Recognizing Developmental Coordination Disorder Symptoms in Your Child: A Parent's Guide

A Partner in Your Child's Progress: The Cadabam’s Difference

Choosing a partner for your child's developmental journey is a significant decision. At Cadabam’s, we don’t just offer therapy; we offer a comprehensive ecosystem of support designed around your child and family. Our approach is built on collaboration, expertise, and a deep understanding of neurodiversity.

A Multidisciplinary Team Under One Roof

Your child’s progress is nurtured by a cohesive team of specialists working in synergy. Our pediatric occupational therapists, physiotherapists, child psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and special educators collaborate daily on your child's care plan. This integrated approach ensures that every aspect of your child's development—motor, emotional, social, and academic—is addressed holistically.

State-of-the-Art Infrastructure

We have built a world-class environment where children feel safe to explore and challenged to grow. Our facilities include dedicated sensory gyms, advanced pediatric therapy rooms, and safe, engaging spaces designed specifically to support motor skill development. This state-of-the-art infrastructure is a cornerstone of our pediatric therapy programs, allowing us to implement the most effective, evidence-based interventions.

Seamless Therapy-to-Home Transition

True progress happens when therapeutic strategies become part of daily life. We are committed to empowering you, the parent, with the knowledge and tools to support your child at home. We focus on strengthening parent-child bonding through practical exercises and strategies, ensuring the skills learned in therapy are reinforced and generalized into everyday routines.

Celebrating Neurodiversity with Personalized Care

We believe in celebrating the unique way each child's brain works. Our philosophy is centered around understanding and embracing neurodiversity. We don’t apply a one-size-fits-all model. Instead, we conduct thorough assessments to understand your child's specific strengths and challenges, then design a highly personalized program that nurtures their abilities and builds their self-esteem.

What are the Core Motor Difficulties in DCD?

Understanding what are the motor difficulties in DCD is the first step for parents in recognizing the condition. These challenges are typically grouped into three main areas, and they often impact a child's ability to participate in age-appropriate activities at school, on the playground, and at home.

Challenges with Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills involve the large muscles of the body used for walking, running, jumping, and balancing. A child with DCD may:

• Appear clumsy, frequently tripping over their own feet or bumping into objects.
• Struggle with activities like running with a coordinated gait, hopping on one foot, or skipping.
• Have difficulty catching, throwing, or kicking a ball.
• Find it challenging to learn to ride a bicycle or a scooter.
• Tire more easily than their peers during physical education or playground activities due to the increased effort required for movement.

Difficulties with Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills require the use of the small muscles in the hands and wrists for precise movements. Developmental coordination disorder symptoms often manifest clearly in this area. Your child may:

• Have very messy or slow handwriting (sometimes linked to dysgraphia).
• Struggle with a proper pencil grip.
• Find it hard to use scissors, cutlery, or do up buttons and zippers.
• Have difficulty with tasks like tying shoelaces.
• Struggle to build with LEGOs, complete puzzles, or manipulate small objects.

Issues with Motor Planning and Learning (Praxis)

This is the "planning" part of the disorder. Praxis is the ability to conceive of, plan, and carry out an unfamiliar sequence of movements. Children with DCD often have trouble:

• Learning new motor skills, requiring more time and repetition than their peers.
• Sequencing movements, such as the steps involved in a dance routine or a new gym exercise.
• Adapting their movements to a changing environment, like navigating a crowded hallway.

A Developmental Coordination Disorder Symptoms Checklist for Parents

If you are concerned, this checklist can help you organize your observations. This is not a diagnostic tool, but it can help you decide if a professional assessment is the right next step.

Early Signs of Developmental Coordination Disorder in Toddlers & Preschoolers (Ages 2-5)

The early signs of developmental coordination disorder can be subtle but are often noticeable when compared to peers.

• Delayed Motor Milestones: Was your child late to roll over, sit up, crawl, or walk?
• General Clumsiness: Do they frequently drop things, spill drinks, or bump into furniture and walls?
• Play Difficulties: Do they struggle to stack blocks, piece together simple puzzles, or kick a large ball?
• Self-Care Challenges: Is feeding themselves with a spoon or fork particularly messy and difficult? Are they resistant to potty training?
• Avoidance of Physical Play: Do they seem to prefer sedentary activities and avoid playgrounds, climbing frames, or tricycles?

