The effect of Spark motor program on sensory-motor functions in children with developmental coordination disorder

Background: Developmental coordination disorders (DCD) is one of the most common disorders affecting children aged 5 to 8 years. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Spark motor program on sensory-motor functions in 5- to 7- year-old children with DCD in Mashhad city, Iran. Materials and Methods: This research is a semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design and control group. From a total of 80 children with DCD in Mashhad city, 20 children were selected using screening tests and randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control. To collect data, the DCD questionnaire, Denver developmental screening test II and Raven intelligence test were used. Moreover, to evaluate the dependent variable, the Canners neuropsychological assessment questionnaire was used. The experimental group received the Spark motor program for 8 weeks (3 sessions per week, each session 45 minutes) and the control group did not receive any training. Results: Results of the study showed that there was a significant difference in the pretest and posttest mean scores of variables between the control and experimental groups. Conclusion: Spark motor program can improve perceptual-motor functions in children with DCD. Hence, it is recommended to use these exercises in schools and nurseries to improve sensory-motor functions in children with DCD.