Dawaa Reference

Clinical reference

Developmental Coordination Disorder

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources2 sources

ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class PS20.00 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified against1 document
  • No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (6)

  • Consider this in a school-age child with delayed milestones or academic struggles [developmental delay]
  • Children may pause writing for over 10 seconds at a stretch without the extra time improving the quality of what they produce
  • Though able to form sentences, the child struggles to translate thought into writing, which drags out the task
  • The child leans heavily on watching their own hand and needs extra time to complete motor tasks like handwriting accurately
  • Symptoms must have started early in development
  • The clumsiness gets in the way of daily self-care tasks, schoolwork, and play appropriate for the child's age

Signs — what you find (5)

  • Exam may turn up choreiform or mirror movements of the limbs along with other signs of poor coordination
  • The exam must show the incoordination is not explained by a separate neurological condition affecting the spinal, cerebellar, extrapyramidal, or peripheral nerve pathways [unsteadiness]
  • Movements take noticeably longer and are less accurate than in unaffected children
  • Motor skill attainment falls well short of what is expected for the child's age and prior practice
  • The motor problem cannot be better explained by intellectual disability, poor vision, or another neurologic or neuromuscular disease such as cerebral palsy [intellectual disability · paralysis]

Tests (5)

  • The DCDQ-R parent questionnaire carries evidence level 2 support for use in diagnosis
  • The DASH tool objectively times four aspects of handwriting speed: best copying, fast copying, writing the alphabet, and ten minutes of free writing
  • Standardized motor batteries such as the MABC-2 and BOT-2 measure motor competence, though their use is limited past adolescence
  • No lab or imaging test is specifically recommended for diagnosis, though thyroid testing or an MRI can help check for another or coexisting condition
  • Near-infrared spectroscopy of cortical activity during fine motor tasks is used in research into the condition

If not this — what else fits (2)

  • The list of look-alikes is broad, including cerebral palsy, ADHD, autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, sensory processing disorder, a learning disorder, anxiety, metabolic disease, epilepsy, and brain tumors
  • Findings such as skin birthmarks, visual problems, musculoskeletal abnormality, abnormal tone, weakness, ataxia, or unusual movements should prompt a look for another cause such as a tumor

SourceStatPearls "Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia)" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

Significant delay and impairment in acquiring gross and fine motor coordination skills in a child, causing clumsiness or slow, inaccurate movement; there is no drug treatment, so management is referral for occupational therapy/physiotherapy assessment and school support. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied.

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

Significant delay and impairment in acquiring gross and fine motor coordination skills in a child, causing clumsiness or slow, inaccurate movement; there is no drug treatment, so management is referral for occupational therapy/physiotherapy assessment and school support.

Cautions
  • No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
  • RED FLAG - Loss of motor skills the child had already gained, which suggests a different, progressive neurological condition, or associated global developmental delay: refer for wider assessment.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.