The main aim of this grant was to consider locomotor abilities in individuals with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder. We considered this in four distinct phases. The first simply looked at the control of unobstructed walking in this population. The grant then moved on to look at the negotiation of obstacles, specifically how individuals walk through narrow gaps or apertures. In phase two we considered the visual judgements of individuals when deciding whether they were able to pass through a narrow gap or not. In phase 3, we asked participants to actually pass through these same narrow gaps / apertures and we measured their movements. Finally in phase 4 we considered negotiation of unexpected obstacles, as participants walked a ‘gate’ might or might not close in their pathway. For this series of studies we used the same participants with and without DCD. This consisted of a group of 44 participants with DCD aged from 7 years to 32 years and a group of age (within 6 months) and gender matched typically developing participants. Participants with DCD were selected in line with DSM 5 criteria. More detailed information about each participant can be found within each datasheet. Some of the data has an embargo due to forthcoming publications – however, it will all be available from 01.01.17 This entry refers to Phase 2 visual judgements Datasheets from the other phases are as follows: Phase 1: Navigational abilities in individuals with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD); Phase 1: Flat walking (this is the data for all of the participants) Phase 2: Navigational abilities in individuals with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD); Part 3: Phase 2 visual judgements of size (this is the data for all of the participants) Phase 3: (two files) Navigational abilities in individuals with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD); Part 2: Negotiating obstacles in children with DCD (this is the data for the 7-17 year olds) Navigational abilities of typically developing individuals and individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD): Phase 3 adult data (this is the data for the 18-32 year-olds) Phase 4: Navigational abilities in individuals with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD); Part 4: Unexpected obstacle avoidance typical adults (this is a data set of typical adults only) During everyday life we walk around busy environments, negotiating stationary and moving obstacles. This is usually performed effortlessly but actually involves complex skills to visually monitor the environment and control body movements. For individuals with coordination difficulties this presents a real challenge and can have a negative impact on safe participation at school or work and in everyday life. This project will consider several aspects of obstacle avoidance and navigation in children and adults with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). DCD is characterized by everyday motor problems in the absence of sensory, intellectual or neurological impairment. The condition occurs in almost 2% of children and usually continues into adulthood. Primarily the project will focus on locomotion while negotiating a gap/aperture between obstacles such as that created by a doorway or parked cars. Such a task has both a perceptual element and a motor element. We plan to consider the perceptual element both in isolation and within a movement context. Finally the project will consider navigation of unpredictable or changing environments. The proposed research will further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying DCD and thereby assist in planning more effective interventions to support motor learning.

This study involved two tasks: a visual size judgement and a visual fit judgement. Visual size judgement: Participants stood 7m away from two aperture which were created by three participants. On a given trial the aperture on the left or the right was set at a standard size of 60cm; this did not change in size for the rest of that trial. The other aperture, started at either 100cm (decreasing condition) or 20cm (increasing condition). The participant was asked to state whether the two apertures were the same size or not, if they stated the apertures were of a different size the non-standard aperture was decreased by 2cm (decreasing condition) or increased by 2cm (increasing condition). This continued until the participant stated the apertures were the same in size. The size of the non-standard aperture was recorded at this point. Participants completed 8 trials, 4 increasing and 4 decreasing. The increasing/decreasing conditions were pseudo-randomised as was the side of the standard. The participant turned around between trials to face away from the apertures. Visual fit judgement Participants stood 7m away from one aperture which was created between two partitions. On a given trial participants were presented with an aperture that was either 0.9 times their shoulder width (increasing condition) or 2.1 times their shoulder width (decreasing condition). Participants were asked to judge whether they could walk through the aperture presented with or without turning their shoulders. If they judged they could pass without turning they were to state ‘straight’, if they needed to turn they were asked to state ‘turning’. Once they had made this initial judgement the aperture was increased in size by 2cm (increasing condition) or decreased in size by 2cm (decreasing condition) and the participants had to make a new judgement. This continued until the participant switched from a ‘turning’ judgement to a ‘straight’ judgement (increasing condition) or from a ‘straight’ judgement to a ‘turning’ judgement (decreasing condition). The relative size of the aperture was noted at this point. The experiment consisted of 6 trials, 3 increasing and 3 decreasing which were presented in a pseudo-randomised order. The participant turned around between trials to face away from the apertures. Both participants with and without DCD completed this study. The participants with DCD were selected in line with DSM 5 criteria. The data includes 44 participants with DCD (aged 7-32) and 44 age (within 6 months) and gender matched typically developing participants.