function and educational performance of 7-11 year-old children with DCD in Ilam province, Iran.

A descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 53 DCD children, who met the inclusion criteria conditions, randomly selected from the pool of all children in Ilam primary schools. Next, the children's motor proficiency, executive function, and educational performance were evaluated using Bruininks Oseretsky test, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and a researcher-made test, respectively. Results were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) and pearson correlation coefficient.

Significant correlations were found between the total scores of Bruininks Oseretsky test with the total scores of BRIEF (p

The present study showed that there is a significant correlation between the motor proficiency with executive function and academic performance of children with DCD, which could be used by clinicians for early intervention to improve executive function and educational performance of children with DCD.