Yao-Chuen Li

Evidence remains limited on the interconnections between developmental coordination disorder (DCD), health-related physical fitness—including body composition, flexibility, strength of lower body, and cardiorespiratory fitness—and objectively measured physical activity (PA) in school-aged children. This study aimed to (1) examine differences in physical fitness and PA between children with and without DCD and (2) investigate whether physical fitness functions as a mediator in the association between DCD and PA in school-aged children. Sixty-three children aged 6.5–8 years (12 DCD, 19.05%) who provided valid data were enrolled. Mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Flexibility significantly mediates the relationship of DCD to vigorous PA (VPA) (effect = 3.202, bootstrap SE = 1.682, 95% bootstrap CI = 0.463, 7.078), as well as DCD to moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) (effect = 5.194, bootstrap SE = 2.903, 95% bootstrap CI = 0.434, 11.778). Additionally, there was a significant mediating effect of lower muscle strength on the relationship between DCD and VPA (effect = −1.943, bootstrap SE = 1.297, 95% bootstrap CI = −5.112, −0.021), and DCD and counts per minute (CPM) in axis 2 (effect = −34.388, bootstrap SE = 20.212, 95% bootstrap CI = −80.819, −1.353). The findings highlight flexibility and lower-body strength as potential mechanisms underlying the association between DCD and PA participation. These factors may represent candidate intervention targets; however, their roles require confirmation in larger samples and longitudinal designs.

There is a lack of research conducted to examine the over-time changes in aerobic and anaerobic fitness in table tennis (TT) players with various athletic levels. In order to fill the gap in knowledge, this study was to assess physiological responses to the graded exercise test in Level-1 collegiate, Level-2 collegiate, and U16-U18 TT players and to track their performance for one year. Forty-eight well-trained TT players participated in this study. The competitive TT-specific aerobic test (CTTSAT) was conducted to assess their fitness, and data were collected to represent their aerobic fitness (i.e., total testing time and heart rate recovery) and anaerobic fitness (i.e., blood lactate clearance). Mixed-effects models were conducted to examine the main effects of time and group and the time-by-group interaction on all indicators while controlling for sex. There was a significant main effect of time on the total testing time (estimate = 243.04, SE = 57.30, p < 0.001), indicating that TT players improved their performance on the CTTSAT test over time. Neither the main effect of group nor the interaction of time by group was found on all outcomes. Despite similar physiological responses to the CTTSAT, well-trained TT players with various athletic levels could continuously improve aerobic fitness. Nevertheless, our findings imply a potential time-tactic or time-technique trade-off which needs to be further tested.

Editorial: Cognitive-motor development and its consequences in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

This study aimed to provide up-to-date information regarding the estimated prevalence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in Taiwanese children. Their unhealthy weight status was also examined, as well as the roles of sex and age. This cross-sectional study recruited 825 children aged between 4 and 12 years and categorized them into either typically developing children (TD, >16th percentile) or children at risk for DCD (rDCD, ≤16th percentile) based on the result of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children—2nd edition. Body mass index was calculated to determine weight status (i.e., normal weight, underweight, overweight, and obesity). The estimated prevalence of rDCD was 9.7%. There were significantly more boys in the rDCD groups (p < 0.001). Additionally, preschool children with rDCD were at greater risk for being underweight. However, there was no significant group difference which was found for overweight/obesity. A lower prevalence of rDCD was found in this study. Nevertheless, children with rDCD may be more likely to be underweight in early childhood. Early intervention should be provided to target this population.

Objective: This study investigated whether parental SES moderates the effect of birth health on Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in preschool children.Methods: One hundred and twenty-two children aged 4 to 6 years were enrolled in the study. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children --2nd Edition (MABC-2) test was used to assess the motor coordination of children. They were preliminarily categorized into either the DCD (<=16th percentile, n = 23) or typically developing (TD) group (>16th percentile, n = 99) based on the testing results. All children in the DCD group were further confirmed to meet other diagnostic criteria of the DSM-V using the intellectual test and parental questionnaires. Moderation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS, and 95% confidence intervals with a bootstrap procedure were calculated to identify the significant moderating effect.Results: Maternal education (unstandardized coefficient = 0.6805, SE = 0.3371, p < 0.05) and maternal employment status (unstandardized coefficient = 0.6100, SE = 0.3059, p < 0.05) were found to moderate the relationship between birth length and the probability of having DCD. Moreover, the relationship between birth weight and the probability of having DCD was moderated by the annual household income (unstandardized coefficient = −0.0043, SE = 0.0022, p < 0.05).Conclusion: The lower maternal education level and maternal unemployment strengthened the negative relationship between birth length and the probability of having DCD. Additionally, the negative relationship between birth weight and the probability of having DCD was statistically significant in high annual household salaries.

