Developmental Coordination Disorder vs Childhood Apraxia of Speech
DCD vs Childhood Apraxia of Speech: The Difference
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects how a child plans and carries out physical movements — clumsiness with whole-body and hand tasks like dressing, writing or catching. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor-speech difficulty where the brain struggles to plan the precise mouth movements for clear speech. Both are difficulties of motor planning rather than weakness, a child can have one or both, and both respond well to therapy. A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre under qualified clinician care.
Two very different challenges that share a similar root word — both are about how the body learns to plan movement, but one shapes how a child moves, the other how a child speaks.
In short
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects how a child plans and carries out physical movements — things like running, dressing, using cutlery or catching a ball feel clumsy and harder to learn than expected. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor-speech difficulty — the brain struggles to plan the precise movements of the lips, tongue and jaw needed to say sounds and words clearly, even though the muscles themselves are strong. A child can have one, the other, or both — and both respond well to the right, skill-building therapy.Telling them apart
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is about whole-body and hand movement:- Clumsiness — bumping into things, frequent falls, dropping objects
- Difficulty with everyday motor tasks — buttons, zips, laces, using a spoon or pencil
- Trouble learning new physical skills like riding a bike or catching a ball
- Movements look effortful or poorly coordinated rather than smooth
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is specifically about speaking:
- Inconsistent errors — the same word said differently each time
- Groping or visible effort to position the mouth for sounds
- Difficulty stringing sounds and syllables together, especially in longer words
- Speech that is hard to understand, even though the child clearly knows what they want to say
The key difference: DCD is movement of the body; CAS is movement for speech. Both are difficulties of motor planning (telling the body what to do), not weakness or low intelligence. Because they share this planning root, some children show features of both — which is exactly why a skilled, joined-up assessment matters.
When to seek a check
Seek a developmental check if your child is markedly clumsier than peers, struggles with everyday self-care movements, is very hard to understand for their age, or seems to know a word but cannot say it consistently. The earlier the support, the more confidently a child builds these skills — and a proper assessment is what tells you which difficulty (or combination) you are looking at.The Pinnacle way
A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care — never from an app, checklist or online form. Our clinicians look carefully at both motor and speech planning to build a precise profile and the right plan, drawing on occupational therapy for coordination and daily skills and speech therapy for motor-speech work. You can learn more about how the AbilityScore® is assessed or start [here](/).Trusted sources
WHO ICD-11 framing of developmental motor coordination disorder; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association guidance on Childhood Apraxia of Speech and motor-speech difficulties; American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) developmental guidance.Next step — Unsure which challenge fits your child? Book an assessment with a Pinnacle clinician for a clear, caring answer.
This is general information, not a diagnosis — a clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre under qualified clinician care.
What to watch
Watch for clumsiness and difficulty learning physical skills (dressing, cutlery, catching) which points toward DCD, versus speech that is hard to understand with inconsistent errors and visible effort to position the mouth, which points toward CAS. A child may show features of both.
Try this at home
Notice the pattern: if your child struggles mainly with body and hand movements, note which daily tasks are hardest; if speech is the worry, see whether the same word comes out differently each time. Bring these observations to an assessment — they help clinicians tell the two apart.
Trusted sources
Developed by SETU Consortium · Pinnacle Blooms Network · Last reviewed 2026-06-10
This is general information, not a diagnosis. A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care.
Frequently asked
Can a child have both DCD and Childhood Apraxia of Speech?
Yes. Both are difficulties of motor planning — telling the body what to do — so some children show features of both. This is exactly why a joined-up assessment looking at both movement and speech is so helpful in building the right plan.
Is Childhood Apraxia of Speech caused by weak mouth muscles?
No. In CAS the muscles are usually strong; the difficulty is in the brain planning and sequencing the precise movements needed for speech. That is why simply strengthening muscles is not the focus — therapy works on planning and practising movement patterns.
At what age can these be assessed?
A developmental check is appropriate whenever you notice your child is markedly clumsier than peers or much harder to understand than expected for their age. Early, caring assessment helps clarify which difficulty is present and gets the right support started sooner.