Groups of Children
A small number of children with DCD may require individual intervention. Choosing a group or individual intervention will depend upon the child's and family's needs.
- Group interventions develop specific skills in a social context and provide opportunities for interactions with peers. This method of service delivery may also be more cost-effective.
- Group interventions should incorporate Evidence-Based Principles (e.g. breaking down tasks and activities in real-life environments, using motor learning and cognitive strategies and ensuring transferability to different contexts/tasks).
- Groups can be specific for children with DCD. Children with DCD could also be included in general group interventions for children with special needs (e.g., a group aimed at increasing self-esteem and social skills).
- PTs can run groups independently, with other PTs, or with colleagues (e.g., PT assistants, occupational therapists, social workers), or partner with community and volunteer organizations.
Resources
- As part as group interventions for children with DCD, you might want to discuss Specific readings about DCD, such as the flyer DCD: What does it mean to me. You can also use general resources to foster discussion about bullying and resilience, since bullying is frequent for children with DCD.
- Different examples of DCD-specific, or general disability group interventions can be found in the literature. You might want to consider using technology in your group, such as developing Tele-intervention for families and children with DCD.
- When you plan your group interventions, you will want to think carefully about group benefits and goals and plan for organizational support.
General Resources to Foster Discussion
A good example of a general flyer you can use with children with DCD to encourage a discussion about bullying and resilience can be found on the Resilience Research Centre
Tele-intervention for Families and Children with DCD
For an example of Group Tele-Intervention, see:
Miyahara, M., Butson, R., Cutfield, R., & Clarkson, J. E. (2009). A pilot study of family-focused tele-intervention for children with developmental coordination disorder: Development and lessons learned. Telemedicine and e-Health, 15(7), 707-712.
Question for Reflection
Are group interventions as effective as individual interventions for children with DCD?
Click here for some thoughts on this questionAre group interventions as effective as individual interventions for children with DCD?
We have no evidence that group interventions are better than individual interventions for children with DCD or vice versa. Recommendations from the European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD) suggest that the decision to employ group or individual interventions should be based on the level of impairment, as determined by a child’s MABC score. The MABC score allows calculation of a child’s percentile, comparing their level of impairment to the spectrum of abilities of the general population. It is recommended that group interventions be used for children scoring in the “at risk” category, with percentiles between the 5th and 15th, with individual interventions used with those children scoring at or below the 5th percentile, which is indicative of motor impairment. In addition to these recommendations, there are other factors which should also be considered such as the characteristics of the setting where PTs work, the organization’s therapy resources, and the specific characteristics of the child and family. Even more than the MABC percentile, we believe that the NEEDS of the children and the GOALS of the interventions should guide the choice of groups or individual interventions. If there are too few children with DCD to form a group, it might be appropriate to include children with other developmental difficulties provided the goals and mode of intervention used (motor learning, cognitive approach) are similar. For instance, group interventions may be a very effective service delivery method to address the development of friendships and social skills, to showcase a child’s strengths, and promote resilience.
