Understanding Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder)
Dyspraxia, also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), is a neurological condition that affects how the brain plans, organises and carries out movement. It’s not about intelligence or effort—children with dyspraxia often know exactly what they want to do, but their body doesn’t quite cooperate in the way they expect.
With Children with Dyspraxia, you may notice difficulties with:
- Coordination (e.g. running, jumping, catching a ball)
- Fine motor skills (e.g. handwriting, using cutlery, doing up buttons)
- Organisation and sequencing (e.g. getting dressed, packing a bag)
- Motor planning (figuring out how to start or complete a task)
- Balance and posture
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) can also impact confidence, self-esteem, and participation. When tasks that seem “easy” for others feel consistently hard, children can quickly become frustrated or avoidant.
Dyspraxia is often described as an “invisible difficulty”—children may appear capable, but the effort required to complete everyday tasks is much higher. This can lead to fatigue, emotional overwhelm, or behaviour that is sometimes misunderstood.
From an occupational therapy perspective, dyspraxia is closely linked to how the sensory systems (particularly proprioceptive and vestibular systems) support movement, body awareness, and coordination. When these systems are not processing information efficiently, planning and executing movement becomes more challenging.
Strategies for Home – Daily Living and Practical Tips
Home is where children practise the everyday skills that build independence. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s confidence, participation, and gradual progress.
1. Break tasks down into small, manageable steps
Tasks like getting dressed or brushing teeth involve multiple steps. For a child with dyspraxia, these can feel overwhelming.
- Use simple, consistent routines
- Give one instruction at a time
- Use visual supports (e.g. picture sequences or checklists)
- Model the task and talk through it as you go
Think: “First socks, then trousers” rather than “Get dressed.”
Samples of checklists – you could just use a whiteboard
2. Build in extra time
Rushing increases stress and reduces success. Allowing extra time helps children process, plan, and complete tasks more successfully.
If mornings are tricky, prepare what you can the night before—clothes laid out, bag packed, shoes ready.
3. Support motor skills through everyday play
Samples of simple games to play at home
You don’t need complicated programmes—movement opportunities built into daily life are powerful.
- Going to the park and using swings, climbing frames and slides.
- Climbing, crawling, obstacle courses
- Throwing and catching games
- Trampolining, swimming and riding a bike
- Family games like Twister, zoom ball, Velcro pad catching or swing ball
- Daily chores like sweeping, laying table, washing the car
These activities build strength, coordination, and body awareness in a natural, functional way.
4. Adapt tools and environments
For a child with Dyspraxia, small changes can make a big difference:
- Velcro or elasticated clothing instead of buttons/laces
- Chunky or triangular pencils or pencil grips (avoid complicated grips)
- Non-slip mats under plates
- Easy-to-open containers
- Stable seating with feet supported
The aim is to reduce unnecessary barriers so children can focus on the task itself.
5. Focus on effort, not outcome
Children with dyspraxia often work much harder than it appears.
Praise:
- “You kept trying”
- “You figured that out”
- “That looked tricky, but you didn’t give up”
This builds resilience and confidence.
6. Use repetition and consistency
Motor learning takes longer. Children benefit from:
- Practising the same skills regularly
- Keeping approaches consistent
- Revisiting tasks over time
Progress might be slower, but it does happen.
7. Backward chaining
This is a technique where the child does the last step of a task; you do all the steps up to that last task. Once they can do the last step, then work on the child doing the last two steps, then the last three and so on. This works because they get to finish the task, which feel great and gives them a feeling of success, which provides motivation and reduces frustration.
Strategies for School or Educational Support
School environments can present significant challenges for children with dyspraxia—but they are also full of opportunities for support and success when approached in the right way.
1. Reduce the hidden demands of the classroom
Many classroom tasks rely heavily on motor skills:
- Sitting upright for long periods
- Writing quickly and legibly
- Organising equipment
- Moving between tasks
- Don’t insist on joined up writing is print is easier to perform
Consider:
- Alternative recording methods (typing, voice recording, scribing)
- Reduced copying from the board
- Providing printed worksheets or notes
- Teaching skills like mind mapping
- Allowing extra time
This ensures children can show what they know without being limited by motor difficulties.
2. Support posture and positioning
Good posture underpins fine motor control including handwriting
- Ensure feet are flat on the floor
- Use a sloped writing surface if helpful
- Provide stable seating
- Consider movement breaks to reduce fatigue
If a child is using all their energy just to sit upright, they have less capacity for learning.
Think where they are sitting in class:
- Ensure left handers have an empty space to their left, not a right hander who they keep bumping elbows with.
- Some children do much better facing the board, rather than being side or even rear on, or sitting to one side rather than right in the middle.
3. Embed movement into the school day
Movement supports regulation, attention, and motor development.
- Short movement breaks between tasks
- Jobs that involve carrying or pushing
- Access to outdoor play and physical activity
- Sensory circuits where appropriate
Proprioceptive input (heavy work) is particularly helpful for improving body awareness and coordination.
4. Teach skills explicitly
Don’t assume children will “pick it up.”
- Model tasks step-by-step
- Use visual instructions
- Repeat and revisit skills
- Use backward chaining (see the section above).
- Make sure left handers have left-handed scissors or pen grips if they are using them.
