DCD and Dyspraxia in School: What Every Teacher Needs to Know
DCD and Dyspraxia in School: What Every Teacher Needs to Know
DCD stands for Developmental Coordination Disorder. You may hear it called dyspraxia, in the UK, the terms are used interchangeably and refer to the same condition[1]. The clinical term is DCD; the everyday term is dy…
For schoolsPublished 28 April 202610 min read· Written by the Sensphere OT team
What DCD and Dyspraxia Are
DCD stands for Developmental Coordination Disorder. You may hear it called dyspraxia, in the UK, the terms are used interchangeably and refer to the same condition[1]. The clinical term is DCD; the everyday term is dyspraxia.
The core difficulty is this: the brain knows what it wants the body to do, but the motor system struggles to plan, sequence, and execute those actions reliably, especially for new or unfamiliar movements. Think of it as a processing delay or glitch in the motor pathway. The child is not choosing to be clumsy, messy, or slow. Their motor system is working harder than their peers' for tasks that feel automatic to most people.
Approximately 5–6% of school-age children have DCD[2],[3]. Statistically, you almost certainly have at least one pupil with DCD in your class at any given time. Many are never diagnosed during their school years because the condition is often misread as carelessness, low effort, or immaturity.
Does this match a pupil you're currently supporting? If you'd like to discuss a referral or talk through the process, book a free 15-minute call, we work directly with SENCOs and school teams.
What DCD Looks Like in the Classroom
Handwriting
Writing is often slow and visibly effortful. You may notice that the same word looks completely different when written twice, or that letters formed correctly on one day are formed poorly the next. The child may be able to write well for a short time but deteriorates noticeably over the course of a lesson. Handwriting often causes visible fatigue and sometimes physical discomfort in the hand or arm. The effort required leaves fewer cognitive resources available for the content of what they are writing.
PE and Movement
Ball skills, catching, throwing, and balance activities are often areas of real difficulty. Learning new physical sequences, a game drill, a dance move, a gymnastics sequence, takes significantly longer and requires many more repetitions. The child may appear not to be trying, but is actually working very hard with limited success. The non-motor parts of PE present challenges too: getting changed under time pressure involves fine motor difficulty, spatial awareness, and processing speed all at once.
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Losing equipment, forgetting materials, and struggling to manage transitions between lessons are common. The child is often last to pack up, not because they are slow thinkers but because organising objects in space is genuinely harder for them. Managing a locker, finding the right book or folder, and remembering where things are located all require the same motor processing system that is affected in DCD.
Copying from the Board
The visual tracking required to find the right position on the board and then locate the right position on the page is itself a motor skill. Children with DCD often lose the place frequently, copy slowly, and see their work quality deteriorate as the task goes on.
Practical Lessons
Design and technology, food technology, and art all rely heavily on fine motor precision. Using tools, measuring, cutting, and assembling materials are all harder for a child with DCD. Progress may be slow and the finished product may not reflect the child's understanding or effort.
Lunchtime
Using cutlery, opening packaging, carrying a tray, and managing the sensory and spatial demands of a busy lunch hall are all harder. Children with DCD may eat slowly, spill food frequently, or avoid the lunch hall altogether.
What DCD Is Often Confused With
DCD is commonly misattributed to other conditions. This matters because misattribution delays the right support.
ADHD and attention difficulties can co-occur with DCD, estimated overlap is around 50%, but DCD is specifically about motor coordination, not primarily about attention. A child can have perfect attention and still have severe DCD. Confusing the two means the right motor strategies are not put in place.
Autism often co-occurs with DCD and motor difficulties are common in autism, but they are separate conditions. A child can have one without the other.
Dyslexia is about literacy and phonological processing, not motor coordination, though both conditions can co-occur in the same child.
Low effort or poor attitude is the most damaging misattribution. When a child with DCD is repeatedly told to try harder, or whose work is described as lazy or careless, real psychological harm follows. These children are at significantly higher risk of anxiety, low self-esteem, and school refusal. The label of lazy sticks and compounds the original difficulty.
What Teachers Can Do
In Lessons
Provide a printed copy of notes rather than requiring the pupil to copy from the board. This single adjustment frees significant cognitive and physical resources. The pupil can then focus on listening and understanding rather than managing the motor task of copying.
Allow extra time for written tasks and do not penalise for slow output. Legibility or speed of handwriting should not be the measure of the child's understanding or effort.
Use bold-lined or wide-ruled paper; consider a slope board to reduce the physical effort required. A lever arch file propped at an angle works as an inexpensive substitute for a commercial slope board.