(1) Background: Empathetic communicative skills are the first step in establishing a good therapeutic relationship. The purpose of this study is to understand the effectiveness of improving the empathetic communicative skills applied to obtain accurate and precise information from patients via compound stimulus-drama in education. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional, one-group, pre- and post-test design was used for this study. In the two-day workshop, four clinical physiotherapists acted as tutors for the “Compound Stimulus-Drama in Education” module and assessed students’ performances. The Standard Patient Rating Scale (SPRS), Objective Structured Clinical Examination Scale (OSCES), Professional and Communication Self-Assessment Scale (PCSS), Patients’ Information (PI), and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) were used to assess the students’ empathy scores and communication skills, before and after the course. (3) Results: Fifty-seven students participated in this study. The results showed that there were significant improvements in the SPRS, OSCES, PCSS, PI, and JSE (p < 0.05). Both the quantitative data and the participants’ reflection feedback suggest that this novel module was more helpful than traditional clinical practice courses for improving clinical empathy communication skills. (4) Conclusions: This study provided an innovative teaching model and assessment tools for learning clinic empathetic communicative skills in future education training.

The two objectives of this systematic review were to examine the following: (1) the difference in sensory processing areas (auditory, visual, vestibular, touch, proprioceptive, and multi-sensory) between children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and (2) the relationship between sensory processing and motor coordination in DCD. The following databases were comprehensively searched for relevant articles: PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane library. There were 1107 articles (published year = 2010 to 2021) found in the initial search. Full-text articles of all possibly relevant citations were obtained and inspected for suitability by two authors. The outcome measures were sensory processing impairments and their relationship with motor coordination. A total of 10 articles met the inclusion criteria. Children with DCD showed significant impairments in visual integration, tactile integration, proprioceptive integration, auditory integration, vestibular integration, and oral integration processes when compared with typically developing children. Evidence also supported that sensory processing impairments were associated with poor motor coordination in DCD. Preliminary support indicated that DCD have sensory processing impairments in visual, tactile, proprioceptive, auditory, and vestibular areas, which might contribute to participation restriction in motor activities. It is important to apply sensory integration therapy in rehabilitation programs for DCD in order to facilitate participation in daily activities.

Higher education organizations have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. During school closures, online teaching and learning has become a new routine that may lead to changes in lifestyles and adversely affect university students’ health. Therefore, this study was to understand the potential impact of online learning on physical and mental health by investigating the differences in physical activity, psychological distress, and student life stress in Taiwanese university students between the in-class learning and online learning periods. A total of 181 students were recruited from a local university. All participants were requested to complete an online survey and self-report physical activity, psychological distress, and life stress in the in-class learning and online learning periods, respectively. The results indicated a significant reduction in physical activity of various intensities (p < 0.05). Specifically, male university students showed a greater decrease in vigorous physical activity compared to their female peers. Yet, there was no significant increase in psychological distress and life stress from the in-class learning period to the online learning period. In summary, physical activity drastically reduces during the online learning period in Taiwanese university students. Notably, male students may be at greater risk of insufficient participation in vigorous physical activity.

Little research has investigated the relationships among motor coordination, perceived physical self-concept (PSC), and physical activity during emerging adulthood. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether PSC mediates the relationship between motor coordination and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in emerging adults. This was a cross-sectional study with 218 undergraduate students aged 17–23 years (167 females, 76.6%). Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire including self-reported measures of motor coordination, PSC and MVPA. The mediating effects of both overall and domain-specific PSC were tested on the relationship between motor coordination and MVPA. Motor coordination was found to have a significant indirect effect on MVPA through overall PSC. Exploratory analyses specifically showed a mediating effect of domain-specific PSC of activity on the relationships between motor coordination and MVPA during chores and leisure-time. Findings from the current study highlight the importance of PSC on the relationship between motor coordination and MVPA and showed that university students with poor motor coordination exhibit lower levels of PSC, specifically, the perception of activity. Future interventions targeting the enhancement of MVPA should focus on improvement in the self-perception of physical activity alongside motor skills training.