Dyspraxia/DCD in popular culture:Antagonism and adaptation in a century of portrayals

Dyspraxia, or developmental coordination disorder, is experienced by about 5% of the population. It is primarily associated with differences of coordination and of motor skill, and is commonly considered a form of neurodivergence, alongside others such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD. While the popular culture of these last three has attracted substantial academic attention, there has been little study of how dyspraxia/DCD is represented. This account analyses several key representations, before offering a case study of David Sharp’s novel For All Your Endeavours (2024), which features a protagonist who identifies with dyspraxia/DCD, one of the first in Western popular culture. It analyses how the protagonist’s experiences are marked by antagonism and adaptation to the environment around him, and how this depiction relates to historical representations of apparent dyspraxia/DCD.