What are the strengths associated with dyspraxia? Children and adults with dyspraxia may be extremely bright, clever and creative individuals who possess a good sense of humour and a strong sense of empathy for others.
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.
They are often determined, persistent, hard-working and highly motivated. In many ways, adults with dyspraxia are similar to those with dyslexia. They are often creative and original thinkers as well as strategic problem solvers.
Strengths and weaknesses
If you have dyslexia and dyspraxia you may be good at getting an overview of a situation, in making connections between hitherto unrelated areas, in thinking 'outside the box'. You may be skilled at spotting a pattern in information. You may be very creative and good at problem-solving.
Since motor skills affect pencil grip and the ability to master written language, children with dysgraphia compensate by sharpening their listening skills. These learners are masters of recalling oral details, memorization, and storytelling.
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.
You may be entitled to receive a benefit from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) if your child has dyspraxia/attention deficit/dyslexia etc. DLA stands for Disability Living Allowance and it is not means tested, nor is it taxable. There are 2 elements to it – caring and mobility.
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.
generally it impacts fine motor skills (e.g. holding a pencil) and/or gross motor skills (e.g. riding a bicycle). It can also impact the ability to organise yourself, remember information and control actions. processing differences. They may be sensory avoidant e.g. leaving a room when noises are too loud for them.
Individuals with dyspraxia often have language problems, and sometimes a degree of difficulty with thought and perception. Dyspraxia, however, does not affect the person's intelligence, although it can cause learning problems in children. Developmental dyspraxia is an immaturity of the organization of movement.
Because dyspraxia often affects writing, reading and spelling abilities, a child with dyspraxia may require more time to process new tasks. They might also experience more success when they over-learn material through repetition and a graded step-by-step approach.
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.
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.
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.
Daniel Radcliffe – Actor
Daniel is the oft-cited shining example of a successful person who also happens to have dyspraxia.
Myth 5: Children and adults who are dyspraxic can't be good at sports. These children and adults often just need more practice than others! They will find the initial learning stage much more difficult than others do. However, with practice and clear instructions, they can learn and also succeed at sports.
For a long time it was assumed that children would “grow out of” their movement difficulties. But we now have evidence that in many children the motor difficulties persist into adulthood and are commonly associated with a range of socio-emotional problems later on.
Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, is a condition affecting physical co-ordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily.
People with DCD have difficulty learning and executing motor skills without considerable practice. This affects their ability to carry out a range of daily activities effectively and efficiently – taking down notes quickly and coherently, for example, or riding a bike.
For example, individuals with dyspraxia often have a high level of creativity, strategic thinking, leadership and problem-solving skills. They may also be very good at visual tasks and have strong attention to detail.
Although its effects on people may change over time, dyspraxia is a lifelong difference in the way the brain functions. Dyspraxia is not an illness that can be 'cured' and it does not affect intelligence. Dyspraxic people may face significant challenges at work.
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).
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.