A learner with dyspraxia may have limited concentration skills and poor listening skills – giving too much information quickly can overwhelms pupils and makes it hard to process and pick out key information. Asking questions and wanting immediate answers – pupils need time to process what has been said.
Problems with movement and co-ordination are the main symptoms of DCD. Children may have difficulty with: playground activities such as hopping, jumping, running, and catching or kicking a ball. They often avoid joining in because of their lack of co-ordination and may find physical education difficult.
It causes problems with tasks such as handwriting or tying shoelaces, or with motor skills like catching or riding a bike. In childhood, dyspraxia (also known as developmental coordination disorder or DCD) usually refers to a disorder in which children do not develop the motor skills that are expected for their age.
Dyspraxia does not affect IQ or overall ability; it purely affects motor aspects of development. As a learning difficulty, dyspraxia means the person struggles to learn intuitively by doing, and motor skill development responds much more positively when taught through a process of imitation.
Dyspraxia can make it difficult for children to develop social skills, and they may have trouble getting along with peers. Though they are intelligent, these children may seem immature and some may develop phobias and obsessive behavior. All young people must deal with their rapidly changing bodies.
Although most children with dyslexia are not depressed, they are at higher risk for intense feelings of sorrow and pain. Perhaps because of their low self-esteem, children with dyslexia are often afraid to turn their anger toward their environment and instead turn it toward themselves, which can result in depression.
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.
Common difficulties often (but not always) experienced by the child with dyspraxia: May lack interest/motivation in physical activity or be hard to engage in particular activities they find difficult or in which they have experienced failure.
Dyspraxia can disrupt the visual information coming to the brain from the eyes, causing issues with visual processing. Because of this disruption, the brain sometimes has to be selective with the information it considers, causing certain things to be ignored or missed.
Learning to drive is a challenge for many, and for those with dyspraxia it can be especially daunting. From concentration and hand-foot coordination to judging speed and distance and sequencing, driving makes heavy demands on some of the core dyspraxic weaknesses.
People with dyspraxia may find organisation, memory, sequencing, concentration and time management to be areas that require additional effort. Sensory sensitivity: e.g. heightened sensitivity to sound, light, touch or certain fabrics.
Some children frequently seen by an occupational therapist include those who present with difficulties with motor, co-ordination and perceptual difficulties.
A child with dyspraxia may experience a number of different problems at school, including finding difficulty in handwriting written work, experiencing problems with moving a mouse, navigating a keyboard or manipulating a touch-screen, and struggling to perform some of the movements required for physical education, ...
Types of learning difficulty
People who have dyslexia can find it hard to read, write and spell. , attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia and dyscalculia. A person can have one, or a combination. As with learning disability, learning difficulties can also exist on a scale.
Communication: Children with dyspraxia may struggle with different aspects of speech. They can have trouble pronouncing words or expressing their ideas. They may also have trouble adjusting the pitch and volume of their voice. As a result, making friends and being social can be much harder.
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.
Many children with dyspraxia develop low self-esteem. To avoid this, others give up on the things they find difficult, so losing the opportunity to develop and improve that children who are more able in those areas can take advantage of.
Anxiety and depression are fairly common in individuals with dyspraxia. The Dyspraxia Foundation reports that “there is increasing evidence of associated anxiety, depression, behavioural disorders and low self-esteem in children, teenagers and young adults with dyspraxia”.
Living with the fear that you could 'screw up' at any moment can play havoc with your mind, and can lead some people with dyspraxia to withdraw from social situations, such as dating.
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.