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.
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.
It can affect your co-ordination skills – such as tasks requiring balance, playing sports or learning to drive a car. Dyspraxia can also affect your fine motor skills, such as writing or using small objects.
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.
Social and sensory – individuals with dyspraxia may be extremely sensitive to taste, light, touch, and/or noise. There may also be a lack of awareness of potential dangers. Many experience moods swings and display erratic behavior.
Emotions as a result of difficulties experienced:
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.
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).
Common Dyspraxia strengths
Dyspraxics often learn to develop soft skills such as active listening, empathy, and when to delegate tasks to others. Their desire for people to understand what they deal with ensures that they communicate clearly too. All these result in dyspraxics making good leaders.
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) or Dyspraxia is commonly associated with difficulties with movement, when in fact there are many strengths associated with this neurotype. Big picture thinking, problem solving, tenacity, creativity and empathy are all qualities associated with DCD.
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.
Coordination difficulties are the main feature of dyspraxia/DCD, affecting large (gross motor) and small (fine motor) body movements. Children with dyspraxia/DCD can also experience difficulties with organisation, planning, attention, memory and processing speed. Some have difficulties with speech and language.
Learning Disabilities and Dyspraxia
Individuals with this condition have trouble planning and organising their thoughts. They are often unable to understand logic or reason. Many of the learning disabilities that children with dyspraxia face are linked with embarrassment related to their physical disability.
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.
Motor Skills affected by Dyspraxia
As a result, making friends and being social can be much harder. Emotional/behavioral skills: Children with dyspraxia may behave immaturely. They may easily become overwhelmed in group settings.
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.
“I think it can make me a very awkward person to date.” Kelly was diagnosed with the developmental disorder when she was five. She notes that her dyspraxia directly affected her ability to communicate with a partner – both in speaking and listening.
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.
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.
Low self-esteem. This could be as a result of the embarrassment or anxiety they feel about their symptoms and the lack of understanding and awareness that other people have about dyspraxia. Exhibiting behaviour that challenges. This could be a result of their frustration with their symptoms.
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.
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.
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. Please consider this, remembering how you feel when tired before you make your next tutting noise.
Many people with dyspraxia/DCD have difficulty organising themselves, their equipment and their thoughts. Some also experience problems with attention, memory and time management.