Dyspraxia

What Is Dyspraxia?

A person with dyspraxia has problems with movement and coordination. It is also known as "motor learning disability". Somebody with dyspraxia finds it hard to carry out smooth and coordinated movements. Dyspraxia often comes with language problems, and sometimes a degree of difficulty with perception and thought. Dyspraxia does not affect a person's intelligence, but it can cause learning difficulties, especially for children.

Developmental dyspraxia is an immaturity of the organization of movement. The brain does not process information in a way that allows for a full transmission of neural messages. A person with dyspraxia finds it hard to plan what to do, and how to do it.

What are the signs and symptoms of dyspraxia?

Very early childhood

The child may take longer than other children to:

• sit
• Crawl (some never go through crawling stage)
• Walk
• Speak
• Stand
• Become potty trained (get out of diapers/nappies)
• Build up vocabulary
• Speak in a clear and articulate way. Many parents of very young children with dyspraxia say they cannot understand what they are trying to say a lot of the time.

Early Childhood

Later on the following difficulties may become apparent:

• Problems performing subtle movements, such as tying shoelaces, doing up buttons and zips, using cutlery, handwriting.
• Many will have difficulties getting dressed.
• Problems carrying out playground movements, such as jumping, playing hopscotch, catching a ball, kicking a ball, hopping, and skipping.
• Problems with classroom movements, such as using scissors, coloring, drawing, playing jig-saw games.
• Problems processing thoughts.
• Difficulties with concentration. Children with dyspraxia commonly find it hard to focus on one thing for long.
• The child finds it harder than other kids to join in playground games
• The child will fidget more than other children.
• Some find it hard to go up and down stairs.
• A higher tendency to bump into things, to fall over, and to drop things.
• Difficulty in learning new skills - while other children may do this automatically, a child with dyspraxia takes longer. Encouragement and practice help enormously.
• Writing stories can be much more challenging for a child with dyspraxia, as can copying from a blackboard.

The following are also common at pre-school age:

• Finds it hard to keep friends
• Behavior when in the company of others may seem unusual
• Hesitates in most actions, seems slow
• Does not hold a pencil with a good grip
• Such concepts as in, out, in front of are hard to handle automatically

Later on in Childhood

• Many of the challenges listed above do not improve, or do so very slightly
• Tries to avoid sports and PE
• Learns well on a one-on-one basis, but nowhere near as well in class with other kids around
• Reacts to all stimuli equally (not filtering out irrelevant stimuli automatically)
• Mathematics and writing are difficult
• Spends a long time getting writing done
• Does not follow instructions
• Does not remember instructions
• Is badly organized

Brain Training is a sure help for students with dyspraxia. It helps the motor neurons to form proper connections so that the brain can process information faster, easier and better. The results have always been outstanding.