Dyspraxia is also known as developmental coordination disorder and primarily manifests as a motor planning difficulty. It can also affect visual perceptual memory and information processing.
Dyspraxia can manifest in various ways:
- Difficulty judging heights and distances.
- Poor sense of timing and direction.
- Struggles in planning and organising thoughts.
- Limited concentration and poor short-term memory.
- Issues with gross and fine motor skills, affecting their sporting abilities and handwriting.
- Challenges in daily activities like dressing, brushing teeth and hair, and feeding.
- Initially, poor or unintelligible speech due to weak oral motor planning.
- Taking things literally, which may lead to misunderstandings.
- Easily getting frustrated.
- Slow adaptation to new situations.
- Difficulty following instructions.
Dyspraxia is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and like dyslexia and other conditions in this category, it has no cure. It’s a lifelong condition, but there’s hope, as our brains can adapt, and strategies can be learned to cope with these difficulties. As parents and educators, our role is to support children with dyspraxia in developing these strategies.
