Dr. Jill Zwicker, who was recently promoted to the highest rank of Professor, recently won a Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC) Convening & Collaborating (C2) award to further her research on Developmental Coordination Disorder, or DCD.
What is DCD?
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a common condition that significantly interferes with a child’s ability to learn motor skills. Without treatment, these motor challenges can persist into adulthood and limit job opportunities, affect physical and mental health, and impact quality of life. Early identification and intervention are crucial to change this negative trajectory. See Five things parents should know about Developmental Coordination Disorder.
More than 50,000 children in BC may have DCD, but most of these children are unlikely to have a diagnosis or receive therapy. A previous survey completed by Dr. Zwicker’s team, of BC parents of children with DCD, showed that they first identified concerns about their child’s motor skills at age 3 years, but did not receive a diagnosis until age 8, missing a critical window for early intervention. Parents also identified significant barriers to accessing therapy for their child.
You can read more about the needs of children with DCD in this open-access article on Dr. Zwicker’s research: Success or Failure? Are We Meeting the Needs of Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder?
Ensuring early intervention
In the project funded by this C2 award, Dr. Zwicker and her team will help find ways to ensure earlier DCD diagnosis and intervention. Her research will bring together a diverse group of parents, researchers, health organizations, and clinicians to begin to determine how to streamline early identification of DCD and improve access to relevant interventions. They will hold a series of meetings with these key partners to identify research objectives and co-develop further grant applications for the implementation and evaluation of early interventions.
If you, or someone you know, might be interested in participating in this research, you can learn more at Dr. Zwicker’s research team’s project website.
Image credit: OSOT, except for DCD logo and image of children from BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute