Coping with clumsiness in the school playground: Social and physical play in children with coordination impairments

The playground activity of 110 children aged between 6 and 10 years was obs erved for 10 five-minute periods. Fifty-five children were assigned to a de velopmental coordination disorder (DCD) group and 55 to a control group, on the basis of their scores on the Movement ABC. Children in the DCD group s pent more time alone, were onlookers more often, and played formal games in large groups less often if they were boys and informal games in large grou ps less often if they were girls. Social fantasy play did not differentiate between the two groups but social physical play did, particularly in the o lder age groups. Play performance in the DCD group was more variable overal l with some boys taking an active part in team games while others never too k part in them. This study indicates that as social non-physical play decre ases with age, some children with impaired coordination may not become invo lved in social physical play. Children with impaired coordination can becom e isolated and solitary in the school playground. Various routes to social exclusion for these children are proposed and remain to be explored.