Influence of methylphenidate on motor performance and attention in children with developmental coordination disorder and attention deficit hyperactive disorder

Orit Bart, Liron Daniel, Orrie Dan, Yair Bar-Haim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Individuals with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) often have coexisting developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The positive therapeutic effect of methylphenidate on ADHD symptoms is well documented, but its effects on motor coordination are less studied. We assessed the influence of methylphenidate on motor performance in children with comorbid DCD and ADHD. Participants were 30 children (24 boys) aged 5.10-12.7 years diagnosed with both DCD and ADHD. Conners' Parent Rating Scale was used to reaffirm ADHD diagnosis and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire was used to diagnose DCD. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 and the online continuous performance test were administrated to all participants twice, with and without methylphenidate. The tests were administered on two separate days in a blind design. Motor performance and attention scores were significantly better with methylphenidate than without it (p<0.001 for improvement in the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 and p<0.006 for the online continuous performance test scores). The findings suggest that methylphenidate improves both attention and motor coordination in children with coexisting DCD and ADHD. More research is needed to disentangle the causality of the improvement effect and whether improvement in motor coordination is directly affected by methylphenidate or mediated by improvement in attention.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1922-1927
Number of pages6
JournalResearch in Developmental Disabilities
Volume34
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2013

Keywords

  • ADHD
  • Attention
  • DCD
  • Methylphenidate
  • Motor

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Influence of methylphenidate on motor performance and attention in children with developmental coordination disorder and attention deficit hyperactive disorder'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this