# DCD vs Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Canonical: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/how-do-i-know-if-my-child-has-developmental-coordination-disorder-or-childhood-apraxia-of-speech
Publisher: Pinnacle Blooms Network / Bharath Healthcare Laboratories Private Limited

Developmental Coordination Disorder affects motor planning of the body — clumsiness, difficulty with buttons, cutlery, catching or handwriting — while Childhood Apraxia of Speech affects motor planning of the mouth, making speech inconsistent and hard to understand despite good comprehension. A child can have one or both, and only a qualified clinician can tell which. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

*Two different challenges, two different parts of the body — telling them apart begins with noticing where your child struggles most: the hands and body, or the mouth and speech.*

## In short
These are two separate things. **Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)** is about *movement and motor planning of the body* — a child who is clumsy, struggles with buttons, cutlery, catching a ball or learning to ride a bike, beyond what's expected for their age. **Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)** is about *motor planning of speech* — a child who knows what they want to say but whose mouth struggles to make the right sounds in the right order, so words come out inconsistent and hard to understand. A child can have one, the other, or both — and only a qualified clinician can tell which, after watching your child closely.

## How they tend to look
**Signs that point towards DCD (body movement):**
- Late or awkward with skills like jumping, hopping, doing up buttons or using cutlery.
- Bumps into things, drops things, seems clumsy beyond age.
- Finds handwriting, drawing or dressing effortful and tiring.
- Avoids physical play or sport because it feels hard.

**Signs that point towards CAS (speech movement):**
- Says the same word differently each time they try.
- Searching or groping movements of the lips and tongue before a word.
- Speech is hard to understand even for familiar listeners.
- Understands far more than they can say clearly — the gap between comprehension and clear speech is large.

Important: occasional clumsiness or unclear speech is normal in young children. It's a *persistent pattern* that's out of step with same-age peers — and that gets in the way of daily life — that's worth a closer look.

## When to seek a check
There's no single home test that separates DCD from CAS — and many features overlap or co-occur, which is exactly why a structured clinician assessment matters. Seek a developmental check if your child is noticeably behind peers in motor skills *or* if their speech stays hard to understand and inconsistent past toddlerhood. Earlier support generally helps more, so trust your instinct rather than waiting.

## The Pinnacle way
AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional — never from an online list or app. Our therapists observe your child's movement and speech directly to build a precise [developmental profile](/ask/what-is-the-abilityscore-and-how-is-it-calculated), then shape support through targeted [occupational therapy](https://www.pinnacleblooms.org/best-occupational-therapy-center-india-proven-improvement-rate) for body coordination and [speech therapy](https://www.pinnacleblooms.org/top-speech-therapy-center-india-proven-improvement-rate) for speech motor planning. Begin anytime at [Pinnacle Blooms Network](/).

## Trusted sources
WHO ICD-11 (developmental motor coordination disorder; developmental speech sound disorder); American Speech-Language-Hearing Association guidance on Childhood Apraxia of Speech; American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) developmental milestone guidance.

**Next step —** Unsure which path fits your child? [Book a developmental assessment with a Pinnacle clinician](https://www.pinnacleblooms.org/best-occupational-therapy-center-india-proven-improvement-rate) — we'll look at both movement and speech and guide you clearly.

This is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

## Sources
- WHO ICD-11: developmental motor coordination and speech sound disorders: https://icd.who.int
- ASHA guidance on Childhood Apraxia of Speech: https://www.asha.org
- AAP HealthyChildren.org developmental milestones: https://www.healthychildren.org

## Connected topics and perspectives
- Conditions: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/conditions
- Parent: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/lens/stakeholder/parent
- Adaptive: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/lens/domain/adaptive
- Support: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/lens/intent/support
- Screen: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/lens/lifecycle/screen
- Special Education: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/lens/route/special-education
- Early Clarity: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/lens/empowerment/early_clarity

## Related question paths

### Understand the subject
- DCD vs Childhood Apraxia of Speech: the difference: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/what-is-the-difference-between-developmental-coordination-disorder-and-childhood-apraxia-of-speech-in-young-children

### Explore causes & influences
- How Developmental Coordination Disorder affects communication: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/how-does-developmental-coordination-disorder-affect-a-child-s-communication-development
- How Childhood Apraxia of Speech affects motor development: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/how-does-childhood-apraxia-of-speech-affect-a-child-s-motor-development

### Explore therapy & support
- DCD vs Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Children: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/what-is-the-difference-between-developmental-coordination-disorder-and-childhood-apraxia-of-speech-in-children
- Developmental Language Disorder vs Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Children: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/what-is-the-difference-between-developmental-language-disorder-and-childhood-apraxia-of-speech-in-children
- DLD vs Childhood Apraxia of Speech: https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/how-do-i-know-if-my-child-has-developmental-language-disorder-or-childhood-apraxia-of-speech