About Us

The Dyspraxia/DCD Association is a voluntary association that is based in Cork. Cork is on the southernmost part of Ireland. The Association was formed in 2002 in response to the needs of parents whose children were attending the DCD Unit in St Finbarr's Hospital in Cork. There are now over 260 members in the association. These members are from mainly the Munster area but we do have families from all around Ireland.

The association provides support and advocacy to families affected by Dyspraxia or Developmental Coordination Disorder.

The committee works closely with the DCD Unit in St Finbarr's Hospital in Cork. This hospital unit is the only such unit in the Republic of Ireland. It houses a medical doctor, occupational therapists, a psychologist and a medical secretary. It also has services provided by a physiotherapist, speech and language therapist and an orthoptist. The members that can access the services in the unit are keenly aware of the fact that they are the lucky few. Only families living in the South and North Lee catchment area of the Cork branch of the Health Service Executive can avail of their services. The booklets that we have produced have been our way of helping other families to get through their days a little easier.

We organise and host public meetings on a regular basis to enable parents and interested professionals to meet in relaxed surroundings. The children and teenagers have been involved in fun days, activity camps and art workshops. They have forged friendships that will hopefully last well into adulthood. They have developed the friendships as children and we are now seeing some of the older children offering support to each other. The teenagers within the association were very helpful during the consultative process of putting our teenage fact pack together. They are a bright bunch of teens and a source of great pride to their parents. The adult meetings have been run with different subject topics and speakers and while they usually start with a business or education segment they always incorporate social interaction as well. Parents who feel isolated or alone get encouragement and support from other parents. There are often hilarious stories of recent mishaps that only the parents of a child with Dyspraxia or DCD could find amusing! There are often poignant moments too and sometimes the tissues are called for….and that's just the Dads!

We pride ourselves on being a personal association and there is always a committee member available at the end of a phone line to chat, or offer a listening ear. We hope that the forum section of this website will enable people affected by Dyspraxia/DCD to become part of the global community.

As we all work to create greater awareness of the condition, the world in which our children live will become an easier place for them. This is the ultimate goal.