Introduction: Some children with movement problems, have developmental delays features such as motion, balance disorders, perceptual-motor disorder, physical inexperience, poor coordination and somewhat mild neurological disorder. Mentioned features indicate a developmental delay in children that have not medical, environmental or specific intelligence reason and called developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Executive functions is general terms that accommodate all complex cognitive processes that are necessary in new or difficult goal-oriented tasks and includes the ability to delay or prevent a particular response and then planning subsequent of action and maintain mental representation assignments by the working memory. Executive functions have an important role in being targeted of movement, in other words in motor control. Thus, having substantial difficulties in motor coordination, writing, fine motor and gross motor skills and impaired perception of time, suggests this probability that children with DCD may have difficulty in executive functions.
Methodology: Thirty children aged 6–10 years with DCD took part in this study. Children were assigned to two experimental and control groups. Children selected based on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) test, Raven Children’s Test and Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory. The tests were performed before and after 8 week training program. Data were analyzed using independent t-test.
Results: There were significantly difference between experimental and control group in executive functions and decision making-planning (p<0.01), but there was no significant difference in inhibition functioning.
Discussion: According to the findings of this research and the improvement effectiveness of motor skill training on executive function, strategies are suggested to reduce the deficit executive functions: involving this children more and more in sports activities, emphasis on additional and personal homework out of school and focus on teaching thinking skills and problem solving.