Dyspraxia

⊷ Presented by,
Shobitha Sankar
Archana
Saranya
Rohini
Carmel Jennifer
Arokia Neela Shalini
• The term ‘dyspraxia’ originates from the Latin ‘dus’ ‘praxis’ meaning difficulty with action.

• Dyspraxia is a disorder of Praxis, where somewhere between sensory information gathering and storing,
ideation, motor planning, and execution, the messages are not getting through, are not producing the right
result.

• Maybe the information from the senses was not collected, transmitted, or sorted and stored properly, or stored
in the wrong place, or not found, or even used but then returned to the wrong storage area; or maybe the
motor plan was incomplete or unable to be made, or did not connect with the right nerve fibers or muscles for
execution.

• Dyspraxia is also known as motor learning difficulties, perceptual-motor dysfunction, and developmental
coordination disorder (DCD). The terms “minimal brain damage” and “clumsy child syndrome” are no longer
used.
“
⊷ “Dyspraxia is a bit like your
brain’s wires are a little
jumbled up”
● Ellie Madeira
 Causes of Dyspraxia
• Dyspraxia is not the result of poor physical strength, impaired primary sensation, delayed
development, body deformity, or anything that would show up on normal neurological
examination.
• It can be acquired through damage to the brain from a stroke, an accident, or medical
disaster to the brain.
• Developmental Dyspraxia occurs from birth or an early age, thus affecting the normal
development of the child, and its causes are not obvious.
• There may be an inherited tendency towards similar neurological disorders.
• There may have been a glitch of some kind (illness, slight trauma, momentary lack of oxygen,
etc.) at the crucial developmental time or at birth which caused damage to some cells.
• It may be that the growth of the dendrites or the connections – synapses and
neurotransmitters – which connect the cells is at fault.
• It may be a matter of which cells, and how many, failed to grow and develop enough to
reach their destination at the right time before birth.
• It often co-exists with other disorders (e.g. mild Cerebral Palsy, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit
Disorder, etc.)
 Common Symptoms of Dyspraxia

For toddlers, some of the signs of the condition include:

• Prefers to eat with fingers, not utensils and is an overall messy eater
• Is delayed when toilet training
• Can’t play ball or ride a tricycle
• Doesn’t play with puzzles or construction toys
• Unable to talk well with kids their age and may not say single words until the age of
3
 
For preschool and early elementary school children, the common symptoms
include:
• Bumping into things and people
• Issues learning to skip and jump
• Difficulty working zippers, snaps and buttons
• Unable to speak at the right pitch, volume or speed
 
For grade school and middle school aged
children, the signs include:
• Desire to avoid gym class
• Issue writing
• Moving objects
• Trouble following directions
• Weak muscle tone
 
Symptoms in high school children include:
• Issues with sports
• Falls, trips and bumps into things often
• Repeats things and talks constantly
• Loses and forgets things
• Can’t pick up on nonverbal signals
For Adults, some of the signs of the condition include:

• Poor posture and fatigue.

• Trouble completing normal chores.
• Less close control – writing and drawing are difficult.
• Difficulty coordinating both sides of the body.
• Unclear speech, often word order can be jumbled.
• Clumsy movement and tendency to trip over.
• Grooming and dressing more challenging – shaving, applying makeup, fastening
clothes, tying shoelaces.
• Poor hand-eye coordination.
• Difficulty planning and organizing thoughts and tasks.
• Less sensitive to non-verbal signals.
• Easily frustrated.
• Low self-esteem.
• Difficulty sleeping.
• Difficulty distinguishing sounds from background noise.
• Notable lack of rhythm when dancing or exercising.
 Some common signs of dyspraxia include:
• Difficulty learning new motor tasks

• Prefers fantasy games or talking to actually doing things (so has good ideation but can’t
figure out how to follow through with their idea)

• Struggles to learn exercise steps or routines

• Difficulty with motor activities that require more than one step

• Finds drawing, coloring or copying more challenging

• Has trouble playing with fine motor activities (e.g. blocks, beads)

• Difficulty following directions that require two or three steps

• Poor skills in ball activities and other sports

• Frustration when unable to complete tasks due to poor motor skills

 Takeaway

“
Dyspraxia is a developmental coordination disorder. This lifelong
condition affects gross and fine motor skills, and sometimes
cognitive function.

It shouldn’t be confused with an intellectual disorder. In fact,

people with dyspraxia can have average or above average
intelligence.

There’s no cure for dyspraxia, but it can be successfully

managed. With the right therapies, you can improve
organizational and motor skills so you can live life to the fullest. 
 References

• https://dyspraxia.org.nz/what-is-dyspraxia/
• https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-
learning-disabilities/dyspraxia/whats-the-difference-between-dyspraxia-
and-apraxia?
_ul=1*5lbipv*domain_userid*YW1wLWZUelMwcTBnMEFjdkJUUXM4
cUJ0Smc.
• https://www.griffinot.com/