Introduction: Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are more likely than their peers with typical development to experience social isolation, mental health problems, excessive screen use and a sedentary lifestyle. Although interventions tend to focus on their motor skills during childhood, it is essential to equip these children with the skills to adopt a healthy and meaningful lifestyle during emerging adolescence. The Lifestyle Redesign, a preventive occupational therapy program, would allow for action to be taken in this direction, but has not yet been explored with this population.
Aim: To adapt and experiment the Lifestyle (Re)design to support the adoption of healthy and meaningful lifestyle among 10–12-year-old children with DCD.
Methods: In partnership with a community organization, this project is realized through action research. Participants will include eight or nine elementary school children with DCD and their parents. The intervention will consider children’s priorities and needs. Mixed methods, both quantitative and qualitative, will be used to collect and analyze the data.
Results: Based on the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), problematic aspects of children’s routines or daily activities will be highlighted. Changes in terms of performance and satisfaction are expected regarding their intervention objectives, using the COPM and the Goal Attainment Scale. A reduction in screen time and an improvement in quality of life are also anticipated.
Conclusion: This project will inform the development of an innovative occupational therapy program to better respond to the needs of children with DCD in terms of life balance, during emerging adolescence.