Imke Adams
Internal models of motor control in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have impaired motor abilities compared to their peers of the same age. Additionally, their motor performance can be characterized as clumsy. The motor problems of these children are related to major problems in activities of daily life such as school. These problems persist throughout their childhood and in adolescence.
The exact cause of DCD is not yet known but is not due to any general medical condition, pervasive developmental disorder or an intellectual disability. A recent hypothesis on the compromised motor ability in DCD is that these children have a deficit in their ability to accurately utilize internal models of motor control, the so-called internal modeling deficit (IMD) hypothesis.
During this PhD project we test this hypothesis via examination of motor imagery and motor planning capabilities in these children. A longitudinal study will be performed to examine the development of motor coordination, motor imagery and motor planning in children with DCD and healthy control children. Furthermore, we want to study if it is possible to train the motor imagery abilities of children with DCD. Based on the IMD hypothesis it is likely that improving the motor imagery capabilities of children with DCD will also help to facilitate the motor abilities of these children.
