Key Concepts
The motor-based activities of
school are challenging for children with DCD
Teachers are in a unique
position to identify children with motor problems
Boys tend to be identified
more often than girls, perhaps related to behavioural issues
DCD remains an
under-recognized disorder
How do children with DCD present in the classroom?
Nearly every school activity, especially in the early school years, is
a motor activity.
For children who have coordination difficulties, participation in all
school-related activities that have a
motor component requires tremendous effort and is often unsuccessful.
In an environment that stresses learning
through "doing", children with DCD fall short of their
potential because they have coordination difficulties that
impact their academic, social and physical development.
When children enter preschool, kindergarten or other structured
settings, they usually struggle with pre-academic
activities including colouring, and cutting and pasting. In the early
school grades, they may have difficulty with
printing, copying notes from the board. Gross motor skills such as
learning to throw and catch a ball are equally problematic.
Teachers may describe children with DCD as falling off their chairs in
class, or not being able to sit up at circle time.
While the motor problems are usually evident in the classroom, it is
usually the child's behavioural problems that
become the main concern in the classroom. Disruptions in the classroom
are common as children with DCD may knock things over,
drop objects or bump into other children's desks. Clumsiness, in school
lineups or walking between classes, can be irritating
when it leads to stumbling into and tripping over children and objects
in their path. Children with DCD frequently have
organizational difficulties and initiating and completing tasks can be
a major issue. Avoidance of written work can result
in "behaviour" such as needing to sharpen the pencil multiple
times, talking and asking questions, attention-seeking and
interference with other children.
As with many other developmental disorders, boys with DCD are much more
likely to be identified than girls in classroom settings,
which may be due in part to the fact that boys are more likely to
openly display their frustrations with poor performance at motor
tasks and attract the attention of their teachers. In addition, our
culture has stronger expectations that boys will participate in
organized sports. Less attention may be given to a girl who chooses to
avoid sporting activities.
Although the motor coordination difficulties of children with DCD are
easy to observe in classroom and physical education settings,
children with DCD are commonly not recognized until their difficulties
begin to affect their schoolwork. Classroom and special education
teachers are often the initial source of referral when they notice poor
skill development interfering with overall academic performance.
And while teachers do identify some children with DCD, many children
with motor difficulties can go unnoticed, particularly when behavioural
concerns are also present.
For more information, see They're Bright But Can't Write .
