Coordination impairment among children is a widespread problem, affecting up to 5% of the population. Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have problems with physical activities such as playing games and have difficulty at school with handwriting and concentration. Poor achievement in physical activities is likely to lead to the child taking part in fewer of them with inevitable effects on long-term health.

Sadly, within the hard pressed NHS, there is a lack of treatment options for the large numbers of children with coordination problems. Many children attending hospital services can only be seen once a year, despite formal diagnoses of neurodevelopmental impairment. It is impossible to provide any adequate help to children who attend so infrequently and there is a desperate need for techniques that require minimal input from qualified therapists. This project will use computer-assisted exercises to help guide the child’s movements, coupled with sophisticated measurement technology to develop a treatment that can be easily and cheaply delivered in hospitals and accurately measure response to treatment. The ultimate aim is to help these children at a critical stage of their development.