Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Apr 24;15(5):576.
doi: 10.3390/bs15050576.

The Relationship Between Motor Development and ADHD: A Critical Review and Future Directions

Gabrielle A Shimko  1 , Karin H James  1
Affiliations
Review

The Relationship Between Motor Development and ADHD: A Critical Review and Future Directions

Gabrielle A Shimko et al. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of motor difficulties in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) throughout development, it is neglected as a factor underlying the etiology or functional impairment. This paper reviews the behavioral and neurological evidence linking motor difficulties to ADHD, arguing that existing theories explaining this relationship are oversimplified. Instead, embodied theories of development offer a more comprehensive evaluation of the mechanistic relationship among the motor system, cognitive development, and subsequent functional impairment in ADHD throughout early development. The integration of these perspectives will ultimately inform our understanding of the etiology of ADHD and inspire novel approaches for identification and intervention.

Keywords: ADHD; embodied cognition; motor development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Adolph K. E., Bertenthal B. I., Boker S. M., Goldfield E. C., Gibson E. J. Learning in the development of infant locomotion. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 1997;62(3):i-162. doi: 10.2307/1166199. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adolph K. E., Hoch J. E. Motor development: Embodied, embedded, enculturated, and enabling. Annual Review of Psychology. 2019;70:141–164. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102836. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adolph K. E., Kretch K. S. Gibson’s theory of perceptual learning. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2015;10:127–134.
    1. Akkaya N., Kabukçu Başay B., Urak Ö., Başay Ö., Şahin F. Evaluation of motor skills with functional dexterity test in children with adhd and comparison with healthy controls. Journal of Attention Disorders. 2025;29(4):269–280. doi: 10.1177/10870547241306563. - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5™. 5th ed. American Psychiatric Association; 2013. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources