Ball Catching Performance in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the quality of ball catching performance of children with DCD to the performance of younger typically developing children. The outcome measures used were a modified ball catching item of the Test of Gross Motor Development and the number of grasping errors in a ball catching test. In the study, children with DCD were matched with younger typically developing children according to gender and the number of caught balls in the ball catching test. Children with DCD made significantly more grasping errors and scored significantly lower on the modified TGMD-item. Children with DCD were not only delayed in ball catching but they also seemed to use different movement strategies compared to younger typically developing children.