Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
By: Martin Quick, Senior Neurodiversity Coach, 3SC
15th October 2024
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is the official name for dyspraxia and is believed to affect roughly 3-5% of people in the UK.
Given that this equates to at least 2,074,145 people, it’s quite likely that you will know some people with this condition. But how many in your personal or professional circle can you list? Thought provoking, right? I personally had to go to great lengths to identify someone in my general circle who a) has a DCD condition and b) is willing to publicly share their lived experiences with it. Hopefully this article will give you a window into some of those ‘invisible’ challenges.
Aaron, About me
Aaron
“I would describe my condition as a kind of physical dyslexia. Writing has always been incredibly challenging and the output at school was virtually illegible. It physically hurt to have to write for extended periods. At Primary school I had to do an extra 1-2 hours of handwriting practice. This meant missing music and PE lessons which ironically removed opportunities to build co-ordination and fitness. At High School I still had to ask teachers to draw straight lines for me because I couldn’t do it for myself. During that time I mostly had to sit out of sports lessons because it took me so long to get changed. Ties, buttons, and laces required so much effort and concentration that I wouldn’t have enough time remaining to meaningfully participate in the actual lesson activity.
All of this made me a target for bullying. Even now, when I stumble or struggle with coordination people sometimes ask if I’ve been drinking. At High School my Textiles teacher once asked me if it was falling down the stairs a lot as a child that made me so uncoordinated (I couldn’t thread the needle). To which I replied, “no miss. I live in a bungalow!”
I was formally assessed and diagnosed at age 14 (and again whilst at university). Only then, I received support from Megan Baker House, through “conductive education” (Conductive education is a comprehensive method of learning by which individuals with neurological and mobility impairment learn to specifically and consciously perform actions that children without such impairment learn through normal life experiences).
At 14 I received my own laptop. At which point I went from the bottom of the year to the top of the year e.g. D and F grades to A*, A and B’s! I even got an award for being top of the year in English language at this point! Despite all of this, I was advised that owing to my struggles with handwriting I would have to limit my career aspirations to working in a builder’s yard (this was in 2011).”
Current Challenges
Today, some of my challenges involve ‘verbal dyspraxia’ such as mixing up lowercase and uppercase and sometimes combining words e.g. grood (great + good) so I might say ‘Grood to see you.’
Clutch control was really difficult when learning to drive. I couldn’t get the precise biting point.
I struggle with the practice of hot-desking, as becoming familiar with different equipment interferes with the muscle memory that I normally use to get my work done.
Coping strategies and DCD strengths
University encouraged me to apply for Access to Work support. This has enabled me to purchase a Kindle Scribe. This helps with my organisation (all my notes in one place), but also with highlighting and processing work documents too.
I can use PC to paper apps that allow me to write envelopes, but I will often delegate this task to others if I can.
Despite my struggles with short-term memory my long-term memory is very strong. At work I am able to remember details from important conversations many months later. I can touch type, which makes me very effective in my job too.
Many of my coping strategies rely on muscle memory, acting it out in my head and hands before doing things e.g. tying laces. I have to work through things using steps and stages and its often helpful to be shown how to do things.
On leaving school, I spent my early career working in Hospital and Community Pharmacies in various roles. My specialist skill was reading Doctors handwriting as they were often easier to read than mine! Despite the challenges of DCD, at the age of not quite 30, I’m proud to say I’ve studied Law at University. I am training as a Probation Officer. I even hold Judicial Office as a Justice of the peace!
Thankfully, technology in the workplace and education has evolved to be much more supportive of DCD, with reasonable adjustments being easy to access. If I had grown up some 20 years before, I would not be anywhere close to where I am now.”
Admittedly this represents just one person’s lived experience. As with all neurodiversity it is important to recognise there are variations and similarities between individuals. At least as importantly, there are strengths to go along with the struggles.
3SC provides Neurodiverse strategy coaching through Access to Work arrangements. This support is available to all people regardless of whether they have a formal diagnosis or not. If you or someone you know would like more information on securing this support, then our team will be happy to talk you through the process.