Postural Adaptations To Supra-postural Tasks in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder

University of Minnesota, USA
E-mail: chen1619@umn.edu, tas@umn.edu, mwade@umn.edu

Abstract

We investigated the effect of varying memory (cognitive) demands, and visual (perceptual) demands on postural motion. Sixty four children (32 DCD, 32 TDC, 9-to-10 years) were volunteers. Each performed separate memory and visual tasks at two levels of difficulty; easy (LD) and hard (HD) while recording their postural motion.

For the memory task, both groups reduced postural sway in the HD condition. For the visual task only the TDC group reduced postural sway in the HD condition; DCD children did not. The DCD group did not reduce postural motion but, in fact, increased motion. We also found several group  task interactions on sway. Our data suggest a weakening of the action linkage between both cognitive and perceptual tasks in children diagnosed with movement difficulties. The data are discussed in the context of limitations in the embodied relationship between posture and both perceptual and cognitive activity.