Prevalence of possible developmental coordination disorder among Grade 1 learners in low socio-economic environments in Mangaung, South Africa

• Main Authors: Alretha Margaretha du Plessis, Monique de Milander, Frederick Francois Coetzee, Mariette Nel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AOSIS 2020-09-01
• Series: South African Journal of Childhood Education
• Subjects: developmental coordination disorder (dcd); movement assessment battery for children-2nd edition (mabc-2); motor skills; children; learners; socio-economic environment; prevalence
• Online Access: https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/836
• ISSN: 2223-7674; 2223-7682

Background: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) affects motor skills and consequently has an impact on the performance in daily living activities of learners with this impairment. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of possible DCD in Grade 1 (Gr. 1) learners in a low socio-economic environment in Mangaung, South Africa. Setting: The study was conducted in the Mangaung Metro, Motheo District, Free State Province. Gr. 1 learners, 6–8 years old (n = 242), from a low socio-economic environment attending Quintile 1–3 schools were randomly selected for assessment. Methods: The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd edition (MABC-2) was used to identify learners with possible DCD. Furthermore, results were compared with regard to gender. Results: Of the 242 learners, 9.9% were identified with possible DCD. With regard to gender, 10.5% of boys and 9.3% of girls showed signs of possible DCD. No significant difference (p = 0.9439) has been found between boys and girls. Conclusion: The prevalence of possible DCD among Gr. 1 learners in this setting was higher than that in previously reported studies in other low and high socio-economic environments of South Africa. Further research is required to establish the full extent of possible DCD within learners living in low socio-economic environments.