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.
It is very common for people diagnosed with autism to also be diagnosed with one or more of ADHD, Dyslexia or Dyspraxia. Autism is very strongly associated with these conditions, although you can have Dyslexia or Dyspraxia without having autism.
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.
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.
Myth #1: Dyspraxia is extremely rare.
An estimated six to 10 percent of children have some features of dyspraxia. It can go by many names, including developmental coordination disorder and motor learning difficulty.
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.
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.
However, this does not mean that they are the same. 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.
As with many other neurodivergent conditions, a family history of dyspraxia may increase the likelihood of a child developing dyspraxia.
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.
Instead, most healthcare professionals use the term developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) to describe the condition.
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.
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 does not affect a person's IQ, but they may often have to navigate a mind which can be unorganized, meaning they are usually very intelligent people. Navigating around these barriers results in creating strategies to overcome problems really well.
This suggests that dyspraxia is associated with reduced social skill and empathy, but only in those without a diagnosis of ASC. Cassidy and colleagues suggest that the lack of association between dyspraxia and social skills in the group with autism could be due to under-diagnosis of dyspraxia in this population.
Dyspraxia is one of the neurodivergent conditions which generally affects movement and coordination, and remains one of the lesser understood neurodivergent conditions. It is also commonly referred to as DCD Development Coordination Disorder.
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).
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.
While some children outgrow the condition, the majority continue to experience movement difficulty as adolescents and adults. Treatment can help them function better as they grow.
How many people have dyspraxia? It is thought dyspraxia affects up to 6% of the population, with up to 2% being severely affected. Males are four times more likely to be affected than females. Dyspraxia has also been shown, at times, to run in families.
Dyspraxic children
Whereas ADHD is a neurobehavioral condition, dyspraxia is quite different. Dyspraxia has to do with fine motor skills and results when there is a disconnect between the signals the brain sends to coordinate the body's muscles and the resulting physical movements.
There are other brain disorders that mimic autism symptoms, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. Autism can be misdiagnosed as another disorder with some shared symptoms.
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.
For children under 7 in Australia, a formal diagnosis of DCD can form the basis for an Early Child Early Intervention Plan with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Funding through this plan may assist with the necessary therapy.
DCD/dyspraxia is a life-long condition, but its impact varies according to a person's life stage.