The term Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is used to describe a group of children who have difficulty. with tasks involving movement such that it interferes with their daily living or academic progress. As with other developmental disorders such as autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder and dyslexia, DCD is now a prominent concern of both researchers and practitioners.

This text is aimed at both researchers and professionals who work in a practical manner with the condition and includes professionals in health, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, health visitors, paediatricians, and - in the educational field - teachers and others who are in daily contact with the children - their parents.

The essence of the text is that work with children should be guided by research evidence driving the clinical practice which in turn raisies more questions for research. The authors in this text have both experience in research and are engaged in the day-to-day clinical work with children and bring both of these to bear in the chapters they have written.

David Sugden has an academic background in developmental psychology, special education and physical education, his PhD is from the University of California at Los Angeles. He has taught in primary, secondary and special schools as well as lecturing at college and university level in the UK and the USA. His specialist research interests include motor development, motor impairment, motor learning, and children with developmental disorders. His work centres on the characteristics of typically developing children and those with various forms of impairment. He is co-author of the most widely used assessment instrument for motor difficulties, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. He is currently Professor of Special Needs in Education, University of Leeds, UK.