title: Motor abilities of children and adolescents with a psychiatric condition: A systematic literature review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize research regarding the motor abilities of children and adolescents who suffer from a common psychiatric condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to outline the current knowledge regarding the motor abilities of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) and depression, a comprehensive systematic literature search was carried out using PubMed, Medline and ERIC databases. The databases were searched for relevant English language articles published between January 1990 and April 2014. Only studies that conducted a quantitative evaluation of motor ability and concerned individuals aged 0-18 years were included. A separate search was conducted for each disorder (ASD, ADHD, DBD, depression) in conjunction with each of the following keywords: (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement skill(s), (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement abilities, (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement impairment, (psycho/perceptuo) motor/movement problem(s), motor function, motor coordination, motor performance, motor deficit(s). To detect supplementary relevant literature, the reference lists of the retrieved articles were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search strategy yielded 51 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. In total, 28 studies were included that examined the motor abilities of children and adolescents with ASD. All studies indicated that they performed below average on various standardized motor assessment instruments. The overall prevalence rate for impairment in motor abilities ranged from 33% to 100%. Twenty-seven studies examined the motor abilities of children and adolescents with ADHD. Depending on the type of motor assessment tool and the cut-off points used by different researchers, prevalence rates of impairment in motor abilities are highly variable and ranged from 8% to 73%. Remarkably, there is a paucity of research addressing the motor abilities of individuals with DBD or depression. Furthermore, methodological problems, such as measurement and comorbidity issues, complicate the generalization of the findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Research suggests that motor impairment is highly prevalent in some psychiatric conditions, particularly ASD and ADHD. However, future work is necessary to draw sound conclusions.
authors.affiliation: Tine Van Damme, Bernard Sabbe, Dirk van West, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tine Van
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Damme
authors.affiliation: Tine Van Damme, Bernard Sabbe, Dirk van West, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.affiliation: Tine Van Damme, Bernard Sabbe, Dirk van West, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sabbe
authors.affiliation: Tine Van Damme, Bernard Sabbe, Dirk van West, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van West
keywords: Adolescent; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Children; Depression; Disruptive Behavior Disorder; Motor abilities