Dyslexia and developmental co‐ordination disorder in further and higher education—similarities and differences. Does the ‘Label’ influence the support given?

Abstract

Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) is a developmental disorder affecting motor co-ordination. The Diagnostics Statistics Manual-IV classification for DCD describes difficulties across a range of activities of daily living, impacting on everyday skills and academic performance in school. Recent evidence has shown that difficulties persist into adulthood. As a consequence, increasing numbers of students are arriving at university and colleges in the UK with a diagnosis of DCD and requesting Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) to gain support. This preliminary study examined a cohort of 115 students currently in further or higher education in order to compare and contrast similarities and differences in three subgroups: those with a diagnosis of DCD, a second group with DCD and dyslexia and a third group with dyslexia only. It examines how students were supported in the past and now as students. Additionally it identifies differences in reported strengths and difficulties. A higher percentage of those with dyslexia receive DSA. All students have similar types of support not dependent on their diagnosis. The DCD only group lives at home with parents more and has a significantly greater reported motor and executive functioning difficulty than the other two groups.

Executive Difficulties in Developmental Coordination Disorder: Methodological Issues and Future Directions

“…These measures have assessed skills such as time management, organisation and planning, with individuals with DCD reporting difficulties in all of these areas, using a range of questionnaires [58][59][60][61]. Interestingly, when Kirby et al [58] asked adults with DCD to report their strengths and weaknesses, around half of the individuals described skills such as planning and organisation as a weakness, but 20% described these skills as a strength.…”

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ’07) for the population of Polish children

“…Children with DCD show difficulty in learning and reproducing both large and small movement patterns, from catching and throwing a ball, riding a bicycle and jumping to manipulating scissors, drawing and writing [3]. As this disorder impedes motor function in numerous activities that are a part of daily life, affected children are less physically adept than their peers and frequently avoid play or physical activity [14,15,24]. Consequently, DCD shows comorbidity with behavioural disorders such as low self-esteem and negative body image, anxiety and interpersonal difficulties [8,27,32].…”

Executive Functioning, Motor Difficulties, and Developmental Coordination Disorder

“…Evidence for EF difficulties has been associated with a number of neurodevelopmental disorders, including Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; Castellanos, Sonuga-Barke, Milham, & Tannock, 2006), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; Hill, 2004), and Specific Language Impairment (SLI; Henry, Messer, & Nash, 2012). However, research investigating EF in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is sparse, despite the fact that individuals with DCD report difficulties with EFs in their daily lives, such as problems planning or organising work, or remembering to complete particular tasks (e.g., Kirby, Sugden, Beveridge, Edwards, & Edwards, 2008). While most previous research on individuals with DCD has focused on the three 'core' EF functions of working memory, inhibition and switching (Miyake, Friedman, Emerson, Witzki, & Howerter, 2000), the present study also assesses two further aspects of EF, planning and fluency, which have traditionally been studied in research with frontal lobe patients and those with other neurodevelopmental disorders (Pennington & Ozonoff, 1996).…”