1 Introduction

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1.1 Historical Background

In the last few years there has been an increasing awareness throughout the country of the number of children who have Developmental Co-ordination Disorder/Dyspraxia (hereinafter referred to as DCD)¹. This disorder impacts on a child’s daily living skills, academic progress, social well-being and emotional functioning^{1, 2}. Difficulties may persist into adult life. It is therefore imperative that the condition is identified as early as possible and appropriate management put in place².

Within Highland Region, the number of referrals to Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy for such children in the last few years has been rising. There is therefore a need to provide a structured approach to the identification, diagnosis and management of thesechildren including clear referral systems and support mechanisms for parents, teachers and health professionals. It is also recognised that user friendly and up-to-date information for parents and professionals should be readily available.

In 1997 The Highland Developmental Co-ordination Group was established by parents who were frustrated by the lack of awareness of DCD by professionals in Health and Education, the lack of information available and the difficulties in obtaining help for their children.

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