Parental report of early markers of DCD

Background. Parents of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) often express concerns long before their children receive their diagnosis. However, knowledge on early signs of DCD is limited. Yet, a better understanding of the early development could enhance the diagnostic process and facilitate adequate early support. Aims. To explore parental-reported early markers of DCD from birth up to 5 years. Methods and procedures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in parents of 10 children diagnosed with DCD between 2018 and 2021. Parents were asked to talk about their child focusing on the period between birth and five years of age. Up to three interviews were performed of each participant with a duration between one and three hours. The interviews were then transcribed ad-verbatim and analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Outcomes and results. Parents described alterations in motor and socio-emotional development, play characteristics, emotion regulation, fatigue, sensory processing, and executive functioning. Clinicians should heed certain specific parental behaviors as they are observed often in parents of children with DCD. Conclusions and implications. Special emphasis should be placed on specific developmental domains described above when conducting a parental anamnesis in children with DCD