Abstract
Background: Play provides opportunities for young children to explore their environments and develop a range of skills. It is not yet known whether the play of young children with DCD is any different from that of their peers. Aims: To examine play behaviours and frequency of engagement in preschool children between the ages of 4-6 years with and without DCD. Method: Eleven children with probable DCD and 10 comparison typically developing children participated. Group status was determined using the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire ? German (DCDQ-G) 1 and the German Movement Assessment Battery for Children -2 2. The children were videoed during free play at preschool over two 15 minute periods. Children's play skills and behaviours were scored using the Revised Knox Preschool Play Scales (RKPPS) 3 and the Play Observation Scale (POS) 4. Results: Significant differences were found in the overall play age (U = 24.00, z= -2.192, p= .028) and in the domains of space (U = 18.50, z= -2.620, p= .008) and material management (U= 26.50, z=-2.011, p= .045) of the RKPPS. Children with probable DCD demonstrated a lower play age than comparison children. Children with probable DCD had negative affect more often (U=19.00, z= -2.569, p= .009) and were more frequently involved in an aggressive incident, either as victim or aggressor (U= 26.50, z= - 2.143, p= .034). These children were also more frequently onlookers rather than players (U= 14.00, z=- 2.897, p=.003) and spent more time in transition than in actual play (U= 26.50, z= -2.015, p=.044). Conclusion: Preschool children with probable DCD engage in different types of play behaviour with lower frequencies from an early age. Further research with a larger sample size is currently underway.