The Effect of Motor and Cognitive Exercises on Motor Function and Attention among Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of motor and cognitive exercises on motor function and attention among children with developmental coordination disorder.
The research method was an experimental type with a pre test - post test design with a control group. The statistical population of the current research was the elementary school girls 7-10 years old in Kerman. 45 children with developmental coordination disorder with an average age of 8.13 ± 1.1 years were selected and randomly divided into three groups, two experimental groups, and one control group.  The coordination disorder questionnaire - parents' version, MABC-2 test, and Connors questionnaire were used for data collection. The exercise intervention was applied three sessions a week for eight weeks. The control group did not receive the exercise program.
The results showed that the average post-test scores of the experimental groups improved significantly compared to the control group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the cognitive and motor exercise groups (P>0.05).  
The results of the present research showed that exercise interventions can improve motor performance and attention in children with developmental coordination disorder, so it is suggested that these exercise methods be used in future studies.