中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: Many studies have revealed that children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) display more deficits in comparison with typically developing children on visual perception or visual-motor integration tasks. However, the relationship between these functions has not been fully explained. The purpose of this study was to explore the performance on visual perception and visual-motor integration tasks in children with DCD in Taiwan. In addition, the association between these tasks was also investigated in this study. Methods: Fifteen children with DCD, aged 9 and 10 years, along with 15 age- and sex-matched typically developing children, were recruited using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). Two measures were given to all these children – the Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (non-motor)-Revised (TVPS-R), and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI), with Supplemental Developmental Tests of Visual Perception (VP) and Motor Coordination (MC). Independent t-tests were used to compare the children with DCD with the typically developing children on all tests. The proportion of children with DCD that scored within the clinical range, namely scores below the 15th percentile, was also calculated for each subtest, and the total score on both TVPS-R and VMI tests. In addition, Pearson's correlation analyses were performed between the different measures. Results: The results showed that children with DCD performed significantly worse for all tasks than typically developing children, except for Visual-Figure Ground and Visual Closure subtests of the TVPS-R and Motor Coordination supplemental test of the VMI. Nine (60%) children with DCD had a total score on the TVPS-R below the 15th percentile, but, on the VMI, none of DCD children was within the clinical range. Furthermore, for both groups, Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between visual perception task and visual-motor integration task. Conclusions: On the basis of our findings and in line with pervious studies, children with DCD demonstrated poorer performance on visual perception tasks than typically developing children did. These clumsy children in the present study had more deficits on Visual-Form Constancy and Visual Closure subtests of the TVPS-R. Children with DCD also performed worse on visual-motor integration task, but, in general, their performance did not seriously fall within the clinical range. Moreover, moderate but significant correlation between these measures indicated that visual perception and visual-motor integration could not be considered as independent or separate systems for children with DCD. However, further investigation of this issue seems to be warranted for the subtypes of children with DCD, owing to the heterogeneity of the group of DCD.