developmental coordination disorderDevelopmental coordination disorder (DCD) is caused by the underdevelopment of part of the brain responsible for making skills automatic (the cerebellum) — in other words, motor skills and coordination are not performed automatically (for example, picking up a toy or putting food into the mouth using a fork). Also known as developmental dyspraxia, DCD has absolutely nothing to do with your child’s intelligence and can be managed carefully so that your child does not miss out on any opportunities at school or at home.

You are probably concerned that your child seems especially clumsy. You are probably also worried that others have begun to notice this too, and perhaps your child is becoming increasingly frustrated as a result. In the past, experts would have said that your child has “clumsy child syndrome” and leave it at that. “They’ll grow out of it” or “It must be because they’re having a growth spurt” were common dismissals. Now we know better. Not only is your child frustrated at not being able to do what they want with their fingers, hands, arms, and legs, but they cannot understand why they can’t do what all the other children seem to be able to do without even thinking about it. Their language, communication, and perception skills are also likely to be delayed.

Here is how you can identify whether your child has DCD:

Babies and toddlers

When your child was an infant, they may have been a bit floppy (low-toned) or found it hard to stay sitting up straight. They may have been late to sit and walk or were unable to crawl. They may have been overly fussy and had difficulties with eating. Later on, as they became more mobile, they may have seemed to have more than the usual number of bumps and scrapes.

Children aged three to five

Your child is now at nursery school, where key milestones are being assessed regularly. Delays are being noted and reported to you during consultations. Here your child will be compared with their peers, so significant delays are more apparent, making diagnosis possible. You may have noticed perhaps that your child hasn’t learned to catch a ball as quickly as their older sibling did or finds eating with a knife and fork really tricky. Maybe they spill their drink nearly every time they have one and it’s driving you up the wall (buy a plastic-coated table cloth!). They are overly excitable and prefer the company of adults rather than peers in their age group. They have weak language and communication skills and, as a result, their perception is sometimes skewed. They don’t enjoy creative play much and struggle to stay on task. They find riding a tricycle tricky, being unable to alternate pedal pushes and maybe not having the core strength to remain on the seat. They may even keep bumping into things.

Physical symptoms

A child with the physical symptoms of DCD is going to have underdeveloped core stability. Core stability is all about your body being able to sit upright, maintain balance, and have your limbs moving in a controlled and fluid manner. A child with DCD will therefore find it difficult to sit or stand comfortably, keep their balance even while seated, and stay seated for long. They will need to move about to readjust their position in an attempt to get comfortable and will become tired quickly.

Diagnosis

If your child is under five, then a diagnosis is unlikely but not impossible. Why? Because children move through the early developmental stages at such different rates that it is hard to tell whether their difficulties are part of normal developmental delays or are more chronic (long-term). You may have seen this variation in the speed of development with your own children or those of your friends and family as you compare their progress from first words to potty training to learning how to share. However, your health advisor will be able to observe any delays in development and offer guidance on ways to support your infant or toddler at home. Also, a diagnosis is more likely when your child is in a setting where they are quite clearly falling behind their peer group, such as full-time education. However, the earlier the diagnosis, the better.

Nobody knows your child better than you do. And nobody wants the best for their child as much as you do. That is why you are in a great position to understand your child’s developmental coordination disorder (remember, you may hear it referred to as developmental dyspraxia) and get the best results for them.

dyspraxia in childrenAs a caring parent, do you always find your child experiencing some difficulties carrying out daily life activities? This could be in terms of poor relations with the peers or finding it hard to execute some simple activities. Have you ever taken time to establish what this challenge really is? There is a practical solution that has been tested over time and can help in determining the real cause of such unusual behavior displayed by your child. Most parents would wish to know exactly what is denying their children the comfort of normal life. This condition is known as dyspraxia, and dyspraxia in children is responsible for the signs exhibited by the affected children.

There are measures that can be undertaken to determine whether the child is affected, and they include the following tests:

Education tests

Any parent with a child experiencing academic challenges at school should consider the services of education experts. How is this relevant towards solving the problem? Education experts are professionally trained individuals who can analyze and give proper judgment about the issue at hand. They subject the affected child to some simple academic work that correlates with the child’s age. This is to establish whether the child can handle the task with ease or will be forced to quit along the way.

The conclusion will be based on the end result. Should the child fail completely in the given test, it leads to the conclusion that there is a mental factor which is responsible for the behavior. The experts have many years of experience in the study of the human mind and can advise on the appropriate action to be taken. For instance, a twelve-year-old child should be able to write with ease the word ‘earth’. Should there be failure, it means there is an issue that needs urgent attention.

