Developmental Coordination Disorders (DCD) in Children
What are they? These are delays in a child’s motor skills or a difficulty in a child’s ability to coordinate movements. What are the key traits of DCD?
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
What are the common characteristics / symptoms of DCD? 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 How can our team of Occupational Therapists help?
- 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 strategiesENCOURAGE, CHALLENGE, IMPROVE IS HOW OUR SUCCESS IS MADE!
