When a boy starts falling more often than his peers, struggles to get up from the floor, or walks on his toes, it might not just be clumsiness. It could be Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that causes muscles to break down over time, starting in early childhood. Also known as DMD, it’s the most common and severe form of muscular dystrophy in children. This isn’t something that shows up later in life—it begins between ages 2 and 5, and by the teens, most boys need a wheelchair. The root cause? A faulty dystrophin gene, a gene that makes a protein needed to keep muscle cells stable. Without it, muscles wear out faster than they can repair.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy doesn’t just affect walking. It weakens the heart and lungs over time, which is why regular monitoring is critical. Kids with DMD often need breathing support, heart medications, and physical therapy to slow decline. Corticosteroids like prednisone or deflazacort are commonly used to delay muscle loss, though they come with side effects like weight gain and bone thinning. There’s no cure yet, but new gene therapies and exon-skipping drugs are giving families more hope than ever before. And while DMD is inherited—usually passed from mother to son—it can also happen from a brand-new mutation, meaning even families with no history can have a child affected.
Parents often ask: Is this going to get worse? How long will my child walk? Can they go to school normally? The answers aren’t simple, but they’re not hopeless either. Many kids with DMD attend mainstream schools, use assistive devices, and live full lives with the right support. The condition is rare, affecting about 1 in 3,500 male births, but the community around it is strong. You’ll find real stories in the posts below—from families managing daily care, to teens adjusting to mobility aids, to the latest updates on treatments that are changing outcomes. What you’ll see here isn’t theory. It’s what people are actually doing to live better with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
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