Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom.
School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
PLoS One. 2023 May 23;18(5):e0284086. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284086. eCollection 2023.
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is characterised by poor motor coordination, which interferes with the ability to execute activities of daily living (ADLs). Combined action observation and motor imagery (AOMI) involves observing movement videos whilst imagining simultaneously the sensations of executing the same movement. Laboratory-based research indicates that AOMI can help improve movement coordination in children with DCD, but no previous research had investigated the efficacy of AOMI interventions for learning ADLs. This study investigated the efficacy of a home-based, parent-led, AOMI intervention for learning ADLs in children with DCD. Children with confirmed (n = 23) or suspected (n = 5) DCD (total sample n = 28), aged 7-12 years, were assigned to either an AOMI intervention or a control intervention (both n = 14). Participants attempted the following ADLs at pre-test (week 1), post-test (week 4), and retention test (week 6): shoelace tying, cutlery use, shirt buttoning, and cup stacking. Task completion times and movement techniques were recorded. The AOMI intervention produced significantly faster task completion times than the control intervention at post-test for shoelace tying, and significantly improved movement techniques for shoelace tying and cup stacking. Importantly, for children who could not tie shoelaces at pre-test (n = 9 per group), 89% of those following the AOMI intervention learnt the skill successfully by the end of the study, compared to only 44% of those following the control intervention. The findings indicate that home-based, parent-led, AOMI interventions can aid the learning of complex ADLs in children with DCD, and may be particularly effective for facilitating the learning of motor skills that do not currently exist within these children's motor repertoire.
发展性协调障碍（DCD）的特征是动作协调能力差，这会干扰日常生活活动（ADL）的能力。联合动作观察和运动想象（AOMI）涉及观察运动视频，同时想象执行相同动作的感觉。基于实验室的研究表明，AOMI 可以帮助改善 DCD 儿童的运动协调能力，但之前没有研究调查过 AOMI 干预对学习 ADL 的效果。本研究调查了一种基于家庭、家长主导的 AOMI 干预对学习 DCD 儿童 ADL 的效果。患有确诊（n = 23）或疑似（n = 5）DCD 的儿童（总样本 n = 28），年龄为 7-12 岁，被分配到 AOMI 干预组或对照组（每组 n = 14）。参与者在预测试（第 1 周）、后测试（第 4 周）和保留测试（第 6 周）中尝试以下 ADL：系鞋带、使用餐具、扣衬衫扣子和叠杯子。记录任务完成时间和运动技术。与对照组相比，AOMI 干预组在系鞋带的后测试中完成任务的时间明显更快，并且在系鞋带和叠杯子方面的运动技术明显提高。重要的是，对于那些在预测试中无法系鞋带的儿童（每组 n = 9），在研究结束时，89%接受 AOMI 干预的儿童成功学会了这项技能，而接受对照组干预的儿童只有 44%。研究结果表明，基于家庭、家长主导的 AOMI 干预可以帮助 DCD 儿童学习复杂的 ADL，并且可能特别有助于促进那些目前不在这些儿童运动技能范围内的运动技能的学习。
