Researchers at the University of British Columbia are shining a new light on a condition that affects children's ability to print, tie their shoes or play sports.

Called developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), it affects about six per cent of school-aged children.

For the first time, researchers have shown that the brains of children with DCD are different from other kids.

According to researcher Jill Zwicker, a PhD candidate in rehabilitation sciences at UBC, DCD often leads to struggles in school, partly because the kids find it physically difficult to print or write.

Researchers performed scans to see how the brains of children with DCD were functioning while trying to trace objects on a piece of paper. "We can see that the children with developmental co-ordination disorder are not activating the same brain areas as typically developing children," Zwicker told CBC News.

"We need to do more research to flesh that out a bit more, but it's the first evidence to show that these kids are different at this level as far as their brain activity." Zwicker says the research may help lessen the stigma around the condition, which people often believe is just a lack of co-ordination.

"Many people just think that it's clumsy kids and there's nothing wrong with them and they'll outgrow it," she said. But cumulative research has shown that these children are struggling and this is the first evidence to show that they are neurobiologically different."

She says the effects of DCD reach beyond the soccer field or the classroom. "These children are at higher risk for depression and anxiety as well. So it's not just a motor disorder — it does affect the whole child."

Zwicker says it's not known why the brains of DCD kids are firing differently and there doesn't appear to be any quick fix at this time.

She says parents should consider individual activities for their kids who struggle with team sports, and computers for those having problems with handwriting assignments