The Effects of Physiotherapy in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Developmental coordination disorder, also known as ‘DCD,’ is a motor skills disorder that affects 5-6 percent of all school-aged children. DCD is a condition characterized by impairments in gross motor, postural, and/or fine motor performance that impairs a child’s ability to perform the skilled movements required for daily living, including academic and self-care tasks.

These movement issues are not caused by any neurological conditions or cognitive impairments. Because research now indicates that DCD is more than just a childhood condition, early intervention is both beneficial and proactive. You might want to look for physiotherapy Dee Why.

Prevalence

Developmental coordination disorder is a common childhood disorder that usually affects children between the ages of 6 and 12. In the 1990s, researchers estimated that DCD affected 10% to 19% of school-aged children.

According to more precise diagnostic criteria and definitions, the current prevalence is estimated to be 5% – 8% of all school-age children. It is more prevalent in boys than in girls (2:1). Because the behaviour of boys with motor in coordination, it is more difficult to manage it. This difference is frequently associated with a higher referral rate for boys.

Diagnosis

DCD is frequently associated with a number of diagnostic conditions. If more than one of these conditions is present, more than one diagnosis should be provided.

Children with DCD typically achieve early major motor milestones (e.g., walking) within the normal range, but may struggle to learn new motor skills (e.g., riding a tricycle). To meet the diagnostic criteria for DCD, the child’s motor coordination difficulties must have an impact on his or her ability to perform in self-care and/or academic areas (e.g., difficulty with buttons/zippers, drawing/painting).

• Given the child’s opportunity for skill learning, learning and execution of coordinated motor skills is below age level.

• Motor difficulties significantly impair daily living activities, academic productivity, prevocational and vocational activities, leisure, and play.
  
• Onset is in the early stages of development.
  
• We can’t explain motor coordination problems better than intellectual retardation, visual impairment, or other neurological conditions that affect movement.

Developmental Coordination Disorder is diagnosed in boys slightly more frequently than in girls. Children with DCD may also have additional conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and speech/language impairments. They may also struggle with self-esteem, behaviour, and social and/or emotional issues. Because movement is so difficult for them, they may develop health problems. They may have poor fitness, be overweight, and suffer from heart disease as a result of inactivity.

How Effective Is Physiotherapy Treatment after Diagnosis

Physiotherapists are knowledgeable about normal and abnormal movement patterns, motor control, motor learning and development, and so on. They are useful in determining which areas require attention and in developing programmers for children with DCD. Physiotherapists can also educate and inform families and caregivers, as well as teachers and community workers.

Physiotherapy can assist children in becoming more active, improving their balance, increasing flexibility, strengthening muscles, improving core stability, developing coordination skills, and practicing motor skills. Physiotherapy can also help to reduce the long-term consequences of low activity levels such as obesity and poor cardiovascular health. Physio Dee Why can help you with this.

How Do Physical Trainers (PTs) Work

Treatments for your child’s programmers may include:

• Improve strength Your PT will teach you and your child muscle-building exercises. They will look for games and enjoyable tasks that will help them gain strength, lose weight, and improve their heart health. All of this is a part of sports physio. There is some evidence for doing a strength training programmer that targets specific big muscles in the trunk, arms, and legs. Strength training helps to build muscle, which is important for joint protection and bone density.

• Improve balance Your child’s PT may teach them exercises to help them improve their balance, such as standing on one foot. It is frequently possible to create games for strengthening activities with children. For example, we can use animal movements for strengthening. Bear walking, duck walking, frog jumps, kangaroo jumps, dog walk, wheelbarrows, swinging from monkey bars. These activities contribute significantly to the improvement of balance.

• Improve body awareness Your PT may have your child participate in obstacle courses to teach them how to plan movements while having fun. Children with DCD frequently struggle to make use of sensory information from their visual, tactile, proprioception, and vestibular systems. They can usually detect the sensation, but they cannot accurately interpret or analyse the sensory information to make good movement choices. Making the child aware of individual or combined sensory input may be beneficial.

• Improve skills through task-oriented and task-specific learning. Your child may pick up new skills, such as riding a bike. Your PT may advise you to make changes (such as using a three-wheeled bike or training wheels for bike riders) to keep your child safe as they learn new activities.

Conclusion

The scientists made a lot of research to try to find the best way to help a child with DCD. Because each person’s condition is slightly different, one treatment strategy will not work for everyone. As a result, we recommend that you try different physiotherapy services to ensure that your child receives the best treatment possible. For exapmle, we recommend equestrian sport.