Developmental coordination disorder and dysgraphia: signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and rehabilitation

Figures & data

Box 1 DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for developmental coordination disorder¹

Criterion A The acquisition and execution of coordinated motor skills is substantially below that expected given the individual’s chronological age and opportunity for skill learning and use. Difficulties are manifested as clumsiness (eg, dropping or bumping into objects) as well as slowness and inaccuracy of performance of motor skills (eg, catching an object, using scissors or cutlery, handwriting, riding a bike, or participating in sports). Criterion B The motor skills deficit in Criterion A significantly and persistently interferes with activities of daily living appropriate to chronological age (eg, self-care and self-maintenance) and impacts academic/school productivity, prevocational and vocational activities, leisure, and play. Criterion C Onset of symptoms is in the early developmental period. Criterion D The motor skills deficits are not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or visual impairment and are not attributable to a neurological condition affecting movement (eg, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, degenerative disorder). It is worth noting that the evaluation of Criterion D requires the involvement of a pediatrician in order to exclude other explanations for the motor difficulties.

American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Washington (DC): American Psychiatric Association; 2013.

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