der, stereotypic movement disorder, and tic disorders. Developmen tal coordination dis-
order is characterized by deficits in the acquisition and execution of coordinated motor
skills and is manifested by clumsiness and slow ness or inaccuracy of performance of mo-
tor skills that cause interference with activiti es of daily living. St ereotypic movement dis-
order is diagnosed when an individual has repetitive, seemingly driven, and apparently
purposeless motor behaviors, such as hand fl apping, body rocking, head banging, self-
biting, or hitting. The movements interfere with  social, academic, or other activities. If the
behaviors cause self-injury, this  should be specified as part of the diagnostic description.
Tic disorders are characterized by the presen ce of motor or vocal tics, which are sudden,
rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, sterotyped motor movements or vocalizations. The dura-
tion, presumed etiology, and clinical presentation  define the specific tic disorder that is di-
agnosed: Tourette’s disorder, persistent (chronic) motor or vocal tic disorder, provisional
tic disorder, other specified tic disorder, and unspecified tic disorder . Tourette’s disorder
is diagnosed when the individual has multiple motor and vocal tics that have been present
for at least 1 year and that have  a waxing-waning symptom course.
Specific learning disorder, as the name implie s, is diagnosed when there are specific defi-
cits in an individual’s ability to perceive or process information efficiently and accurately. This
neurodevelopmental disorder first manifests during the years of formal schooling and is
characterized by persistent and impairing diffi culties with learning foundational academic
skills in reading, writing, and/ or math. The individual’s perfor mance of the affected academic