Project R-11782

Fundamental insights into the interplay between balance and motor performance in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (Research)

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) accounts for 5% of the school-aged children showing a motor delay early on that persists in adolescence. Poor balance is the most significant motor problem, seen in 3/4 of the DCD children. Balance deficits severely affect daily functioning but underlying control mechanisms are still poorly understood. Thus, the aim of this project is understanding the processes attributing to balance and motor problems in DCD, and investigating whether an individualised rehabilitation program on specific balance tasks can improve performance and control. We hypothesize that balance in children with DCD is situated on a continuum between children with cerebral palsy (CP) and their typically developing (TD) peers. This will be investigated in a cohort of children with DCD, CP and TD comparing balance performance, motor performance, cortical brain activity and muscle activation patterns. Next, an intervention study will be performed where we expect that, after individualised rehabilitation, children with DCD will improve in functional balance or will show reduced cognitive resources for balance control. The novelty of this project lies in the synergy between functional assessments, brain imaging and neuromechanical analysis. This is a major step forward in unravelling the interplay between the control system (brain and nervous system) and the effector system (musculoskeletal system). It can provide ground-breaking insights into the heterogeneity of DCD.

01 October 2021 - 30 September 2025