Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia is a developmental disorder. People with dyspraxia have difficulty coordinating their movements. Quite often a person with dyspraxia may not be able to learn at the same rate as people without the disorder. In many cases dyspraxia can make the simplest tasks incredibly difficult. This is because people with the condition have difficulty coordinating their movements and getting organized.

Dyspraxia is thought to affect up to one in 20 children – making it likely that there may be someone with dyspraxia in your class.

What causes Dyspraxia and who can get it?

Nobody knows for sure what causes dyspraxia. It is thought that in children it may be because of under-development of brain regions involved in motor coordination and movement during the baby’s growth. In some cases dyspraxia can be inherited.

If the condition develops in later life it is generally caused by traumas suffered by the brain due to stroke, illness or accident.

However, for many sufferers there is no obvious cause.

What are the signs and symptoms of Dyspraxia?

Generally, Dyspraxia affects how a person organises their movement. What this means is that physical tasks can be incredibly difficult as people with dyspraxia have problems learning and producing coordinated movements.

However, one of the interesting things with this condition is that it affects different people in different ways. Other ways it affects people is in areas of their development that include:

Intellectual
Emotional
Physical
Speech
Language
Social
Sensory

As dyspraxia affects different people in so many different ways it is difficult to list the signs and symptoms to be aware of. However, there are some patterns of behaviour that could be the result of dyspraxia.

In early childhood there may be:

Lack of coordination, or clumsiness
Delays in reaching expected developmental milestones
Distracted and excitable behaviour

As childhood continues they may demonstrate:

Difficulty interacting with others
Lack of imaginative play
Limited concentration

Sufferers may also experience difficulty within school. Signs to be aware of at this stage include:

Poor handwriting
Inability remembering more than a couple of instructions at a time
Difficulty in adapting to the routine of school life
Problems organizing homework, gym kits, keeping track of belongings, etc.

General behaviours to note include impulsiveness, hyperactivity and lack of attention.

How is it normally diagnosed and treated?

Dyspraxia is normally diagnosed, if at all, when a child is of school age when the symptoms become more obvious within a school environment.

For many people, dyspraxia can go undiagnosed as people with it often seem no different from those that don’t have it.

Although there is no cure for dyspraxia, those with the condition can learn ways in which they can overcome their difficulties to live a full life.

Treatment will depend on the form and severity of dyspraxia. Some people with coordination difficulties will work with occupational therapists, those with communication difficulties would work with speech and language therapists, and so on. Sometimes teams of these specialists will work together to meet the needs of the patient.

When to ask for medical help

If there are concerns about the rate at which a child is developing in comparison to their peers; especially if they have difficulty doing a number of routine activities such as running, tying shoe laces, or speaking.

Looking forward

Once dyspraxia has been diagnosed and the right help and therapy has been found there is every reason that a person with dyspraxia can begin to cope with the difficulties they face and lead a full and rewarding life. In general, the most severe aspects of dyspraxia improve as the child gets older such that by the time they are teenagers many have overcome the most problematic features of their disorder.

For more help and information

Last reviewed by Dyslexia Action: 30 May 2008

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