Dyspraxia

Also called Developmental co-ordination disorder, DCD

Difficulty planning and co-ordinating movement. Not clumsiness, and it does not go away with practice alone.

What it is

Calling a dyspraxic child clumsy is like calling a dyslexic child careless. It describes the surface and blames the person for it.

Dyspraxia, properly developmental co-ordination disorder, affects the brain's ability to plan and sequence movement. The muscles work. The instructions to them do not assemble smoothly, so each movement needs conscious attention that other people never have to give.

It affects around 5% of children, and it persists into adulthood in most of them, despite a widespread belief that children grow out of it.

Signs you might notice

Handwriting that is slow, effortful and painful, and does not improve with practice the way it should.

Buttons, laces, cutlery and cutting up food staying hard well past the usual age.

Bumping into things. Poor spatial judgement. Ball games avoided.

Organisation and planning affected too, which surprises people: dyspraxia is not only physical.

Fatigue, because movements that are automatic for others are being consciously run.

How it can affect day-to-day life

PE is the daily humiliation, and it is where most dyspraxic children learn to dislike exercise for life. That has real long-term health consequences.

Writing speed is the academic barrier. A child who understands the topic completely gets marked on the half page they managed in the time.

In adults it shows up in driving, cooking, DIY and anything requiring assembly, and in a background level of tiredness nobody connects to it.

Around half of dyspraxic people also have ADHD, dyslexia or both.

Supporting someone well

Stop asking for neater. It is not available at any level of effort, and the request lands as criticism of trying.

Type instead of writing wherever possible, and start that early rather than after years of struggle.

Break physical tasks into steps and teach them explicitly. Nothing here is picked up by watching.

Allow extra time and reduce the amount of copying from a board, which is one of the hardest tasks going.

Choose non-competitive exercise: swimming, walking, climbing, cycling. Keeping somebody active matters more than which activity it is.

Ask for occupational therapy, which is the profession that actually treats this.

Our neurodiversity and SEND pre-screening covers sensory and physical needs alongside the other three areas, and names the barriers in the language a school will recognise.

Where to get help

Ask a GP or school for an occupational therapy referral. Paediatric OT services are stretched, so ask what the school can do in the meantime.

The Dyspraxia Foundation have practical guidance for both children and adults.

For adults at work, Access to Work funds equipment and coaching.