Carl Gabbard - Director, Child Motor Development Lab, Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A & M University
Rachel Sullivan - Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A & M University
Meagan Albosta - Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A & M University
Jihye Lee - Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A & M University

Background/ Objective: This study surveyed the probable incidence of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a medical condition marked by poor motor coordination and clumsiness, in college-aged students. Methods: A total of ۴,۰۱۴ individuals at Texas A&M University, aged ۱۸-۲۳ (۴۰% males and ۶۰% females), completed the Adolescents and Adults Coordination Questionnaire (AAC-Q) using Qualtrics, a web-based survey procedure. Results/ Conclusion: Results indicated that about ۷% of individuals fell into the category of ‘probable’ or ‘likely’ to have DCD. Although marginal, age differences were found to be significant with participants below ۲۰ years old having more difficulty (greater perceived clumsiness) than those ۲۰ years and older. In regard to gender, ۵ of the ۱۲ total items were statistically significant with females having a greater proportion of perceived clumsiness than males in ۴ out of the ۵ questions. That is, females indicated more difficulty with gross motor skills, such as learning to drive or to ride a bike, whereas males indicated more difficulty with fine motor tasks, such as handwriting, and completing tasks requiring fine detail. Interestingly, the ۷% clumsiness level found here is similar to the well-documented level of ۶% found in children; therefore, giving some credence to the likelihood that children may not ‘simply mature out of the condition.’ This was a preliminary study and future research needs to examine actual (rather than perceived level) of DCD.

Developmental Coordination Disorder, Adult Incidence