This applies to everything from using scissors to organising a school bag.
5. Support organisation and planning
Dyspraxia often affects executive functioning; this often becomes more apparent at secondary school where children have multiple lessons in different rooms needing different books taught by different teachers.
- Use checklists for routines. Having a daily timetable or checklist on a keyring can really help.
- Colour-code subjects or equipment
- Use a whiteboard at home to check off what is needed for each day. Or have lists and reminders on a smartphone.
- Break work into smaller chunks. First X, then Y and finally Z.
- Provide a locker, so the child can keep books and resources at school and fetch them easily.
Clear structure reduces cognitive load and actually increases independence.
6. Promote inclusion and confidence
Children with dyspraxia can feel different, especially in PE or group activities.
- Offer alternative ways to participate
- Focus on personal progress, not comparison
- Choose activities that play to strengths
- Encourage peer support
Confidence grows when children feel successful and included.
Local Resources and Support Services
Support will vary depending on your location, but there are several key avenues families and schools can explore.
Occupational Therapy (OT)
Occupational therapists assess and support children with dyspraxia by focusing on functional skills—what the child needs to do in daily life.
- NHS services (often accessed via referral)
- Private occupational therapists
- School-based OT support (where available)
OT can provide tailored strategies, programmes, and environmental adaptations.
Physiotherapy
If balance, strength, or gross motor skills are significantly impacted, physiotherapy may also be involved.
GP or Paediatrician
A formal diagnosis of DCD is typically made by a paediatrician. This can help access support and increase understanding across home and school.
Specialist Organisations
- The Dyspraxia Foundation (UK)
- Local SEND services and parent forums
- Education support services within local authorities
These organisations provide information, training, and community support.
School SENCo
Your school’s SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) plays a key role in identifying needs and putting support in place. Open communication between home and school is essential.
Family Support
Supporting a child with dyspraxia can be rewarding—but also exhausting at times. It’s important to recognise the impact on the whole family.
1. Adjust expectations
Your child may take longer to learn certain skills—and that’s okay. Progress might look different, but it is still progress.
2. Choose your priorities
You don’t have to tackle everything at once.
Focus on:
- Safety
- Independence in key daily tasks
- Emotional wellbeing
Not every skill needs to be perfected.
3. Keep routines predictable
Consistency reduces anxiety and helps children feel secure.
- Regular morning and bedtime routines
- Clear expectations
- Familiar structures
4. Look after siblings
Siblings may notice differences or feel frustrated. Open conversations and shared understanding can help.
5. Find your support network
Connecting with other parents can be incredibly helpful. Whether through local groups or online communities, shared experiences reduce isolation.
6. Celebrate strengths
Children with dyspraxia often have fantastic strengths—creativity, problem-solving, empathy, determination.
Make space for what they can do, not just what they find hard.
A Note to You, as a Parent or Family Member
If you’re reading this, you’re already doing something important—you’re trying to understand and support your child.
It’s easy to question yourself. To wonder if you should be doing more, doing it differently, getting it right. But the truth is, children don’t need perfect support. They need consistent, understanding support.
Your child’s difficulties are real—but so is their potential.
They may need more time. More practice. More encouragement. But they are learning, even when it doesn’t look like it.
There will be moments that feel frustrating—when getting dressed takes too long, when homework ends in tears, when things that seem simple feel anything but. In those moments, it helps to step back and remember this isn’t about effort. It’s about how their brain and body are working together.
When you reduce the pressure, break things down, and meet your child where they are, you create the conditions for progress.
And just as importantly—you protect their confidence.
Because confidence is what allows children to keep trying.
You don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to keep showing up, adjusting, and supporting in ways that work for your child.
And that’s exactly what you’re doing.
Useful Books:
Can I tell you about Dyspraxia? Maureen Boon
Daniel has dyspraxia.Alison Harris (I’m not sure if this is still in print)
Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia), how to help, understand and support children and young people. Susan Lloyd and Laura Graham. Published by How to Help.
Dyspraxia: Developmental Coordination Disorder. Amanda Kirby
Living with Dyspraxia. Mary Colley 2006.
Useful Organisations:
Can Child: //canchild.ca/diagnoses/developmental-coordination-disorder/
Dyspraxia foundation: www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
Independent Panel of Special Education Advice (IPSEA): www.IPSEA.org.uk
National Association of Handwriting: www.nha-handwriting.org.uk
NHS: //www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia/
Royal College of Occupational Therapists: www.rcot.co.uk
SOS SEN: www.sossen.org.uk
Ali Neal is a specialist Occupational Therapist with advanced training in sensory processing. She runs School Sensory Solutions which provides cost effective training for all educators supporting SEN and neurodivergent pupils in schools via an online learning platform. Ali prides herself in finding solutions to everyday problems experienced by children and young people at school that actually work and supporting teachers to incorporate these in their already busy days.
Contact details:
www.schoolsensorysolutions.co.uk [schoolsensorysolutions.co.uk]
ali@schoolsensorysolutions.co.uk
Telephone: 07853 847381
//www.facebook.com/SchoolSensorySolutions [facebook.com]
//www.instagram.com/ali_neal_the_classroom_ot/ [instagram.com]//www.linkedin.com/in/ali-neal-7b6b9b35/ [linkedin.com]
