Is your child's room a nightmare? Are you always buying plasters? Do you have trouble deciphering what they’ve written? Your child may have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) known as Development Co-ordination Difficulty (DCD), often referred to as dyspraxia.
Often referred to as ‘clumsy child syndrome’, it is actually much more complex than that. It is a developmental difficulty that can overlap with other conditions such as dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and social and communication difficulties including autism. Many children with DCD have a combination of co-ordination difficulties and other specific learning difficulties. But each child is unique - there is no classic child with dyspraxia.
The umbrella term DCD is often preferred by medical experts and is in common usage in some other countries (bear this in mind if you are searching the web). This is because the strict definition of dyspraxia is motor-planning difficulty. To understand motor-planning, think about how to make a jam sandwich and the plan you need in order to do so; if you don’t have a plan, you may know what the result should look like, but you don’t know the steps to get there or which order they go in. But in reality, only a few children have this specific difficulty, with dyspraxia generally used to describe the broader range of co-ordination difficulties.
Dyspraxic children may be more likely to fall or trip up or bump into things. They may be messy eaters, find it hard to use a knife and fork together, spill drinks and be slower at dressing than brothers and sisters.
Early signs of co-ordination difficulties may include being late to sit and walk, and not crawling and late to develop a dominant hand. Some babies with dyspraxia reach all their milestones, but still have some difficulties. Older children may be very disorganised and leave possessions and clothes all over the place. DCD is rarely diagnosed before five years of age.
Typical traits include:
However, children with dyspraxia can find it frustrating when they cannot achieve what they set out to do. Often they are articulate and can voice their ideas, but have difficulty transferring them to paper.
DCD affects about six per cent of the population, twice as many boys as girls and occurs across the range of intellectual abilities.
The most common test used to aid diagnosis is the Movement ABC Battery. This is a series of tests covering manual dexterity, ball skills and balance, usually carried out by an occupational therapist. Other tests look at vision and hearing. Symptoms are usually grouped into those affecting small movements (such as dressing, eating, using scissors, writing), big movements (running, jumping, skipping), balance and co-ordination (riding a bicycle, standing on one leg, walking along a wall, climbing on playground equipment), and being in a moving environment (such as playing football with others). Some children will be more affected by big movements whereas other children may only have difficulties with smaller, finer movements, such as holding a pen. However, your child may have difficulties with all forms of co-ordination to varying degrees.
A paediatrician will also usually want to rule out any other causes of motor difficulties. Teachers sometimes watch the child in class and use a checklist to see where the difficulties lie and may refer to an educational psychologist for further testing as well.
DCD can’t be cured, but with appropriate help and understanding your child can improve a great deal, developing coping strategies to help them reach their potential:
A great deal can be achieved even with few obvious resources if there is a ‘can do’ attitude and a sensible, supportive approach.
It may be a long road, so don’t try to do everything at once; patience, tolerance, praise and understanding will go a long way. Ask your child what is troubling them and what do they want to do better and make that your starting point. Don’t tell them off if they spill something over themselves or others - they are not doing it on purpose. See your child for the kind and sensitive child they are, that the world around is making it harder, and that they are a different child not a difficult child. Take a break from therapy and try to incorporate helping your child into every day family life - if you like swimming together, do that rather than exercises without any meaning to the child. Set clear boundaries and have high but realistic expectations. Don’t worry about the small stuff; think about what skills your child will require for adult life. Getting from A to B on time will matter more than doing a 64-piece jigsaw or cutting out a circle perfectly.
Have fun. Remember your child has difficulties - they are not a difficult child.
With thanks to Dr Amanda Kirby, doctor, lecturer and author in the field of dyspraxia
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