by Carolyn Dunford, Mellissa Prunty and Peter Wilson, The Conversation

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

It's likely at least one child in every classroom has movement difficulties in the form of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental dyspraxia.

DCD is a disorder that affects a child's ability to perform and learn everyday tasks that require motor coordination. Children with DCD typically struggle with academic tasks such as handwriting, as well as dressing themselves and using cutlery and tools. They may find it difficult to play ball games or to learn to ride a bike or swim. Parents also report that their children with DCD are more tired than other children at the end of the day.

When these skills are hard and frustrating to learn—and tiring too—a child's motivation to take part in them can wane, along with their self-belief.

Hidden struggles

DCD is a common childhood disorder. Children with DCD often also have one or more other developmental disorders, such as ADHD, autism and developmental language and learning disorders. But because children with DCD often avoid the tasks they struggle with, their issues may become invisible.

Children with DCD often have lower academic attainment than their peers. Parents in Australia reported that they believed the main challenges at school for their children with DCD were "teacher awareness of the condition, fatigue and keeping up in class, making friends and socializing, inclusion in the playground, and bullying."

Children with DCD are likely to take part in less physical activity than peers. This can be exacerbated by adult leaders not knowing how to successfully integrate children with DCD into a team sport environment. Children with DCD are more likely to choose sedentary activities, such as reading and playing computer or board games.

This can result in less physically active lifestyles and lower physical fitness and cardiovascular health.

What's more, avoiding group and social activities can lead to a child with DCD becoming left out—and this has an impact on their happiness. Children with DCD often score lower on quality of life measures than their peers in areas including physical well-being and friendships. DCD also affects parents' and siblings' well-being, family life and the parents' work.

Adults with suspected DCD report issues with anxiety and depression and rate their life satisfaction fairly poorly.

Provided by The Conversation 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.