Early Identification and Early Intervention - Highlighted Project

Can Developmental Coordination Disorder in Premature Children at 4.5 years be predicted by early motor performance?

Very premature infants (24-32 weeks gestation) are at high risk to develop developmental coordination disorder (DCD), which often is not diagnosed until school-age. In collaboration with the Neonatal Follow-Up Program at BC Women's Hospital, we have the unique opportunity to examine, in a cohort of premature infants, the relationship between motor assessments conducted early in life (Motor Assessment of Infants at 4 and 8 months corrected age (CA); Bayley-III at 8, 18, and 36 months CA; Peabody-2 at 36 months) with motor outcomes at 4.5 years (Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2). Early identification of premature children at risk for DCD may precipitate early intervention and alter the developmental trajectory for these vulnerable infants.

Research Team Member	Title	Affiliations
Dr. Jill Zwicker, Project Lead	Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, UBC