Red flags for dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder) include clumsiness, poor balance, difficulty with fine motor skills (messy writing, tying shoes, using cutlery), delayed milestones, struggles with planning and organization, speech/language issues, and avoidance of physical activities due to fatigue or frustration, affecting daily life from infancy through adulthood. These signs often appear early, impacting learning, social skills, and self-esteem.
DCD is often confused with dyspraxia. Here's the thing, they are very similar and cause a lot of the same types of clumsiness and disorganisation. However, dyspraxia involves planning of tasks. A child with dyspraxia has difficulty to use toys and equipment in novel ways.
being poor at organising themselves and getting things done. 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.
Thumb-finding test. Your GP places your hands in a position of their choosing and then asks you to touch your thumb with your other thumb while your eyes are closed. Sequential finger-touching. Your GP will ask you to touch each of your fingers to your thumb, starting with your forefinger.
If you have dyspraxia it may affect: your co-ordination, balance and movement. how you learn new skills, think, and remember information at work and home. your daily living skills, such as dressing or preparing meals.
Though there are careers that utilise the assets of dyspraxia, such as empathy, and leadership, more than others. These jobs include teaching, coaching, leadership, creative arts and business development, amongst other things.
Dyspraxia in toddlers slows achievement of developmental milestones and ability with gross motor skills such as crawling and walking and fine motor activities such as gripping objects.
Dyspraxia can make it difficult for people to maintain attention and focus, especially when there are distractions and interruptions. Some people can also experience excessive tiredness.
The diagnosis of DCD is usually made by a paediatrician, often in collaboration with an occupational therapist. Generally, a paediatrician is involved in diagnosis and an occupational therapist is involved in both diagnosis and treatment.
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What are the symptoms of dyspraxia? Children with dyspraxia may be late in reaching normal developmental milestones for example an early sign of dyspraxia is a child taking longer to roll over, sit, crawl, stand, walk, speak and toilet train.
There are no medical tests that can definitively diagnose dyspraxia. Instead, your child's team of healthcare providers will ask detailed questions about your child's medical history, development and symptoms. They'll assess your child's gross and fine motor skills, coordination and balance.
Poor sleep, stress and depression are common. Adults with dyspraxia can be prone to low self-esteem, emotional outbursts, phobias, fears, obsessions and compulsions, and addictive behaviours.
Dyspraxia is also a specific learning difficulty because it can impact on how we think of something, plan, organise and sequence our thoughts to complete different tasks and actions. Dyspraxia has nothing to do with intellect, most people are of average to above average intelligence.
The "6-second rule" for autism is a communication strategy where a speaker pauses for about six seconds after asking a question or giving information, giving the autistic person extra time to process it without feeling rushed, which helps reduce anxiety and allows for a more thoughtful response, reducing frustration for both parties. Instead of repeating or rephrasing, which can be confusing, you wait, and if needed, repeat the exact same words after the pause.
Around 90% of autism cases are attributed to genetic factors, meaning autism is highly heritable, with many different genes contributing, rather than a single cause, often interacting with environmental influences during early brain development, though specific environmental factors don't cause it but can increase risk. Twin studies show strong genetic links, with concordance rates between 60-90% in identical twins, and research points to complex interactions of many genes and prenatal/perinatal factors.
The causes of dyspraxia aren't well understood. It is thought to be caused by a problem with the way connections develop between the nerves in the brain. There seems to be a strong genetic link — children with dyspraxia tend to have a parent with dyspraxia. It's also linked to complications during pregnancy and birth.
In general, a dyspraxia diagnosis should not prevent you from learning to drive. Sure, you'll have to accept that it will be harder for you to get to grips with the basics and the whole process could take longer than average, but it's not a solid roadblock.
Although signs of the condition are present from an early age, children vary widely in their rate of development. This means a definite diagnosis of DCD does not usually happen until a child with the condition is 5 years old or more.
People with dyspraxia may also experience issues with emotional regulation, such as: Frustration and anger – this may stem from the perception that they struggle with tasks that people without dyspraxia see as simple or routine.
Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) cannot be cured, but there are ways to help your child manage their problems.
Meltdowns are more common in students with sensory sensitivities, anxiety, or learning differences like dyslexia or ADHD. Difficulties in reading, writing, or processing information can lead to frustration, anxiety, and overwhelming feelings.
Those who have DCD /dyspraxia are 4 times more likely to become obese4 and are less physically fit and more overweight especially in girls5 It is therefore important that those with DCD/dyspraxia are encouraged to be as physically active as possible.
Dyspraxic children often demonstrate some of the following types of behaviour: Inability to stay still (feet swinging, feet tapping, hand-clapping) Loud/shrill voice.
One example of how dyspraxia can affect functional vision is by causing problems with eye tracking. Reduced eye tracking means that the eyes are unable to move smoothly across a page of text, which impacts reading fluency and school grades.