must be in the early developmental period. However, developmental coordination disorder is
typically not diagnosed before age 5 years because there is considerable variation in the age at
acquisition of many motor skills or a lack of st ability of measurement in early childhood (e.g.,
some children catch up) or because other causes of motor delay may not have fully manifested.
Criterion D specifies that the diagnosis of  developmental coordination disorder is
made if the coordination difficulties are not better explained by visual impairment or at-
tributable to a neurological condition. Thus, visual functi on examination and neurological
examination must be included in the diagnost ic evaluation. If intellectual disability (intel-
lectual developmental disorder) is present, the motor difficulties are in excess of those ex-
pected for the mental age; ho wever, no IQ cut-off or disc repancy criterion is specified.
Developmental coordination disorder does no t have discrete subtypes; however, indi-
viduals may be impaired predominantly in gro ss motor skills or in fine motor skills, in-
cluding handwriting skills.
Other terms used to describe developm ental coordination disorder include childhood
dyspraxia,  specific developmental disorder of motor function,  and clumsy child syndrome.
Associated Features Supporting Diagnosis
Some children with developmental coordination disorder sh ow additional (usually sup-
pressed) motor activity, such as choreiform  movements of unsupported limbs or mirror
movements. These “overflow” movements are referred to as neurodevelopment al immaturities  or
neurological soft signs  rather than neurological abnormalit ies. In both current literature and
clinical practice, their role in diagnosis is  still unclear, requiring further evaluation.
Prevalence
The prevalence of developmental coordination disorder in children ages 5–11 years is 5%–
6% (in children age 7 years, 1.8% are diagnosed with severe developmental coordination