Developmental Coordination Disorders (DCD) in Children

These are delays in a child’s motor skills or a difficulty in a child’s ability to coordinate movements as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body.

• Affects 5-8% of school aged children to perform everyday tasks
• Often occurs with a learning disability, ADHD, Speech and Language Disorder, and behavioral problems
• Can persists through adulthood

Physical:

• Can be “clumsy” or have poor balance (e.g. bumps into things or knocks things over)
• Can have difficulty learning new motor skills (e.g. kicking / throwing ball)
• More difficulty with motor activities that require constant change (e.g. jumping rope, playing baseball)
• More difficulty with motor activities that require the use of both sides of the body (e.g. using scissors, hitting ball, jumping jacks)
• Difficulty with handwriting
• Difficulty self-care skills (e.g. dressing, using utensils)
• Difficulty sitting still or having good posture

Emotional and Behavioral:

• Tends to avoid motor based activities or has low frustration tolerance
• Tend to avoid socializing
• Dissatisfaction with their work or self-conscious
• Lack of confidence
• Resistant to change in routine

• Creating a plan of care to teach motor skills 1:1 to the child providing adaptions when needed
• Improve body awareness and how to notice visuals cues each motor tasks provides
• Teaching child how to adapt their movement from the feedback that their body provides them in motor tasks
• Improve body awareness through multi-sensory activities in our sensory motor gyms
• Teach compensation and coping strategies