We don't expect all children to be equally coordinated — we can't all be violin prodigies or Olympic gymnasts. But some kids lag so far behind their peers in motor skills that they struggle with ordinary, age-appropriate things like eating with a spoon, buttoning a shirt or riding a bike — even though there's nothing wrong with their muscles. These kids may have developmental coordination disorder, or DCD.
This week on childmind.org we explore DCD, which used to be called dyspraxia, and how it's treated. Motor skills, from zipping a jacket to handwriting, are broken down and taught essentially the same way a basketball player learns to do free-throws: "practice, practice, practice."
