Although there seems to be a lot of overlap between the symptoms, dyslexia is used to describe a learning difficulty to read write and spell whereas dyspraxia is the term used to describe a difficulty in motor coordination skills.
For example, did you know that co-morbidity occurs for about half the people who are dyslexic? According to Stothard, Snowling, Bishop, Chipchase, and Kaplan (1998), 53% of dyslexics are also dyspraxic.
The 4 types of dyslexia include phonological dyslexia, surface dyslexia, rapid naming deficit, and double deficit dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder where the person often has difficulty reading and interpreting what they read.
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.
Fundamentally, autism is a disorder that affects socialization and communication, while dyspraxia affects motor skills and physical coordination. While coinciding symptoms aren't uncommon, the two are considered distinct disorders.
Dyspraxia often co-occurs with ADHD, but the two conditions are separate. Luckily, there are support groups, online resources, and coping skills for dyspraxic individuals seeking a diagnosis.
People often confuse dyslexia and autism for one another or conflate them for their similarities. But they are two completely different disorders that affect the brains of people in different ways. While dyslexia is a learning difficulty, autism is a developmental disorder.
Difficulty seeing (and occasionally hearing) similarities and differences in letters and words. Inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word. Difficulty spelling.
Dyslexia is not a disease. It's a condition a person is born with, and it often runs in families. People with dyslexia are not stupid or lazy. Most have average or above-average intelligence, and they work very hard to overcome their reading problems.
Poor, slow and effortful handwriting. Poor paper cutting skills. Difficulty in catching and throwing a ball. Poor at running, jumping, climbing and team sports.
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.
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. Despite their difficulties, pupils with dyspraxia can and do learn to perform some motor tasks quite well.
Motor dyspraxia involves trouble with coordinating physical movements, for example, walking up or down stairs, kicking balls, or hopping. Children with motor dyspraxia may be able to perform a task at one time, then unable at a later time. Some signs a child may have dyspraxia include: they are awkward or clumsy.
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.
These may include: reversing letters or the order of letters (after first grade); spelling phonetically; having accurate beginning and ending sounds but misspelling the word; not using words in writing that they would use in oral language; and disorganized writing, such as a lack of grammar, punctuation, or ...
Reading & writing
take longer to write, and produce less, than other students. immediately forget what they have just read. present a slower reading and processing speed. miss out words or skip lines as they read.
According to UMHS, the following conditions can present similar symptoms and difficulties to dyslexia: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Executive Dysfunction. Memory Impairments.
But if a child has a low IQ and additional problem with dyslexia, that just is going to mean that they're going to have even more difficulty learning to read. But knowing that, most people with dyslexia are, at least, average or above-average IQ. So, it is not related to intelligence at all.
ADHD and dyslexia are different brain disorders. But they often overlap. About 3 in 10 people with dyslexia also have ADHD. And if you have ADHD, you're six times more likely than most people to have a mental illness or a learning disorder such as dyslexia.
They do not usually have the accompanying learning disabilities associated with autism, but they may have specific learning difficulties. These may include dyslexia and dyspraxia or other conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and epilepsy.
difficulty making friends – they may avoid taking part in team games and may be bullied for being "different" or clumsy. behaviour problems – often stemming from a child's frustration with their symptoms. low self-esteem.
The effects of dyspraxia
The emotional impact of dealing with the symptoms of dyspraxia and the social isolation that some individuals feel can result in mental health difficulties. Anxiety and depression are fairly common in individuals with dyspraxia.
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.