Overview:
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects children’s motor skills and coordination, requiring awareness, targeted interventions, and individualized support to help students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Poor handwriting? Difficulties with spatial awareness? It could be dysgraphia; it could be Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); or, it could be a lesser-known, but prevalent disability called Developmental Coordination Disorder. Teachers are not diagnosticians, but in order to help our students with the most effective and targeted interventions, we need to have an idea about what something is and what it isn’t.
A few years back, I had a 3rd grade student who struggled with the physical act of writing.
He wrote legibly, but very slowly, laboring to produce each stroke with care and thought. He had not yet been referred for intervention, but he was clearly struggling to keep up with the classwork. At first, I wondered if he might have dysgraphia, but his handwriting was legible, and his ideas were articulate and organized. I began to notice interrupted speech patterns and other physical difficulties that slowed him down compared to other students, not just in school work and dismissal routines, but also in play. That’s when I learned about Developmental Coordination Disorder.
Understanding Developmental Coordination Disorder
According to the Cleveland Clinic’s website, Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) sometimes also referred to as Dyspraxia, “is a neurodevelopmental condition that begins in childhood that makes it difficult to perform motor skills. It also causes issues with coordination.” (Cleveland Clinic) DCD affects approximately 6% of school-aged children and is more common in boys and men than in girls and women. It can affect both children and adults as it is a chronic condition that can last into adulthood. Dyspraxia is a term often used interchangeably with Developmental Coordination Disorder. However, Dyspraxia actually refers to a wider range of movement difficulties because it can occur in adults as a result of a traumatic brain injury or stroke, whereas DCD is generally used to refer to developmental coordination disorders in childhood.
Signs of DCD appear early, but they can be mistaken for other conditions, so it is not usually diagnosed until a child is 5 years old. It is more likely to occur in children who are born prematurely (especially before the 32nd week of pregnancy), had a low birth weight (less than 4 lbs.), or a family history of DCD.
Living and Learning with Developmental Coordination Disorder
DCD is a chronic condition. At this point, there is no known cure, but there are therapies and accommodations to help children and adults improve their movement capabilities and improve their lives. Coordination is a multi-faceted task involving complex interactions across different brain areas so it can affect the student in multiple ways. Students with DCD can struggle with coordination tasks that come easily to their peers. This can lead to lowered self-esteem for students with DCD and difficulty making friends. DCD can also lead to significant academic challenges for students as there are many classroom activities that involve complex coordination.
Because DCD can present in a variety of ways, therapies must be individualized to be most effective. It is important to determine the nature of the problems that the child is experiencing, but very often treatment will involve breaking tasks down into a succession of smaller chunks which the child can then practice regularly. There are accommodations that can help children find success in specific classroom tasks such as using a pencil grip or specially-designed scissors to help with handwriting and cutting. This condition can affect a student’s gross and fine motor skills including posture, balance, perception, speech, and even planning, and organizational skills, so a team of professionals should work together to plan an appropriate and individualized plan for each child.
Most importantly, children with DCD can lead very productive lives. There are many ways in which we can help students with DCD to improve their coordination difficulties. It is important to diagnose the areas of difficulty and then to create targeted, individualized plans to help each student in their particular areas of struggle. According to the NHS website, over time and with therapy, students can learn to manage their coordination issues and lead fulfilling lives. (NHS.UK)
Developmental Coordination Disorder and Other Learning Disabilities
There is a high rate of comorbid disorders. Some individuals with DCD might also have Anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Dysgraphia, Executive Functioning Issues, Slow processing speed, Sensory processing issues. (Understood.org)
As teachers, we are not diagnosticians, but without some specific knowledge of a range of disabilities, we are at a disadvantage when trying to help our students grow and experience happy, balanced, fulfilling lives. Learning about DCD helped me to gently encourage my student, knowing that he was trying hard. I was able to see the small steps he made and to celebrate these with him. Until he was able to be formally evaluated by a health professional, having some understanding of this condition and others helped me to find the best supports to scaffold his tasks and to be a better teacher for him.
References
Cleveland Clinic. “Dyspraxia: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment.” Accessed July 21, 2025.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23963-dyspraxia-developmental-coordination-disorder-d cd.
NHS . (2023). Developmental co-ordination Disorder (dyspraxia) in Children. NHS. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia/
The Understood Team. (n.d.). Developmental Coordination Disorder in Children. www.understood.org. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/understanding-developmental-coordination-disorder-dcd
Sandra Noyelle has been teaching for over 20 years in the Central New Jersey area. During that time, she has worked as a general education teacher and a literacy coach for students ranging in age from 3 -14 years old. She has a Master’s Degree in Education and numerous state certifications. She currently works as a special education teacher in an inclusion setting and with LLD students.
