Defining DCD
Once known as “child clumsiness
syndrome” or “dyspraxia”, and now
more commonly as DCD, the motor
planning disorder affects the way
messages are transmitted from the
brain to the body. Children with
DCD may have trouble planning or
performing tasks that other children
barely think about – like doing up a
shoe, tapping a rhythm or catching a
ball.
Children with DCD can often
struggle to reach gross and fine motor
milestones, and speech may be affected
or delayed. It can show up alongside
dyslexia and ADHD, and has been
found to affect boys more than girls.
At present, there is no known cause or
cure.
“DCD doesn’t affect an
individual’s intelligence, but it does
affect how they perceive and take
action,” says Sharon Haarsma
of Integrate HK, a therapy and
Are your child’s wobbly steps more than a sign
of general clumsiness? It may pay to check,
since experts say early detection of problems
can have far-reaching results, writes
Elle Kwan
.
I
t seems as though the first year
of a baby’s life revolves around
meeting milestones. As parents,
we wait eagerly for that first
smile, babble, push-up, roll, crawl
and step. During that time, very
often we are guided by midwives and
paediatricians, who weigh and stretch
and measure and ask our babies to
perform their magical new bag of
motor skills tricks, and we compare
notes at mother and baby groups.
But experts say we should keep as
vigilant a watch on milestones after
that first year, and for many years
beyond. According to British National
Health Service (NHS) statistics and the
Australian Dyspraxia Association, as
many as one in ten children show signs
of development coordination deficit
(DCD), which can affect how they
plan, sequence and implement tasks.
Some teachers say they now expect to
have at least one child with DCD in
each of their classes.
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