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.
People who are dyspraxic can also bring significant benefits to their workplaces. Dyspraxic workers are often hardworking, creative, and strong lateral thinkers. Most dyspraxic workers will have had to overcome significant challenges to be in the position they are now in.
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.
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.
being slow to pick up new skills – they need encouragement and repetition to help them learn. 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.
Many adults who have dyspraxia experience few problems in the workplace and have developed their own strategies for working effectively. They are often determined, persistent, hard-working and highly motivated. In many ways, adults with dyspraxia are similar to those with dyslexia.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It's important to acknowledge your symptoms that could hinder the process—but don't assume dyspraxia will be your achilles heel. Sure, you might find it that bit harder to get to grips with a car than others, but you can be just as good a driver as anyone.
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.
Many Australian children struggle with dyspraxia, a condition that disrupts the messages that travel from a child's brain to the muscles of their body. Dyspraxia (also called apraxia) is a neurologically based developmental disability that is typically present from birth.
Dyspraxics often experience difficulties with judging speed and distance- meaning that working out how far a car is away from you and how fast it is travelling can be an absolute nightmare.
Speech and language
Some people with dyspraxia/DCD have difficulty keeping up with conversations and there may be long, awkward pauses before they respond to a question or comment. People with verbal dyspraxia have severe and persistent difficulty coordinating the precise movements required to produce clear speech.
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.
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.
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).
They can have trouble pronouncing words or expressing their ideas. They may also have trouble adjusting the pitch and volume of their voice. As a result, making friends and being social can be much harder. Emotional/behavioral skills: Children with dyspraxia may behave immaturely.
Around 10% of people with dyspraxia/DCD show signs of autism while around 80% of children with autism have movement difficulties consistent with a diagnosis of dyspraxia/DCD. Around 50% of children with dyslexia show features of dyspraxia/DCD.
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.
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.
Jamie Oliver — celebrity TV chef, cookbook author, and restauranteur (Dyspraxia Kids) Daniel Radcliffe — actor and star of the Harry Potter movies (Dyspraxia Kids) Florence Welch — singer and songwriter for Florence and the Machine (Dyspraxia Kids)