title: A randomized controlled trial of a group-based gaze training intervention for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.
abstract: The aim of this study was to integrate a gaze training intervention (i.e., quiet eye training; QET) that has been shown to improve the throwing and catching skill of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), within an approach (i.e., group therapy) that might alleviate the negative psychosocial impact of these motor skill deficits. Twenty-one children with DCD were split into either QET (8 male 3 female, mean age of 8.6 years (SD = 1.04) or technical training (TT) groups (7 male 3 female, mean age of 8.6 years (SD = 1.84). The TT group were given movement-related instructions via video, relating to the throw and catch phases, while the QET group were also taught to fixate a target location on the wall prior to the throw (QE1) and to track the ball prior to the catch (QE2). Each group partook in a 4-week, group therapy intervention and measurements of QE duration and catching performance were taken before and after training, and at a 6-week delayed retention test. Parental feedback on psychosocial and motor skill outcomes was provided at delayed retention. Children improved their gaze control and catching coordination following QET, compared to TT. Mediation analysis showed that a longer QE aiming duration (QE1) predicted an earlier onset of tracking the ball prior to catching (QE2) which predicted catching success. Parents reported enhanced perceptions of their child's catching ability and general coordination in the QET group compared to the TT group. All parents reported improvements in their child's confidence, social skills and predilection for physical activity following the trial. The findings offer initial support for an intervention that practitioners could apply to address deficits in the motor and psychosocial skills of children with DCD.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02904980.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health, Exercise and Active Living, Manchester Metropolitan University, Crewe, United Kingdom.|Department of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0851-7090
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Charlotte A L
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ginny
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coyles
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Alizadehkhaiyat
authors.affiliation: College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Samuel J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Vine
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
authors.forename: Joan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Vickers
authors.affiliation: College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005133:Eye Movements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*