What to do when running around and having fun isn’t easy?
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) affects children’s coordination, balance, and gross and fine motor skills. Does your child have issues with coordinating their arms and legs? Do they complain that they are not good at PE? Do they struggle to keep up with their peers at school? Children can have issues with many daily activities including running, climbing, getting dressed and writing. Movement problems can cause issues both at school and home, often leading to feelings of isolation and low self-esteem.
For the children that have DCD, even simple movements can be difficult to learn – so challenging that they can become frustrated and give up on tasks completely. Children want to experience success!! We understand this can have a huge impact on children and we want to help your child enjoy moving their bodies!
How can physiotherapy help children with coordination disorders?
We love to problem solve and help guide a child to achieve specific, child-chosen goals. We use our purpose built cards to help kids figure out what they would like to work on. This approach is designed to help children acquire the skills they want to achieve. We assist children in learning to think their way through tasks by understanding what to do, and how to do them. We support kids through self-discovery – and understanding how their own bodies move by coming up with solutions and strategies that work for them. Having the child attribute success to themselves (rather than being told what to do) generally increases their self-efficacy and the likelihood the child will remember the new skill.
Your child might have issues with:
- Balance, coordination or posture
- Running, hopping or jumping
- Climbing
- Ball skills
- Handwriting
- Eating or dressing
Consequences of movement difficulties can include:
- Frustration
- Low self esteem
- Avoidance of sporting activities
- Reduced fitness
- Social difficulties
The movement areas that we focus on include
- Coordination and strength of trunk, leg and arms
- Endurance and posture
- Ball skills, Jumping and hopping
- Running style and running skills
- Analysis of factors interfering with fine motor skills
- Develop strategies to make life activities easier
How are sessions structured?
- Sessions are usually 45mins long depending on your child’s needs
- We work with Pilates equipment, balance, sporting and task specific equipment.
- We teach children to learn how to observe their movements and work with them on strategies to improve and master skills.
DCD Diagnosis:
At Bodyfit Physio, we are able to complete a motor assessment which compares your child’s performance with other children their age. We use the Movement ABC-2 which is the ‘gold standard’ assessment for the motor component of DCD. The MABC-2 provides a percentile score. A score below 16% indicates that your child may have an issue with movement. A paediatrician can assist with making a diagnosis if that is appropriate. There are many interventions that can be helpful for children with movement issues, whether they have a diagnosis or not.
DCD has been thought to be a condition that children would grow out of. We now know this is not true. Though it is not considered to be a cure for the condition, many studies have shown that therapy can be very effective in assisting these children to master skills that can enable them to engage much more comfortably in activities at home and school as well as sporting / fitness activities. Kids love these sessions, and we love to help kids master skills, achieve their goals, all the while having fun!
