Light finger contact concurrently reduces postural sway and enhances signal detection performance in children with developmental coordination disorder

•Light touch reduces postural sway during a signal detection task in children with DCD and TDC.•Light touch concurrently enhances signal detection.•This is the first study demonstrating postural and visual effects of light touch in both groups.

The current study examined the effects of light finger touch on postural sway and signal detection performance in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Children with DCD (n = 30; 18 boys, 12 girls; age = 11.87 ± 0.48 years) and typically developing children (n = 30; 14 boys, 16 girls; age = 11.73 ± 0.52 years) were recruited from schools in Pintung County, Taiwan. Participants completed a signal detection task under no finger touch (NT) and light finger touch (LT) conditions, while postural sway in both anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) axes was recorded. In both conditions, children with DCD exhibited significantly higher levels of postural sway (p < 0.05) and lower signal detection performances (p < 0.05) than TDC. Additionally, both groups significantly reduced postural sway (p < 0.05) and enhanced signal detection performance (p < 0.05) when engaged in light finger touch compared with no finger touch. While the effect of LT on postural sway was greater among TDC relative to children with DCD (p < 0.05), the effect of LT on signal detection was greater in children with DCD compared with TDC (p < 0.05). These results suggest that light finger touch is effective in concurrently reducing postural sway and enhancing signal detection in both groups.