Manuscript accepted on :25-03-2020
Published online on: 10-04-2020
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384U. Ganapathy Sankar
, Monisha. R*, Christopher Amalraj Vallaba Doss and Palanivel R. M
SRM College of Occupational therapy, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, Chennai.
Corresponding Author E-mail : dreamsfuture000@gmail.com
DOI : https://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bpj/1956
Abstract
Awareness of Developmental coordination disorder has greatly increased and even when it is late in life, diagnosis of DCD in adults will help in majority of ways. To solve the debate and mystery in the literature, the current study examines the association between sensory hyper-responsiveness, anxiety and loneliness in adults with DCD. Current study involved adults with DCD (n = 15, 10 men and 5 women; age group: 20–40 years). All participants had a documented diagnosis of DCD by a registered psychiatrist. Sensory processing, loneliness, and anxiety were assessed with the Adult Sensory Profile, short-form UCLA loneliness scale, and Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. There exist a perfect correlation between Sensory hyper-responsiveness with anxiety and loneliness. This study concludes and insisted the need for Interventions for sensory processing difficulties to improve the psychological well-being of adults with DCD.
Keywords
Anxiety; DCD; Sensory Integration Therapy; Sensory Responsiveness
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| Copy the following to cite this article: Sankar U. G, Monisha.R. Relationship between Sensory Responsivity, Loneliness, and Anxiety among Indian Adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Biomed Pharmacol J 2020;13(2). |
| Copy the following to cite this URL: Sankar U. G, Monisha.R. Relationship between Sensory Responsivity, Loneliness, and Anxiety among Indian Adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Biomed Pharmacol J 2020;13(2). Available from: https://bit.ly/34umCPZ |
Introduction
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a developmental Motor disorder with marked characteristics of difficulty in coordinating body movements and well established difficulty in communication. Difficulty in sensory processing is a predominant difficulty in adults with DCD1.Every individual has their own pattern of sensory responsiveness. Each one is present with an individualized pattern. Environment will provide a good amount sensory input in all the activities of daily life. How the environmental demands were placed on the adults with DCD and how the sensory information is processed and how they respond to the environmental demands was paid attention when analyzing an adult with DCD2.
When the sensory responsiveness is depicted with a bell-shaped distribution, majority of the adults have mild response to sensory stimulus from the environment and few individuals respond more immensively. As every individual has a unique sensory pattern, not all the sensory stimulus or input will produce a response equally for the entire individual, there will be individual differences. The stimulus which is desired to bring a response in an individual should have to exceed the neurological threshold to stimulate the nervous system3.The individual differences in perceiving and responding to a neurological input are based on the neurological thresholds. Either the individual will be having high or low neurological thresholds.
When examined The Dunn’s Sensory Processing model it has been clear that sensory responsiveness will emerge based on the interaction that pins between high or low threshold and self-regulation. Neurological threshold is needed to respond to events in everyday life. Individuals with low threshold will respond to environmental stimulus more easily as their neurological system activates easier to sensory inputs. But contrarily individuals with high threshold will not respond to the input because strong input will favor activation of neurological system.
Hypersensitivity will also correlate positively with social skills in adults with DCD. Anxiety is the baseline factor which interlinks sensory hyper-responsivness and loneliness. When these three factors interlink it affects the physical and emotional imbalances which is manifested in and as gastrointestinal problems. In adults with DCD there is a high prevalence rate of Sensory hyper-responsiveness and it affects visual perception, auditory stimulus reception, tactile response to input from the environment, smell, taste, and proprioception. Loneliness affects the psychological well being of the adult with DCD6. It directly interferes with the mental and physical health of adults. DCD adults were affected by social isolation, the reason underlies social isolation is difficulties in interacting with peer group with social skills, leading to deeper consequences of loneliness. However, research on the relationship between loneliness and mental health in adults with DCD is still in debate.
Subjects and Methods
Subjects
Sample Size
The sample size for this current study was calculated to assess of the effects of evaluation of sensory responsively, loneliness, and anxiety in Indian adults with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The sample size was analyzed based on a confidence interval of 95%.
Procedure
The principal investigator Dr.Ganapathy sankar has obtained approval for the research (A-NO-25) from research meet at SRM College of occupational therapy, SRM institute of science and technology and included adults with DCD from the developmental therapy centers and organizations. The principal investigator gained the confidence of the participants by explaining the study in detail and by submitting the information sheet of the study to the parents and caregivers of the adults with DCD.
The characteristics of participants included in the study are presented in (Table 1). Participants were diagnosed with DCD in accordance to DSM-IV criteria and the adults with DCD were included into the study %2