Signs of Dyspraxia in School-Aged Children (Ages 6-12)

As academic and social demands increase, the signs of dyspraxia in children often become more pronounced.

In the Classroom:

• Handwriting is consistently messy, poorly spaced, and laborious to produce.
• They are significantly slower than peers at completing written assignments.
• They struggle with art projects, cutting with scissors, or using a ruler.
• They may appear disorganized and have trouble keeping their desk tidy.

On the Playground:

• They have evident difficulty with team sports that require coordination, like cricket, football, or basketball.
• They struggle to catch or throw a ball accurately.
• They may be chosen last for teams and appear socially withdrawn during physical activities.
• Their running, jumping, and general movements seem less coordinated than their peers'.

At Home:

• Self-care routines remain a struggle; they may need help with dressing, brushing their teeth, or managing zippers and buttons long after peers have mastered these skills.
• Eating can be messy, with difficulty using a knife and fork.
• They may have trouble with board games or hobbies that require fine motor manipulation.

Beyond Motor Skills: The Social and Emotional Impact of DCD

The challenges of DCD extend far beyond physical clumsiness. The daily struggle to keep up can take a significant toll on a child's emotional well-being and social life.

Social Difficulties and Peer Relationships

Children are often keenly aware of their differences. A child with DCD might avoid playground games or sports because they fear being embarrassed or letting the team down. This avoidance can lead to missed opportunities for social interaction, potentially leading to social isolation and difficulty forming friendships.

Emotional and Behavioural Symptoms

Constant frustration and a feeling of "I can't do it" can lead to:

• Low self-esteem and poor self-confidence.
• Anxiety, especially around physical activities or tasks requiring handwriting.
• Frustration and anger, sometimes leading to emotional outbursts.
• Task avoidance, where a child will refuse to even try an activity they perceive as difficult.

Co-occurring Conditions: DCD vs ADHD Symptoms in Children

It's common for DCD to exist alongside other conditions, most notably ADHD. Differentiating between DCD vs ADHD symptoms in children is critical for effective treatment, as their underlying causes are different.

Symptom Area	Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)	Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Primary Challenge	Difficulty with motor planning & physical coordination. The brain struggles to tell the body what to do smoothly.	Difficulty with executive functions like attention, impulse control, and hyperactivity.
Handwriting	Messy due to poor fine motor control, difficulty forming letters, and inconsistent pressure.	Often messy due to rushing, inattention to detail, and impulsivity, rather than a primary motor control issue.
Fidgeting	Less common. Movement is often slow, deliberate, and uncoordinated rather than restless.	Frequent, restless movements and an inability to sit still are hallmark symptoms.
Task Completion	Slow because the physical act of doing the task (e.g., writing, cutting) is difficult and tiring.	Slow because the child is easily distracted, loses focus, or procrastinates.

Because these conditions can and often do co-exist, a comprehensive assessment at a specialized center like Cadabam’s is crucial for an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan that addresses all of your child’s unique needs.

Our Path to Clarity: The Early Identification & Assessment Process at Cadabam’s

A diagnosis is not a label; it's a roadmap. Our assessment process is designed to give you clear answers and create a forward-looking plan that builds on your child's strengths.

Step 1: Comprehensive Developmental Screening

It all starts with a conversation. In your initial consultation, our developmental experts will listen carefully to your concerns, review your child's developmental history, and engage with your child through observation and play-based activities. We value your insights as a parent above all else.

Step 2: Standardized Assessments

To gain an objective understanding of your child's abilities, we use globally recognized, standardized assessment tools. For motor skills, this often includes the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC). This allows us to measure your child’s gross and fine motor skills against age-appropriate benchmarks. We may also recommend IQ Assessment and Educational Assessment to get a complete picture and rule out other potential causes for their difficulties.

Step 3: Collaborative Goal Setting with Families

Following the assessment, we sit down with you to discuss the findings in a clear, understandable way. The most important part of this step is working together to set meaningful goals. We want to know what matters most to your child and your family. Is it being able to join the school soccer team? Or buttoning their own shirt? These real-world goals drive our therapy and make success tangible.

