Developmental coordination disorder
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental motor coordination disorder, developmental dyspraxia or simply dyspraxia (from Ancient Greek praxis 'activity'), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired coordination of physical movements as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body. Deficits in fine or gross motor skills movements interfere with activities of daily living. It is often described as disorder in skill acquisition, where the learning and execution of coordinated motor skills is substantially below that expected given the individual's chronological age. Difficulties may present as clumsiness, slowness and inaccuracy of performance of motor skills (e.g., catching objects, using cutlery, handwriting, riding a bike, use of tools or participating in team sports or swimming). It is often accompanied by difficulty with organisation and/or problems with attention, working memory and time management.
| Developmental coordination disorder | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Developmental motor coordination disorder, dyspraxia |
| Many people with dyspraxia have difficulty with tying shoelaces. | |
| Specialty | Psychiatry, neurology |
| Symptoms | Motor skills deficit and informational processing difficulties |
| Complications | Learning difficulties, low self-esteem, little to no engagement in physical activities like sports, leading to obesity |
| Usual onset | Early childhood |
| Duration | Lifelong |
| Differential diagnosis | Motor impairments due to another medical condition, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dysgraphia, joint hypermobility syndrome, Hypotonia fetal alcohol spectrum disorder |
| Treatment | Physical therapy, occupational therapy |
| Frequency | 5–6% (of all age groups) |
A diagnosis of DCD is reached only in the absence of other neurological impairments such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's disease. The condition is lifelong and its onset is in early childhood. It is thought to affect about 5% of the population.