Motor Skills

The Motor Skills Team see children who struggle with their motor skills, often due to difficulties with coordinating movement. The team specialises in seeing children with developmental disorders such as Autism (ASD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD/Dyspraxia). The team is based at the Ryegate Children’s Centre in Sheffield and sees children up to 16 years old.

‘Motor skills’ refers to skills involving movement.

‘Fine motor’ tasks are those activities that involve using your hands. For example, handwriting, using scissors, using cutlery, dressing, managing clothes fastenings, or opening food packets.

‘Gross motor’ relates to larger movements. For example, riding a bike, catching a ball, coordinating swimming strokes or climbing at the park.

Children who struggle to learn new tasks involving motor skills benefit from having clear instructions and a ‘step by step’ approach. More advice around this can be found on the Teaching Independence Skills Section.

What to expect?

When children are referred to our team you will receive access to online resources to help teach and develop your child’s independence skills. Following this you can request further support if needed.

If a child comes to see us, we will ask questions about your child’s motor difficulties and carry out an assessment.

We ask children to do a variety of activities depending on what they are finding difficult. This could include activities like drawing, using scissors, running, jumping, throwing and catching.

Sometimes the assessments can be quite long, but this helps us to really understand your child’s needs. We then provide advice around activities to help children develop their motor skills.

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) diagnostic pathway

The Motor Skills Team can complete assessments for developmental coordination disorder. The term ‘developmental coordination disorder’ is frequently shortened to ‘DCD’ and often referred to as ‘dyspraxia’ in the UK.

Children with DCD have significant difficulties with fine and gross motor skills that impact on their day to day life. It relates to difficulties with movement when there is no other specific reason or diagnosis that might explain a child’s motor skill difficulties. To be given a diagnosis of DCD children need to meet the diagnostic criteria below.

DCD diagnostic criteria

1. The acquisition and execution of coordinated motor skills is substantially below that expected given the individual’s chronological age and sufficient opportunities to acquire age-appropriate motor skills.
2. The motor skills deficit described in criterion I significantly and persistently interferes with the activities of everyday living appropriate to chronological age (e.g. self-care and self-maintenance and mobility) and impacts upon academic/school productivity, prevocational and vocational activities, leisure, and play.
3. The motor skills deficits are not better accounted for by any other medical, neuro developmental, psychological, social condition or cultural background.
4. Onset of symptoms in childhood (although not always identified until adolescence or adulthood).

DCD often occurs with other developmental disorders, such as autism, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyper-activity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia.

Goals

Our service focuses on helping children and families to achieve their own goals relating to important things in their day to day lives. These goals may relate to school life, home life or leisure activities out in the wider community.

Often children are given activities to work on at home and when appropriate in school. Once a child’s goals are met, they will be discharged from the team.

Referrals

We only accept referrals from GP’s, Consultants and Allied Health Care Professionals. Unfortunately, we cannot accept referrals directly from school, but accompanying letters from schools can be very helpful.