Developmental coordination disorder

Definition:

A coordination disorder resulting from developmental delays in motor skills, not due to another medical or neurological condition.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Roughly 6% of school age children have some degree of developmental coordination disorder. Children with this disorder may have trouble holding objects, often trip over their own feet, run into other children, and have an unsteady gait.

Developmental coordination disorder may appear in conjunction with other learning disorders or may be by itself. Communication disorders and the disorder of written expression are two of the learning disorders that appear in conjunction with this disorder.

Symptoms:

developmental delays in sitting up, crawling, and walking.
deficits in handwriting
problems in gross motor coordination (jumping, hopping and standing on one foot)
problems in fine motor coordination (tying shoelaces, tapping one finger to another)
clumsiness

Signs and tests:

Other causes and types of learning disabilities will need to be ruled out before the diagnosis can be confirmed.

Treatment:

Physical education, and perceptual motor training, have remained the best approach to this type of coordination disorder.

Expectations (prognosis):

The degree of recovery depends on the severity of the disorder.

Complications:

repeated injuries
learning problems
low self esteem

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you are concerned about your child's development.

Prevention:

Affected families should make every effort to recognize existing problems early and have them treated. Early treatment is beneficial to future success.

Review Date: 5/22/2001
Reviewed By: Christos Ballas, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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