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The process of identifying preschool children with developmental coordination disorder in Singapore
Author
Anwari Khairuddin
Supervisor
Wright, Helen Clare
Abstract
Studies that examine the prevalence of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) children at Pre-primary levels are not available in Singapore. Previous research has been completed in Singapore regarding the prevalence of DCD but with children at the primary school level. Therefore the main concern of this study is the process of identifying children with DCD at the ages of 4 and 5 years old in Singapore.
A newly developed Early Years Movement Skills (EYMS) Checklist by Chambers and Sugden (2000) was used as the first step in the procedure to identify the children with DCD. This is the first time that the EYMS Checklist is being used outside the United Kingdom. The results from the EYMS Checklist were compared with the results obtained in the skills test from the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, MABC Test, (Henderson and Sugden, 1992), the second step in the identification procedure.
Many educators in Singapore schools are unaware of the existence of such disorder even though World Health Organisation (1992) and American Psychiatric Association (1987, 1994, 2000) have recognised DCD as a movement disorder. Thus in this study, pre-school teachers were the frontline administrators in identifying the children with DCD in an effort to determine whether pre-school teachers could detect the differences between children with and without DCD in their classroom using the EYMS Checklist. The EYMS Checklist was found to be an "easy to use" and reliable assessment tool in identifying pre-school children with DCD by Chambers (2000). Similar results emerged in this investigation.
In this study children with movement difficulties were found to have higher total scores in both the EYMS Checklist and the skill test of the Movement ABC test. This finding is in line with the finding of the pilot study and the results of another related research project by Chambers (2000). The percentage of children identified as having DCD is within the finding that states that in every population about 10% will be at risk from this disorder (Henderson & Sugden, 1992).
The conclusion reached is that the process of identifying children with DCD in Singapore's preschool environment can be carried out simply by the teachers administering the EYMS Checklist as an easy and efficient identification tool. However the EYMS Checklists should be used as a first line of identification for preschool children with movement difficulties as it is still a recent identification tool and more samples should be tested for validation. A more robust testing instrument like the MABC Test should follow as a confirmation to the initial identification by the EYMS Checklist.
A newly developed Early Years Movement Skills (EYMS) Checklist by Chambers and Sugden (2000) was used as the first step in the procedure to identify the children with DCD. This is the first time that the EYMS Checklist is being used outside the United Kingdom. The results from the EYMS Checklist were compared with the results obtained in the skills test from the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, MABC Test, (Henderson and Sugden, 1992), the second step in the identification procedure.
Many educators in Singapore schools are unaware of the existence of such disorder even though World Health Organisation (1992) and American Psychiatric Association (1987, 1994, 2000) have recognised DCD as a movement disorder. Thus in this study, pre-school teachers were the frontline administrators in identifying the children with DCD in an effort to determine whether pre-school teachers could detect the differences between children with and without DCD in their classroom using the EYMS Checklist. The EYMS Checklist was found to be an "easy to use" and reliable assessment tool in identifying pre-school children with DCD by Chambers (2000). Similar results emerged in this investigation.
In this study children with movement difficulties were found to have higher total scores in both the EYMS Checklist and the skill test of the Movement ABC test. This finding is in line with the finding of the pilot study and the results of another related research project by Chambers (2000). The percentage of children identified as having DCD is within the finding that states that in every population about 10% will be at risk from this disorder (Henderson & Sugden, 1992).
The conclusion reached is that the process of identifying children with DCD in Singapore's preschool environment can be carried out simply by the teachers administering the EYMS Checklist as an easy and efficient identification tool. However the EYMS Checklists should be used as a first line of identification for preschool children with movement difficulties as it is still a recent identification tool and more samples should be tested for validation. A more robust testing instrument like the MABC Test should follow as a confirmation to the initial identification by the EYMS Checklist.
Date Issued
2002
Call Number
RJ496.M68 Anw
Date Submitted
2002