Children with Dyspraxia

First of all Dyspraxia IS NOT Dyslexia - they are two different conditions and have very different effects. Many people have heard of Dyslexia but are not so aware of Dyspraxia.

Its funny out everything has a label these days and it makes things seem to just appear - "oh everyone seems to have this ADHD these days" - but often this labelling is actually just re-labelling. In the case of Dyspraxia it is nothing new and was more commonly known as clumsy child syndrome which of course is no longer PC.

Developmental dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. It is an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. The term dyspraxia comes from the word praxis, which means 'doing, acting'. Dyspraxia affects the planning of what to do and how to do it. It is associated with problems of perception, language and thought.

Dyspraxia is thought to affect up to ten per cent of the population and up to two per cent severely. Males are four times more likely to be affected than females. Dyspraxia sometimes runs in families. There may be an overlap with related conditions.

Other names for dyspraxia include Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD), Perceptuo-Motor Dysfunction, and Motor Learning Difficulties. It used to be known as Minimal Brain Damage and Clumsy Child Syndrome.

Statistically, it is likely that there is one child in every class of 30 children, and we need to make sure that everyone understands and knows how best to help this significant minority.

Its important to know at this point that Dyspraxia and Dyspraxic children are all individual and their challenges and needs can vary greatly. Their conditions are not usually clear cut either as hey can also have other "overlap" conditions such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Autism, etc. Just as a Dyspraxic child can have Dyslexic tendencies a child diagnosed with Dyslexia can have Dyspraxic tendencies.

THE PRE-SCHOOL CHILD :-

• Is late in reaching milestones e.g. rolling over, sitting, standing, walking, and speaking.
  
• May not be able to run, hop, jump, or catch or kick a ball although their peers can do so.
  
• Has difficulty in keeping friends; or judging how to behave in company.
  
• Has little understanding of concepts such as 'in', 'on', 'in front of' etc.
  
• Has difficulty in walking up and down stairs.
  
• Poor at dressing.
  
• Slow and hesitant in most actions.
  
• Appears not to be able to learn anything instinctively but must be taught skills.
  
• Falls over frequently.
  
• Poor pencil grip.
  
• Cannot do jigsaws or shape sorting games.
  
• Artwork is very immature.
  
• Often anxious and easily distracted.
  

THE SCHOOL AGE CHILD :-

• Probably has all the difficulties experienced by the pre-school child with dyspraxia, with little or no improvement.
  
• Avoids PE and games.
  
• Does badly in class but significantly better on a one-to -one basis.
  
• Reacts to all stimuli without discrimination and attention span is poor.
  
• May have trouble with maths and writing structured stories.
  
• Experiences great difficulty in copying from the blackboard.
  
• Writes laboriously and immaturely.
  
• Unable to remember and /or follow instructions.
  Is generally poorly organised.

Did you know that if you have a child with dyspraxia and/or ADHD (besides many other conditions) there is financial help available from the government? I didn't find out for months after I found out my son was Dyspraxic!

Even after claiming this benefit for about 5 or 6 years now, I only just recently found out that we weren't getting everything he was entitled to!

Check out This lens for some more information.

Again I only found out recently - after over 6 years of struggling at times - that there are a number of organisations that are around to try and help low income families with disabled children.

Checkout this lens for more information on charitable organisations that offer financial help to parents.