Emotions as a result of difficulties experienced: Tend to get stressed, depressed and anxious easily. May have difficulty sleeping. Prone to low self-esteem, emotional outbursts, phobias, fears, obsessions, compulsions and addictive behaviour.
Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) – often referred to as dyspraxia – suffer much higher levels of emotional distress than their classmates and are frequently anxious and downhearted, research to be highlighted at this month's ESRC Festival of Social Science shows.
Social and sensory – individuals with dyspraxia may be extremely sensitive to taste, light, touch, and/or noise. There may also be a lack of awareness of potential dangers. Many experience moods swings and display erratic behavior.
Interestingly, in the general population, dyspraxia was associated with significantly higher autistic traits and lower empathy. These results suggest that motor coordination skills are important for effective social skills and empathy.
Speech difficulties can interfere with casual conversation, which can result in social awkwardness and an unwillingness to risk engaging in conversation. Writing difficulties such as poor letter formation, pencil grip and slow writing can make school work frustrating.
It can affect your co-ordination skills – such as tasks requiring balance, playing sports or learning to drive a car. Dyspraxia can also affect your fine motor skills, such as writing or using small objects.
There is increasing evidence of associated anxiety, depression, behavioural disorders and low self-esteem in children, teenagers and young adults with dyspraxia/DCD: • Children with DCD exhibit more aggressive behaviour that age-matched controls (Chen et al 2009).
Common Dyspraxia strengths
Dyspraxics often learn to develop soft skills such as active listening, empathy, and when to delegate tasks to others. Their desire for people to understand what they deal with ensures that they communicate clearly too. All these result in dyspraxics making good leaders.
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) or Dyspraxia is commonly associated with difficulties with movement, when in fact there are many strengths associated with this neurotype. Big picture thinking, problem solving, tenacity, creativity and empathy are all qualities associated with DCD.
Autism is very strongly associated with these conditions, although you can have Dyslexia or Dyspraxia without having autism. It is less clear whether you have have ADHD without autism, or whether it is a kind of autism. Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, and ADHD are so often diagnosed along with autism.
Emotions as a result of difficulties experienced:
Tend to get stressed, depressed and anxious easily. May have difficulty sleeping. Prone to low self-esteem, emotional outbursts, phobias, fears, obsessions, compulsions and addictive behaviour.
Coordination difficulties are the main feature of dyspraxia/DCD, affecting large (gross motor) and small (fine motor) body movements. Children with dyspraxia/DCD can also experience difficulties with organisation, planning, attention, memory and processing speed. Some have difficulties with speech and language.
Causes of DCD
It's not usually clear why co-ordination doesn't develop as well as other abilities in children with DCD. However, a number of risk factors that can increase a child's likelihood of developing DCD have been identified. These include: being born prematurely, before the 37th week of pregnancy.
Teenagers with dyspraxia are significantly more likely to experience social and emotional difficulties compared to their peers. Similarly, adults with dyspraxia often experience social isolation and find it more difficult to succeed in the workplace.
In Dyspraxia, it is believed that the motor neurons haven't developed properly and therefore, can't form proper connections and it takes longer for the brain to process data. In other words, only part of the message is getting through and the bit that does come through usually arrives late.
Why it's hard: Dyspraxia can affect skills that are important for finding and keeping a job. These might include the ability to organize, drive and type. Some people with dyspraxia have a hard time speaking clearly, which may create extra challenges.
Dyspraxia as a hidden disability
Dyspraxia is considered to be a hidden disability as the physical signs can be difficult to recognise. Dyspraxia is also less well known and often misunderstood, many people with dyspraxia do not realise they have the condition until later in life.
Currently there is no known cure for dyspraxia, and children do not 'grow out of' the condition. While they do not get worse over time, their challenges may become more apparent with increasing academic demands. They have to work harder and/or differently than their peers to achieve the same goals.
Adults with dyspraxia often describe greater challenges with anxiety and fatigue. This talk will address these issues and provide practical strategies and tips that can enhance the well-being of adults with dyspraxia.
What is dyspraxia ? Children with dyspraxia have problems with smooth and coordinated movements. Dyspraxia is often present after a brain injury. Dyspraxia brought on by a brain injury can improve with time and therapy.
Dyspraxia can effect fine motor skills such as using cutlery and scissors, being able to brush hair and do things most women take for granted, such as applying makeup and painting nails. All the fiddly things in life. Our lack of motor skills can mean we are often mucky pups and quite messy.
Tiredness and fatigue are overwhelming for many adults who have dyspraxia due to the effort it takes in planning, prioritising, processing and performing everyday tasks whilst trying not to get distracted. Please consider this, remembering how you feel when tired before you make your next tutting noise.
As dyspraxia is an umbrella term, not everyone will experience the same difficulties. It can also occur with other Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs), such as dyslexia. If dyspraxia is not identified until adulthood it can affect confidence.