Physical-exercise tests

Subjecting the child to some exercises that involve gross use of energy is also necessary. This is because some children find it hard performing activities such as riding a bicycle or even playing with bean bags. By involving physical trainers who in most cases have a medical background, the problem at hand will be established. Dyspraxia has a tendency of impairing proper communication between the brain and the muscles. Should the children under testing find it hard to execute activities that require a high level of energy, it can be concluded that they are affected.

Medical tests

Some children experience difficulties with sight and have impaired hearing. It is therefore necessary that once these signs are detected, the child is taken for clinical examination to establish the cause. A hearing test could be performed by letting the child stand at a distance away from the source. This is important so as to establish whether the child can respond positively at various distances in relation to the sound generated.

It is important that proper and careful judgment be made regarding how the child started to adapt to basic activities such as crawling and holding objects. It helps to ascertain whether the problem was congenital or was acquired as the child advanced in age.

General-observation tests

Some children with dyspraxia tend to have social problems, such as relating well with their peers. In most cases, they may tend to be aggressive towards their friends or avoid direct eye contact. This is brought about by feelings of inadequacy on their part. In some cases, their speech could be affected such that they may not be able to pronounce words clearly. It is important that they are exposed to new words to check whether there is any improvement in pronunciation. Should the results remain the same in all the tests done, then it can be concluded that the child in question is indeed affected by dyspraxia.

childhood apraxia of speechChildhood apraxia of speech (CAS), also known as developmental verbal dyspraxia (DVD), is a rather ambiguous and unique disorder. It is a neurological condition that is poorly understood. In CAS, your child will be unable to move his/her tongue or mouth to speak, in spite of wanting to talk. Usually, children with this disorder don’t start talking until they are two years old.

A motor speech disorder, CAS means that the brain is unable to send correct messages to the mouth muscles, hence the speech is very incoherent. Although most young kids are not perfectly clear while speaking, in the case of children with CAS, lack of clarity is much more prominent. There are no known causes as to why it occurs, but some probable causes have been identified in genetics.

As a parent, it can be very confusing to understand CAS. The best way to go about this would be by educating yourself and your family about what CAS is, how it’s diagnosed, and how you can help your child. This is a brief guide that covers certain concerns that you may have as a parent.

How to differentiate between speech delay and CAS

In speech delay, the child’s ability to talk and his/her cognitive skills will match. For instance, if the child is a late talker, then his/her cognitive skills will also develop at a slower rate. However, in the case of CAS, the child will be able to comprehend language at a normal pace, but when it comes to talking or expressing himself/herself, it’ll be a huge struggle.

However, this one major difference between speech delay and CAS is not the main criterion for identifying CAS, as certain other language disorders have similar symptoms.

Diagnosis of CAS

If you suspect that your child may be suffering from CAS, the most logical thing to do is to consult a speech language pathologist (SLP). An SLP will be able to accurately assess, evaluate, and diagnose CAS. The evaluation process will involve the SLP noting the developmental history of your child and any other problems or medical issues experienced.

Next, the SLP will ask your child to talk and repeat a few words to see how he/she is communicating. The SLP will observe and note everything. If it appears your child has CAS, the SLP will conduct a motor speech exam. This exam involves repeating challenging and difficult words, phrases, and syllables.

Most likely age of diagnosis

Most children will be diagnosed only after the age of two. This is because if the child is younger, he/she is not in a position to really understand and cooperate with any of the tests. As such, there is no specific age when the child can be diagnosed. The main thing to note here is that the child needs to be in a position to participate in the examination that the SLP conducts.

Importance of accurate diagnosis

A recent study has shown that CAS is quite rare among children. Hence, there have been cases where a child has been misdiagnosed with CAS when, in reality, the child had other speech problems. It’s vital that you consult a good SLP. Typically, a certain diagnosis can’t be made in the case of very young children. It also makes sense to consult more than one SLP.

Is CAS preventable?

Researchers haven’t been able to pinpoint any cause of CAS. In the future, it is likely that they may discover CAS is caused by multiple conditions and factors. Until the real cause is known, it is difficult to say whether CAS is preventable.

Improving speech capacity

The one thing that remains constant is ensuring that the child undergoes proper speech therapy. This therapy needs to address the severity of CAS in your child. It’s vital that your child has regular therapy sessions for best results. The child also needs to remain as healthy as possible for maximum improvement from these therapy sessions.

Once your child starts speech therapy, you’ll notice that he/she is speaking more clearly and people are able to understand what he/she is saying. This is a good thing because you know all your love, care, and effort has helped you and your child. Childhood apraxia of speech, or developmental verbal dyspraxia, can be battled!