Concept
Developmental co-ordination disorder
Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) affects how easily someone learns and carries out coordinated movements. Everyday activities can take more effort, and the difficulties can continue into adulthood.
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Last reviewed: 12 August 2026
Break the term down
Developmental co-ordination disorder developmental – co-ordination – disorder
- developmental
- connected with development over time
- co-ordination
- different movements working together
- disorder
- a condition causing significant difficulty
Whole meaning: Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) affects how easily someone learns and carries out coordinated movements. Everyday activities can take more effort, and the difficulties can continue into adulthood.
This breakdown is a learning aid, not a diagnostic rule or a formal definition. Word history and present-day meaning can differ.
More precise description
Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) is a developmental motor-coordination condition that can make everyday activities and participation harder; the common UK term dyspraxia is broader and can also be used for acquired movement difficulties.
At a glance
This page covers
- Developmental fine- and gross-motor coordination difficulties with meaningful effects on daily activity or participation.
- Assessment boundaries, co-occurrence and functional impact in children, adolescents and adults.
- The UK terminology distinction between DCD and broader uses of dyspraxia.
It does not mean
- Treating generic clumsiness as a diagnosis.
- Acquired movement-planning problems after stroke, head injury or other neurological damage as if they were developmental DCD.
- Assuming all memory, planning, emotional or social difficulties reported by people with dyspraxia are defining DCD features.
- Individual diagnosis or a universal therapy recommendation.
What we can say
These are bounded statements from the current evidence record. See what the confidence labels mean. Open a statement only if you want its evidence route.
DCD is a developmental condition in which motor coordination is substantially below expectation and persistently affects everyday activities or participation, with assessment also considering other explanations for the motor difficulties.
high confidence
Evidence and uncertainty behind this statement
DCD often continues to affect people in adolescence and adulthood, although the activities that create difficulty and the support needed can change over time and with context.
moderate confidence
Evidence and uncertainty behind this statement
In UK public use, dyspraxia is often used for DCD, but healthcare guidance prefers DCD for the developmental condition because dyspraxia can also refer to movement difficulties acquired after brain injury or stroke.
high confidence
Evidence and uncertainty behind this statement
What remains uncertain
How strong and representative is the evidence for adult DCD assessment, long-term outcomes and adult service pathways?
Much diagnostic infrastructure developed around childhood, while adults may have changing tasks, compensatory strategies and service access.
What could reduce this uncertainty?
- Large longitudinal studies and adult-specific assessment/service guidance with functional outcomes.
Status: open
Which assessments best capture meaningful real-world motor participation rather than test performance alone?
A motor test score can miss the interaction between skill, environment, task design and participation.
What could reduce this uncertainty?
- Validated assessment studies linking motor measures to activity and participation across settings.
Status: open
Which non-motor difficulties commonly described under the word dyspraxia are core DCD features, co-occurring conditions or consequences of environmental demands?
The broad public term can bundle distinct experiences and encourage unsupported causal explanations.
What could reduce this uncertainty?
- Multidisciplinary factor, longitudinal and co-occurrence evidence using precise DCD definitions.
Status: open
Different perspectives
Participation-oriented clinical and occupational-therapy approaches
The significance of DCD is not captured by a motor score alone; everyday participation, task demands, psychosocial effects and practical adaptation are legitimate outcomes alongside motor performance.
- ADHD — DCD and ADHD can co-occur; the relation is not diagnostic equivalence and does not imply one causes the other.
- Autism — DCD and autism can co-occur and may create overlapping practical support questions while remaining distinct concepts.
- Executive function — Planning and task-management demands may affect everyday participation in DCD, but executive-function difficulty is not used here as a defining DCD criterion.
Useful next routes
Practical questions
Related resources
Sources
Open canonical Evidence record
NHS. Developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia) in children — overview.
Kind: authoritative_guidance · accessed 2026-08-12
Open source
Open canonical Evidence record
NHS. Developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia) in children — diagnosis.
Kind: authoritative_guidance · accessed 2026-08-12
Open source
Open canonical Evidence record
NHS. Dyspraxia in adults (developmental co-ordination disorder).
Kind: authoritative_guidance · accessed 2026-08-12
Open source
Open canonical Evidence record
Blank R et al. International clinical practice recommendations on the definition, diagnosis, assessment, intervention, and psychosocial aspects of developmental coordination disorder. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2019;61(3):242-285.
Kind: peer_reviewed · accessed 2026-08-12
Open source
Page provenance and review state
Evidence synthesis accepted by the owner on 2026-08-12 and promoted from frozen Batch A candidate blob 885dbc3a8293c6fa615d3fcacf80fe8dc23802e1; candidate history remains preserved.
Created 2026-08-12 · last reviewed 12 August 2026 · review state editor_reviewed