Dyspraxia can impact employees in several ways. Those with dyspraxia may have difficulty with fine motor skills, making tasks such as writing or typing difficult. They may also struggle with coordination, making it hard to stay organised.
Understanding dyspraxia problems at work
May affect everyday life skills (e.g. preparing a meal, ironing). Difficulties with handwriting. Skills requiring balance. Slower learning a new skill requiring speed and accuracy.
Dyspraxics may be overly sensitive to noise, touch, and light and can have balance issues. Perceptual difficulties mean they can struggle to gauge the distance between things, which leads to clumsiness, and they are prone to mixing up right and left.
People with dyspraxia should be encouraged to break down their work into manageable chunks and to use different coloured folders for different tasks to help with organisation. Allowing regular breaks can improve productivity.
Many adults who have dyspraxia experience few problems in the workplace and have developed their own strategies for working effectively. They are often determined, persistent, hard-working and highly motivated. In many ways, adults with dyspraxia are similar to those with dyslexia.
If you feel that your dyspraxia/DCD falls into the definition as described in the Act (and for many people with dyspraxia/DCD it does) it is best to let your employer know before you start the job that you may need extra support. You can do this after you have been offered and accepted the job.
Dyspraxia is usually recognised as being an impairment or 'immaturity' of movement control. There is no known cause, although some research suggests that it may be linked to neuron development. Its effects are caused by messages not being properly or fully transmitted by the brain.
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.
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.
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.
The 'typical' child with dyspraxia struggles with handwriting, avoids sport, is disorganised and a bit messy, and can seem naughty or difficult because these difficulties can make it harder for them to do the things they want, need, or are expected to do.
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.
However, this does not mean that they are the same. 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.
There may be a range of co-occurring difficulties which can also have serious negative impacts on daily life. These include social and emotional difficulties as well as problems with time management, planning and personal organisation and these may also affect an adult's education or employment experiences.
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.
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.
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.
The person with dyspraxia may have significant difficulties successfully communicating even basic information. Even their yes/no responses may be inaccurate. This may extend to the use of non-verbal communication such as nodding, shaking the head or thumbs up/down gestures.
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). Funding through this plan may assist with the necessary therapy.
Daniel Radcliffe (Actor)
Best known for his titular role in the Harry Potter films, Daniel revealed that he had a mild form of dyspraxia in 2008 in an interview for his Broadway debut in Equus. He was unsuccessful at school and 'he sometimes still has trouble tying his shoelaces.
It is a neurological disorder that impacts a person's ability to plan, process and perform motor tasks. Dyspraxia is caused by the brain not processing information properly. Neural messages are not transmitted fully, causing difficulty in planning and organising movement.
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.
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.