Break multi-step instructions into single written steps. A printed step guide on the desk works more reliably than verbal sequences, which require the child to hold and process multiple items in working memory while also managing motor execution.
Offer alternative recording methods: verbal response, typed response, or a scribed answer. Keep the cognitive focus on the learning, not on the recording medium. If writing is the barrier, remove the barrier.
Do not draw attention to handwriting quality in front of peers. Comments like "let's see if you can make this neater" are well-intended but reinforce a message the child already believes: that this is a choice, not a genuine difficulty.
In PE
Give verbal instructions before demonstrating a movement. Children with DCD process language and motor demonstration separately. Narrate what you are about to show: "I'm going to throw the ball with my hand at shoulder height, stepping forward with my opposite foot."
Allow extra time to change. Where possible, arrange for the pupil to begin changing slightly earlier or in a less pressured space, away from the crowd.
Pair the child with a patient, supportive peer for partner activities. The right peer can model and give real-time feedback without the pressure of adult observation.
Adapt activities where possible: use a larger or lighter ball, reduce the speed requirement, allow more attempts, and avoid elimination games where the child is publicly unsuccessful. The goal is to keep the child moving and learning, not to replicate exactly the same game as everyone else.
Praise effort and participation, not outcome. "You really focused on that sequence and tried every step" is far more valuable than "you did it."
For Organisation
Use visual timetables on the desk, not just on the board. The child can refer to their own copy without having to locate and re-read information from across the room.
Maintain a homework diary or planner checked by the teacher or teaching assistant at the end of the day. Do not expect the pupil to manage this independently; the checking is part of the support.
Keep a spare set of key equipment (pencil, ruler, rubber) in school. This removes the daily crisis of forgotten items and lets you focus on teaching rather than managing repeated equipment loss.
Assign a consistent, predictable desk location. DCD affects spatial memory too. A stable base reduces the cognitive load of finding your place each lesson.
Have a pupil you'd like to discuss? Sensphere works directly with schools and SENCOs, from focused school observations to full EHCP assessment reports. Book a free call or view school services.
Assessment and Referral
Diagnosis of DCD is made by a paediatrician or developmental team, not by the school. An occupational therapist (OT) assesses the functional impact and recommends intervention strategies.
The referral route is through the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator), with parental consent. The SENCO can request an NHS referral or signpost parents to private assessment.
An OT assessment provides a standardised motor assessment, a functional skills evaluation (how the child manages real tasks in real settings), specific recommendations for school and home, and evidence for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) if needed.
For exam access arrangements under Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) guidance, pupils with DCD often qualify for extra time and permission to use a word processor. OT evidence is part of the application. Begin this process well in advance of formal exam series.
When commissioning private OT, check the therapist is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). HCPC registration is a legal requirement to practise as an OT in the UK and is the minimum credential to verify before instructing any private assessment.
SENsphere accepts referrals from schools and parents directly. No GP letter is needed. A full OT assessment with detailed report costs £650 to £695. An EHCP formal evidence pathway is available from £850. Contact the service to discuss your pupil's needs.
Where to Find More Help
The Dyspraxia Foundation (dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk) is the UK's leading charity for DCD. The website contains resources specifically for schools and families, including classroom strategies and information for parents[6].
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 sets out the duties of schools to identify and support pupils with special educational needs, including DCD, using a graduated approach[8].
The Equality Act 2010 requires schools to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with a disability. DCD may constitute a disability under this act, and adjustments are a legal requirement, not optional[7].
References
1.Blank, R., Barnett, A.L., Cairney, J., Green, D., Kirby, A., Polatajko, H., ... & Vinçon, S. (2019). International clinical practice recommendations on DCD. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 61(3), 242–285.
2.Lingam, R., Hunt, L., Golding, J., Jongmans, M., & Emond, A. (2009). Prevalence of developmental coordination disorder using DSM-IV at 7 years of age. Pediatrics, 123(4), e693–e700.
3.Kadesjo, B., & Gillberg, C. (1999). Developmental coordination disorder in Swedish 7-year-old children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(7), 820–828.
4.Missiuna, C., Rivard, L., & Bartlett, D. (2006). Exploring assessment tools and the target of intervention for children with developmental coordination disorder. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 26(1–2), 71–89.
5.Henderson, S.E., Sugden, D.A., & Barnett, A.L. (2007). Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2. Pearson Assessment.
6.Dyspraxia Foundation (2023). DCD/Dyspraxia: Guidance for Schools. Dyspraxia Foundation.
7.Equality Act 2010. HM Government.
8.SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015). DfE/DoH.
9.Joint Council for Qualifications (2024). Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments. JCQ.
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