Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by clumsiness at home, school, and in the community. The limitation in activities of children with DCD affects their social participation and quality of life, highlighting the need to identify potential risks for DCD in childhood. The relationship between environmental risk factors and DCD has emerged in the literature to clarify its etiology. However, there is no consensus on this relationship. This study will use the variable "family income" as an environmental risk factor. Contributing this data can be an important outcome for the literature, as knowing the risk factors for DCD allows for identification and intervention as early as possible, in order to minimize the impact of this health condition on children's functionality.

To verify the association between family income and DCD in school-aged children.

This is an observational case-control study. In a convenience sample, 30 children of both sexes, aged between 6 and 11 years, were evaluated and divided into two groups matched by age and sex: DCD group, with 15 children (8.06±1.66 years, 11 girls), and typical development (TD) group, with 15 children (8.06±1.66 years, 11 girls). For DCD diagnoses, all four DSM-V-TR criteria were followed. The instruments used for diagnosis were Movement Assessment Battery for Children – 2 (criterion A), Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (criterion B), and a sociodemographic questionnaire (criteria C and D). Family income was assessed through the sociodemographic questionnaire. SPSS version 20 for Windows was used for statistical treatment. The chi-square test was performed to verify the association between family income and DCD x TD groups.

A significant difference was found between the DCD and TD groups (p = 0.001) concerning family income. In the DCD group, there is a predominance of family income lower than one minimum wage or between 1 and 2 minimum wages. On the other hand, in the TD group, the majority (60%) of children fall into the category of family income between 3 and 5 minimum wages.

In this sample, family income was shown to be an environmental risk factor for DCD in children aged 6 to 11 years. The authors suggest that more case-control studies with larger samples should be conducted to confirm this hypothesis and identify other possible environmental risks for DCD.

These results have theoretical and practical implications. In theory, the data presented here support the literature on risk factors in DCD and encourage new studies in search of scientific consensus on the subject. In practice, identifying potential risk factors allows for monitoring children in school, especially in primary education and health care, promoting early identification and referral to specialized services.