Holistic Therapy & Support Programs for DCD

At Cadabam's, we offer a range of tailored DCD intervention programs designed to fit the unique needs and circumstances of every child and family.

In-Depth Developmental Rehab (Daycare/Full-Time Model)

For children who require intensive, structured support to build foundational skills, our full-time Developmental Rehab model offers an immersive therapeutic environment. A typical day seamlessly integrates:

• Occupational Therapy: To build fine motor skills, self-care routines, and handwriting abilities.
• Pediatric Physiotherapy: To improve gross motor skills, balance, core strength, and coordination.
• Sensory Integration Therapy: To help the brain better process and respond to sensory information, which is foundational to motor control.

Flexible OPD-Based Programs

Ideal for children attending mainstream school, our Out-Patient Department (OPD) programs offer consistent support without disrupting their academic schedule. These regular weekly or bi-weekly therapy sessions focus on specific goals identified during the assessment. We continuously monitor milestones and hold regular parent consultations to review progress and adjust strategies.

Empowering Parents with Home-Based & Tele-Therapy

We believe in extending our support beyond the walls of our center. We offer robust digital parent coaching programs, provide detailed home exercise plans, and facilitate secure tele-consultations. This flexible approach ensures that families can access our expertise and continue their child's progress, regardless of their location, reinforcing the therapy-to-home transition.

Meet the Experts: Your Child's Multidisciplinary Team at Cadabam’s

Your child's success is driven by the collaborative expertise of our dedicated team. Each member brings a unique perspective to create a truly holistic treatment plan.

Pediatric Occupational Therapists

Our OTs are experts in the "occupations" of childhood—play, learning, and self-care. They focus on improving fine motor skills, handwriting, dressing, eating, and the sensory integration needed for coordinated movement.

Pediatric Physiotherapists

Our PTs are specialists in movement. They work on improving your child's gross motor skills, including balance, strength, endurance, and coordination, helping them participate confidently in physical activities.

Child Psychologists & Counsellors

Our compassionate psychologists address the crucial social and emotional side of DCD. They work with your child to build self-esteem, develop coping strategies for frustration and anxiety, and foster resilience.

Special Educators

Our special educators act as a bridge between therapy and academics. They collaborate with OTs and teachers to develop classroom strategies, recommend adaptive tools, and ensure your child can demonstrate their knowledge effectively at school.

Quote from a Cadabam's Occupational Therapist: "With DCD, it's not about forcing a child to write neatly overnight. It's about breaking down the task, strengthening the right muscles, and finding adaptive strategies that turn 'I can't' into 'I can try'. That's where the magic happens."

Quote from a Cadabam's Child Psychologist: "We see the child behind the diagnosis. Building their self-worth is just as important as building their motor skills. A confident child is a resilient learner."

Stories of Progress: Real-Life Journeys at Cadabam’s

These anonymized stories illustrate the transformative impact of targeted, compassionate care.

Case Study 1: From Playground Hesitation to Confident Play

• Challenge: 6-year-old "Aarav" actively avoided PE and recess. His difficulty with running and balance made him hesitant to join in, and he was starting to fall behind socially. His key challenge was with gross motor skills.
• Our Approach: We designed a tailored program combining engaging physiotherapy sessions to build core strength and balance with structured group therapy to practice social skills in a safe, supportive environment.
• Outcome: After four months, Aarav's parents reported that he willingly joined his school's non-competitive soccer club. He began initiating games with friends and his confidence on the playground soared.

Case Study 2: Conquering Classroom Frustrations

• Challenge: 8-year-old "Priya" had severe difficulties with handwriting. Her work was nearly illegible, leading to low grades and immense frustration. She began refusing to do written homework. The core issue was her fine motor skills.
• Our Approach: An intensive Occupational Therapy plan focused on hand-strengthening exercises, multi-sensory handwriting practice, and introducing keyboarding skills as an effective alternative for longer assignments.
• Outcome: Priya’s handwriting became more legible and less tiring for her to produce. More importantly, her school agreed to let her use a tablet for essays, which dramatically reduced her anxiety and allowed her true academic abilities to shine. Her grades improved, and her confidence in her schoolwork was restored.