Developmental Coordination Disorder 75
with age. Young children may be delayed in achi eving motor milestones (i.e., sitting, crawling,
walking), although many achieve typical motor milestones. They also may be delayed in de-
veloping skills such as negotiating stairs, peda ling, buttoning shirts, completing puzzles, and
using zippers. Even when the skill is achiev ed, movement executio n may appear awkward,
slow, or less precise than that of  peers. Older children and adults may display slow speed or in-
accuracy with motor aspects of activities such as assembling puzzles, building models, playing
ball games (especially in teams), handwriting, ty ping, driving, or carrying out self-care skills.
Developmental coordination di sorder is diagnosed only if  the impairment in motor
skills significantly interferes with the performanc e of, or participation in, daily activities in
family, social, school, or community life (Criteri on B). Examples of such activities include
getting dressed, eating meals with age-appropriate utensils and without mess, engaging
in physical games with others, using specific t ools in class such as rulers and scissors, and
participating in team exercise activities at sc hool. Not only is ability to perform these ac-
tions impaired, but also marked slowness in execution is common. Handwriting compe-
tence is frequently affected, consequently affe cting legibility and/or speed of written output
and affecting academic achievement (the impact is distinguished from specific learning
difficulty by the emphasis on the motoric comp onent of written output skills). In adults,
everyday skills in education and work, especially those in which speed and accuracy are
required, are affected by coordination problems.
Criterion C states that the onset of sympto ms of developmental coordination disorder
must be in the early developmental period. However, developmental coordination disorder is