The Effect of Selected Motor Games on Fine Motor Skill Development in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

Background: Effective interventions for motor impairments in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) remain a critical need. Objectives: This study investigated the efficacy of a structured motor games program in improving fine motor skills among children with DCD. Methods: In a pretest-posttest controlled design, 40 children with DCD (diagnosed via the Wilson DCD Assessment) were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. The experimental group participated in 18 sessions (60 minutes each) of selected motor games, while the control group received no intervention. Motor proficiency was assessed before and after the intervention using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2). Data were analyzed using ANCOVA in SPSS (α = 0.05). Results: The results demonstrated a significant improvement in response speed from (13.5 ± 0.23) to (14.75 ± 0.31), visual-motor control from (10.45 ± 0.26) to (11.55 ± 0.27), upper extremity speed and agility from (26.95 ± 0.35) to (29.05 ± 0.43), and overall fine motor score (51.4 ± 0.52) to (55.35 ± 0.57) in the experimental group from pre-test to post-test following selected motor games. Additionally, the results revealed a significant difference in response speed, visual-motor control, upper extremity speed and agility, and overall fine motor score.. Conclusions: The findings support the effectiveness of structured motor games in enhancing fine motor skills in children with DCD. Integrating such programs into therapeutic protocols may help address developmental coordination deficits.