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.
Problems with movement and co-ordination are the main symptoms of DCD. Children may have difficulty with: playground activities such as hopping, jumping, running, and catching or kicking a ball. They often avoid joining in because of their lack of co-ordination and may find physical education difficult.
Dyspraxia, also known as developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), is a common disorder that affects movement and co-ordination. Dyspraxia does not affect your intelligence. It can affect your co-ordination skills – such as tasks requiring balance, playing sports or learning to drive a car.
Sleeping difficulties, including wakefulness at night and nightmares. Growing awareness of difficulties, affecting confidence and self-esteem. May report physical symptoms such as headaches and feeling sick.
Dyspraxia is commonly identified alongside dyslexia – some reports even suggest that half of dyslexic children exhibit symptoms characteristic of dyspraxia. Attention difficulties and dyspraxia may also co-present, as can dyspraxia and autism spectrum disorder.
Apraxia is usually caused by damage to the parietal lobes or to nerve pathways that connect these lobes to other parts of the brain, such as frontal and/or temporal lobes. These areas store memories of learned sequences of movements. Less often, apraxia results from damage to other areas of the brain.
Dyspraxia is most commonly caused by stroke or acquired brain injury. There are 2 types of Dyspraxia: (1) Oral dyspraxia– difficulty with non-verbal tasks - when asked to do so (E.g. please poke out your tongue), however the person can perform non-verbal tasks successfully and automatically (E.g. licking an ice cream).
Dyspraxia isn't linked to intelligence, but experts say it can interfere with executive functions such as time management and short-term memory. It's thought the extra concentration needed to perform everyday tasks can cause fatigue, and many with the condition describe feeling frequently exhausted.
From speaking to others with dyspraxia, one effect that tiredness can have is making our dyspraxia seem 'worse'. We can be more clumsy than usual (yes, that's possible!), forget things more etc. Another difficulty we can have being dyspraxic is getting to sleep.
Sometimes children with dyspraxia are fidgety and restless; they are not comfortable on an ordinary chair. They may appear untidy and not aware of personal hygiene.
Dyspraxic people tend to be good at bold 'big picture' thinking, pattern-spotting and inferential reasoning. Due to the challenges they experience they are often resourceful, persistent, and determined problem-solvers. Likewise, with the right support in place they are very reliable and hard working.
Daniel Radcliffe (Actor)
Best known for his titular role in the Harry Potter films, Daniel revealed that he had a mild form of dyspraxia in 2008 in an interview for his Broadway debut in Equus. He was unsuccessful at school and 'he sometimes still has trouble tying his shoelaces.
So although there are similarities, autism is primarily a social and communication disorder and dyspraxia is primarily a motor skills disorder. If your child has one of these conditions but you feel they also have other difficulties, you may think about further assessment.
Poor, slow and effortful handwriting. Poor paper cutting skills. Difficulty in catching and throwing a ball. Poor at running, jumping, climbing and team sports.
being born prematurely, before the 37th week of pregnancy. being born with a low birth weight. having a family history of DCD, although it is not clear exactly which genes may be involved in the condition. the mother drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs while pregnant.
Poor memory
Learning, thought, and memory difficulties can be indicators of dyspraxia. This may be through poor planning, a lack of organisation, or trouble focusing. They may seem to have trouble with their short-term memory, be forgetful, or tend to lose things.
Interestingly, the symptoms of brain fog match many of the diagnostic criteria for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and are also common with other neurominorities where the executive functions are compromised, such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Tourettes and Autism.
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.
Developmental dyspraxia is an immaturity of the organization of movement. The brain does not process information in a way that allows for a full transmission of neural messages. A person with dyspraxia finds it difficult to plan what to do, and how to do it.
Children with dyspraxia are also more likely to develop overweight or obesity since they may be reluctant to exercise due to difficulties and frustration with coordination.
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.
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.
Anxiety and depression are fairly common in individuals with dyspraxia. The Dyspraxia Foundation reports that “there is increasing evidence of associated anxiety, depression, behavioural disorders and low self-esteem in children, teenagers and young adults with dyspraxia”.
DCD/dyspraxia is a life-long condition, but its impact varies according to a person's life stage.