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Difference between Developmental Coordination Disorder and mild cp?


Jennifer132
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Hi all,

Some of you may remember my previous posts. We took my dd to see a neurologist for possible Cerebral Palsy yesterday. He basically said it's either mild ataxic Cerebral Palsy or Developmental Coordination Disorder (aka motor dyspraxia). He ordered an MRI to confirm cp and rule out dyspraxia. I was just wondering, what symptoms would go beyond dyspraxia and be more like cp?

 

My dd definitely has an ataxic gait. She wears braces, and cannot walk safely without them, though she can walk. Her walk is very unsteady. My dd is almost 3, btw. She has mild right side weakness which has improved with therapy, and mild muscle spasticity on the right side. I just feel some of her issues go beyond dyspraxia. Thoughts?

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DCD and CP are terms for both ends of spectrum.

Which covers 'very mild' to 'very severe'.

But their is no defined point where it changes from DCD to CP.

 

Though perhaps the main difference between DCD and CP ?

Is in terms of 'services' ? Where CP has far greater recognition. Being towards the severe end.

While Dyspraxia has far less recognition.  

 

 

 

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I was told and have read that DCD was what muscle movemnt control is w/o an MRI image showing brain injury or w/o specific cp symptoms.

DS was originally given DCD as a subdiagnosis, but then that was dropped off when the formal cp diagnosis came in as DCD is assumed with cp.

 

Best wishes.

 

Edited to add: they will specifically be looking at the cerebellum for ataxic cp in the MRI, but I don't know that it can be fully ruled out under 4-5 years of age. (Thinking the cerebellum is one of last areas of brain to finish growing after birth?)

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  • 3 weeks later...

It's also possible to have both. I have mild/moderate athetoid CP, but also have a DX of dyspraxia of speech, added after it became obvious that my speech wasn't explainable by CP. The big difference that I see is that it's much, much easier to get services with a CP label, while some of the others aren't, even if the symptomology is basically identical or there's actually a greater impact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

My DD was also given a DCD diagnosis before her brain MRI, at which point they found a definite perinatal injury and diagnosed CP. I have assumed that the DCD dx is no longer applicable, but it still shows up on her health records sometimes.

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