ICD-10 Code F82
Developmental coordination disorder is part of a cluster of diagnoses called the motor disorders. Motor disorders are a group of psychiatric conditions that include:
Motor disorders are a group of psychiatric conditions that affect the ability to produce and control bodily movements.
Motor disorders may involve developmental delays and deficits involving fine and gross motor functions. Developmental coordination disorder is characterized by deficits in the acquisition and execution of coordinated motor skills and is manifested by clumsiness and slowness or inaccuracy of performance of motor skills that cause interference with daily living. Stereotypic movement disorder includes patterns of repetitive and seemingly driven yet purposeless motor behaviors. Examples of such behaviors include movements of the head, body, and hands that are developmentally abnormal. Tic disorders involve sudden, rapid and recurrent, non-rhythmic motor movements or vocalizations. Such motoric or vocal manifestations are observably involuntary.
Developmental coordination disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 5% of adults. There is evidence that children with developmental coordination disorder also experience difficulties in non-motor domains in the area of executive functioning difficulties. This might impact their inhibition, working memory, and execution attention.
The disorder can occur in both males and females, but it is significantly more common in males. The core symptom of developmental coordination disorder is the acquisition and execution of coordinated motor skills being substantially below the child's chronological age and opportunity for skill learning and use. These difficulties are manifested as clumsiness (e.g., dropping or bumping into objects) as well as slowness and inaccuracy of performance of motor skills (e.g., catching an object, using scissors or cutlery, handwriting, riding a bike, or participating in sports). Some of the physical characteristics of a child with developmental coordination disorder include:
Other terms used to describe developmental coordination disorder include childhood dyspraxia, specific developmental disorder of motor function, and clumsy child syndrome.
Adults with developmental coordination disorder may experience the following symptoms:
Adults with developmental coordination disorder experience significant interference in their daily lives from their motor coordination difficulties. Poor fine motor skills associated with the disorder causes difficulty with handwriting, self-care, cooking, housework, and shopping. Weak gross motor skills affect their balance, posture and ability to engage in physical activity.
Long-term avoidance of physical tasks may lead to poor physical fitness and risk for obesity. The functional consequence of poor motor skills also may impact their ability to obtain a driver's license or create a negative self-perception that they are poor driver. Adults with developmental coordination disorder also report weaknesses in executive functioning. They may have trouble with organizing and planning. Adults may experience secondary emotional difficulties such as low frustration tolerance, decreased self-esteem, and lack of motivation. Adults with developmental coordination disorder may be resistant to changes and may appear dissatisfied in their performance likely due to the high output of effort required to plan and execute a task.
It is hypothesized that children with developmental coordination disorder may have cerebellar dysfunction due to their difficulty automating motor skills. Developmental coordination disorder is more common following prenatal exposure to alcohol and in preterm and low birth weight children. This disorder often co-occurs with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning disabilities, and autism spectrum disorder.
Developmental coordination disorder is treatable. Published treatment guidelines for developmental coordination disorder include those from the German-Swiss Interdisciplinary Clinical Practice Guide.
Clinical research suggests that the following treatments are indicated for the treatment of adults with developmental coordination disorder:
Cognitive behavioral therapy: helps adults improve their quality of life by minimizing the burden of their motor disorder. Cognitive behavior therapy combines cognitive and behavioral learning principles to shape and encourage desired behaviors. The underlying assumptions of CBT are that an individual's behavior is mediated by cognitive events and that change in thinking or cognitive patterns can lead to changes in behavior.