Type of active video-games training does not impact the effect on balance and agility in children with and without developmental coordination disorder: A randomized comparator-controlled trial

Short- and Long-Term Changes in Balance After Active Video Game Training in Children With and Without Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Active video games (AVG) have been used as training tools and are known to ameliorate balance performance in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Our aim was to evaluate balance using clinical tests and by measuring body sway using a force plate with a mixed design of vision (eyes open/eyes closed), surface (rigid/soft), and support (stance/semitandem) before, and after, training and 4 months later (follow-up). Thirty-six DCD children and 40 typically developing children participated in the study, of which 50 children (26 DCD; 24 typically developing) were retested after 4 months. Balance improved on the clinical measures after the training, which was independent of type of AVG (Wii-Fit and Xbox Kinect) used, and this effect was still present after 4 months. The AVG training did not influence general sway behavior, but only sway in the eyes-open condition, corresponding with task demands of the training and indicating a training-specific effect. Overall, DCD children and typically developing children responded comparably to the AVG training, thereby maintaining the gap in performance between the two groups. The changes in postural sway are interpreted as a sign of more confidence and less freezing of the joints, enabling greater flexibility of movements and balance strategies as supported by the improved performance on balance tests in the DCD children. This is the first study that showed long-term effects of AVG training on balance performance. However, these follow-up results should be interpreted with caution given that 35% of the children were lost in follow-up.

Improved attentional abilities after playing five weeks of active video games in children with and without developmental coordination disorder

BACKGROUND

Besides motor coordination problems, attentional impairments are reported in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), but the connection or trainability is still unclear.

AIM

To test changes on attentional abilities after playing active video games (AVG) in children with DCD and their peers (TD), to evaluate near transfer and the relationship between omissions in attentional and motor tests.

METHODS

Seventy children (35 DCD; 35 TD), 7-12 years old, were assessed on three types of attention: distractibility (DIS); divided-attention (DA); sustained-attention (SA) and on the Wii Fit test pre- and post-training.

RESULTS

A significant decrease of errors in attentional tasks was found after training, independent of group (TD/DCD) and console (Wii Fit/Xbox) with medium-strong effect sizes (DIS η²_p =.42; DA η²_p =.51; SA η²_p =.41). The groups responded similarly to the training but the DCD children scored poorer on the DA. A positive transfer-effect to the non-trained Wii Fit test was found in accuracy (missed gates), while speed proved console-specific. A medium/strong relation was found between omissions in attentional tasks and the missed gates (Wii Fit test).

CONCLUSION

More accurate responses on attentional tasks were found after AVG-training in both groups. A clear relationship between attentional abilities and motor performance was found.