[Motor coordination function of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (review)].
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are both childhood disorders identified in the DSM-IV. Studies investigating ADHD have found that around half of ADHD cases also have motor problems severe enough to be diagnosed as DCD. Further, children initially diagnosed as DCD have also been found to meet moderate to severe diagnosis for ADHD. Both disorders have been linked to a lot of psychosocial problems. Furthermore, when ADHD and DCD are co-morbid, the outcome tends to be more severe than when either disorder occurs alone. In the past decade, many studies identified shown that ADHD children experienced difficulties with both fine motor movements and gross motor movements. Notably, most of these foregoing studies found balance functions of ADHD were impaired. In order to maintain balance under a verity of environmental conditions, sensory information from somatosensory, visual, and vestibular origins must be integrated by the central nervous system. But there are rich evidences suggesting that children with ADHD can not organize the motor information effectively. The maintenance and control of posture and balance, whether in static or dynamic conditions, are essential requirements for daily activity. The balance function has been closely associated not only with both gross motor movements, such as sitting, standing, walking and fine motor movements, but also with human behaviors. There are increasing evidences suggesting that balance deficit correlates with symptoms of ADHD. Therefore, motor coordination difficulties co-occurring with ADHD should be given emphasis in clinical practice; the training of balance may be one of the possible methods to improve the motor coordination function in ADHD children.
Feng
Lei
L
Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China.
Cheng
Jia
J
Wang
Yu-feng
YF
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D009048:Motor Skills