Development co-ordination disorder: Different perspectives on the understanding of motor control and co-ordination

Research on developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) in children has reflected inconsistency between hierarchical and heterarchical theories. In general, the field is recognized as having a common search for subcategories of DCD, but the differences between the approaches are already reflected in the searching processes. Within neuro-psychology, the search for those with hand-eye co-ordination problems (HECP) has led to parallels between behavioral manifestations of "clumsiness" and potential underlying neurological information-processing disorders by teasing out the ways in which these children organize their actions in time and space. So far, the emphasis has been on the difficulties experienced by children with HECP in terms of sensory integration. Dynamical systems tools have been found appropriate in other studies searching for a sub-category of DCD. These tools can be applied to different co-ordination systems (e.g. inter-limb co-ordination, co-ordination between a rhythmically moving limb and periodic perceptual events), and at different levels of observation (e.g. behavioural, muscular). Both ways include experimental methods rather than standard motor tests and, therefore, serve as a "window" for studying what clumsiness is about in more detail.