Clinical and research diagnostic criteria for developmental coordination disorder: a review and discussion

The aim of this review was to investigate the selection criteria used in th e past in studies of children with developmental motor problems (excluding those suffering from neurological dysfunctions such as cerebral palsy, musc ular dystrophy, etc.). We therefore conducted an extensive analysis of 176 publications. First, an overview of the main characteristics of these studi es (terminology, population, type and purpose) and the selection criteria t hat are reported in these publications are presented. Following this, the D SM-TV selection criteria for developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are contrasted with the selection criteria reported in 41 publications that hav e used this terminology to classify the children. The results of this compa rison show that the inclusion criteria are largely followed, albeit with li ttle consistency concerning selection instruments and quantitative cut-offs , while adherence to the exclusion criteria is not common practice. Strengt hs and weaknesses of the DSM-IV criteria, complementary to the previous dis cussion by Henderson and Barnett in the HMS special issue on DCD in 1998 on this same topic, are discussed. The results of the review also show that m any studies have used additional selection criteria related to the specific research questions of the study concerned. In the broader context of clini cal practice as well as basic research, the latter result suggests the usef ulness of a distinction between Clinical Diagnostic Criteria and Research D iagnostic Criteria. This distinction helps to develop a unifying view on th e use of diagnostic criteria for research and clinical practice. We conclud e with a number of recommendations concerning the selection criteria for ch ildren with DCD. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.