Children with dyspraxia have difficulty learning motor actions and skills. In the past, dyspraxia has been referred to as MBD, MND, Sensory Motor Disorder or ‘Clumsy Child Syndrome’. Since 1994, the abbreviation DCD, Developmental Coordination Disorder, has been used. Planning, coordination and execution of various motor actions is learned and automated with difficulty. Dyspraxia is a congenital disability, affecting 2% of the population and 70% of them are boys.

Contents

• What is dyspraxia
• The cause of dyspraxia
• Dyspraxia in different forms
• The consequences of dyspraxia
• The diagnosis of dyspraxia
• Dyspraxia and ADHD, ADD, Asperger’s, etc
• Experts/therapy
• Dyspraxia at home and at school

What is dyspraxia

Dyspraxia revolves around the word praxis which means action or performance. A motor action is learned with difficulty and what is learned does not become automatic. Children learn new skills through practice. When you swim a lot, this action is stored in the brain and becomes automatic. An automatic means that you no longer have to think about it, swimming happens automatically. Children with dyspraxia have difficulty automating this because the action is not properly stored in the brain. In addition, all kinds of motor skills are acquired with difficulty.

The cause of dyspraxia

Source: Pezibear, PixabayMuch is still unclear about the cause of dyspraxia. A problem or immaturity of neurons is often mentioned. Messages from the brain are not properly passed on to the body. It is certain that dyspraxia is a congenital disability.

Dyspraxia in different forms

Dyspraxia comes in different forms. Dyspraxia can mainly affect gross motor skills such as walking, cycling and swimming. Fine motor skills can be difficult to learn, resulting in problems with writing, drawing and crafts. Ideational dyspraxia is also called concept dyspraxia , not knowing what an object is for and therefore not being able to use it. For example, not knowing what a handle on the door is for and therefore not being able to open the door. In ideomotor dyspraxia, the plan or concept is clear, but the execution causes problems. Execution dyspraxia is another term for this. Ideomotor dyspraxia is more difficult to treat than ideomotor dyspraxia, the latter being (much) more common.

The consequences of dyspraxia

The effect of dyspraxia is different for every child. There are long lists of symptoms, but a child does not have them all. Some are listed below without pretending to be a complete list:

• A child with dyspraxia appears clumsy, has difficulty walking and falls a lot. Throwing or catching a ball, cycling, swimming and skating, it all seems clumsy and very difficult.
• Spatial insight is limited. Children don’t like being in the middle of a room, the sides are fine. Walking in a line is difficult, better to be at the front or at the back. They especially dislike it when people are too close and that ‘close’ can sometimes seem far away to others.
• Source: Unsplash, Pixabay

Writing (holding a pen), doing puzzles, stringing beads, laying out letters, tying shoelaces, clay, embroidery, etc., actions that involve fine motor skills, cause problems.

• Sequence and planning cause problems. Brushing teeth, getting dressed, packing bags, but also learning times tables in the right order.
• Poor short-term memory, motor skills need to be practiced for a very long time to become automatic.
• Sensitive sense of touch: clothing itches or does not fit comfortably, touch is not pleasant and combing hair is a drama.
• Children with dyspraxia appear younger than their peers. Emotions are sometimes a bit exaggerated, they are easily irritated and impatient. Important: children may appear younger, but their intelligence is normal.
• The sense of direction is poorly developed, they easily get lost even when they know a place well, but getting lost in their own school is also possible.
• Problems with time and in the broadest sense of that word. Clock times are learned late, concepts such as evening, afternoon and Sunday morning are not understood, seasons and months are too abstract.
• Instructions are not followed or are followed incorrectly. Only when an instruction is divided into sub-tasks is it sometimes possible to carry it out.
• The problem is not a child’s intelligence. (It cannot be written often enough) There is often a big gap between that and social skills. This can make contact with peers difficult and they run a risk of being bullied.

The diagnosis of dyspraxia

Because dyspraxia has many different forms, a diagnosis is not easy. Often a fairly reliable assessment can be made in a rehabilitation center because various specialists can observe a child here.Dyspraxia cannot be cured, although some young people experience a significant motor development during puberty. In general, children learn to deal with it. They learn strategies to prevent problems and often have improved motor skills through years of therapy or guidance, but the dyspraxia remains. When you learn to cycle after a long time, this does not mean that your motor skills have improved, but that you have mastered one skill.

Dyspraxia and ADHD, ADD, Asperger’s, etc

Source: Cocoparisienne, PixabayDyspraxia is not ADHD, ADD, PDD-NOS, (etc.) or Asperger’s syndrome. But DCD is more common in children with learning disorders, autism spectrum disorders, communication disorders and/or concentration disorders. There is a fairly large group of children with a combination of ADHD and dyspraxia and there is also an overlap with dyslexia.

Experts/therapy

There is no treatment that corrects this disorder. Children can benefit from therapy from various experts, such as a physiotherapist, occupational therapist or speech therapist. This depends entirely on the severity of the disorder, the age of the child and which motor skills primarily need to be learned.

Dyspraxia at home and at school

• A fixed routine is especially important at home and at school . Children with dyspraxia benefit from a clear daily schedule and predictable tasks and assignments. Instructions can be divided into short partial instructions. ‘Pack your things and let’s go’ is an assignment that is too vague, tasks must be clear. ‘Grab your coat in the hall’ is a good instruction.
• Patience is essential because repetition is important . Short-term memory is poor and automatization almost always causes problems. Children must be given space to practice and rehearse. If automation in one way does not work, another must be devised.
• Children with dyspraxia do not belong in the middle of the class and they often prefer to sit at the back rather than the front.
• Sometimes it seems like the children are lazy , they sit daydreaming in the corner of the classroom or stare out the window. It has little to do with laziness, more to do with forgetting. Sometimes a lot happens in a class, a child with dyspraxia can spontaneously miss an assignment because of this.
• Give room for success ! Find what a child is good at. This means that the Lego can probably go out and most puzzles too. Football or ballet is not always a success, but with a little creativity you can certainly come up with an activity in which they are successful. Frustration because something does not work out is always lurking, success is important for self-confidence and motivates you to tackle other ‘problems’.
• Make it easier . It writes better with a pencil than with a fountain pen and a large script is easier to handle than a small script. Colored pencils come in all kinds of sizes and don’t choose the smallest one. Make sure that the ‘cupboard’ under the table is always tidy, and this can also be done quickly after school. Gym will be an obstacle for some children and the question is whether you should ask them to do all the exercises with the rest of the class. Tactical teachers are very good at substitute assignments.

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