Persistent Sensory, Motor and Functional Difficulties From Childhood to Adolescence in Developmental Coordination Disorder

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine sensory processing, motor proficiency, and functional performance in children and adolescents with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) compared with typically developing children (TDC), and to explore the correlations among these domains across a broad developmental age range. METHOD: This cross-sectional study included children and adolescents aged 4-17 years classified as DCD and TDC. Sensory processing, motor proficiency, and functional performance were assessed using SPM, PEDI-CAT and BOT-2. Group differences and developmental trends were analyzed using analysis of variance. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the association between sensory, motor, and functional performance. RESULTS: Children with DCD demonstrated significantly greater sensory-processing difficulties, lower motor proficiency, and reduced functional performance compared with TDC (all p < 0.001). Sensory processing, BOT-2 and PEDI-CAT scores for the DCD group consistently fell within the moderate difficulty range and below average across age groups, whereas TDC scores were within typical limits. A significant Group × Age interaction was identified for functional mobility (p = 0.02), reflecting an increasing functional gap with age. Sensory-processing difficulties were significantly associated with functional performance, whereas correlations between sensory processing and motor proficiency were not significant after correction. CONCLUSION: Sensory, motor, and functional performance difficulties in DCD persist throughout childhood and adolescence. Sensory-processing difficulties appear to be more closely related to functional performance than to structured motor proficiency. These findings support the importance of early comprehensive, developmental assessment and intervention approaches addressing both sensory and functional challenges in children and adolescents with DCD.