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WHAT IS DYSPRAXIA?

 

Dyspraxia is a common childhood complaint in which a child has difficulty coordinating his movements. However, the reason for the condition is unknown.

 

• Many normal children go through a clumsy stage, but most grow out of it. In children with dyspraxia, however, the tendency towards clumsiness persists and interferes with everyday life and with progress at school. Behavioral problems are common in children with the condition. 
• Dyspraxia affects about one in 20 children, and is more common in boys. 
• Dyspraxia is also known as Clumsy Child Syndrome, Developmental Coordination Disorder, Minimal Brain Dysfunction and Motor Learning Difficulty. 
• Early diagnosis is important to reduce the chances that a child will have behavioural or educational problems. 

Dyspraxia causes clumsiness and a lack of co-ordination in a child. This makes skills such as learning to ride a bike difficult to achieve.

 

What causes dyspraxia?

 

The cause is unknown, but research has found that:

 

Dsypraxia could be due to an immature neurone development in the brain rather than brain damage. It is thought to arise from failure of the neurones to form precise pathways during the brain's development, resulting in messages not being properly transmitted to the body.

 

Some parents of dyspraxic children had similar problems, which suggests there could possibly be a genetic link.

 

Effects on the child

 

Children may be ostracised by their peers because they are different and, if their dyspraxia is not recognised and addressed early, they may not achieve their full potential. Children may be:

• Passive - not wanting to get involved in any fine or gross motor tasks. 
• Frustrated because they find it difficult to relate to new skills. 
• Tired because they have to make a great effort to perform everyday tasks.  
• Shy, anxious, stubborn and unco-operative. 

Symptoms

 

The symptoms and severity of dyspraxia can vary. If your child is experiencing any of the following signs, she may have dyspraxia

 

• Reaches her development
• Slow to learn to dress and feed herself
• Clumsiness
• Confused about which hand to use.
• Poor posture
• Has difficulty throwing and catching a ball
• Is slow to learn to speak, and speech may be incoherent
• Messy when eating and drinking
• Is sensitive to touch
• Fall over often
• Has a poor short term memory and forgets tasks learnt the previous day.
• Has poor drawing abilities
• Cannot hop, skip or ride a  bike
• Has difficulty in reading and writing
• Fails to answer simple questions even though she knows the answers.
• Has a poor sense of direction. 

A child with dyspraxia is normally bright and intelligent, but will tend to have problems with reading and writing.

 

Helping your child

 

You should. encourage you child to pursue activities that help her to develop skills.

 

• Choose activities that your child wants to do. 
• Try to maintain your child's motivation by encouraging her to do a variety of fun and challenging activities. 
• Never assume that your child knows what is expected of her. Always make the rules and  the goal clear.  
• Do the tasks with your child so that she can imitate your actions. 
• Always keep to set routines. 
• Do not tell your child what to do, it is better to ask her what needs to be done next. 
• Communicate with your child's pre-school teacher frequently. 
• Praise your child for the effort she puts in, not the end result. 
• Emphasise what your child can do, not what she cannot. 
• Provide plenty of time for your child to complete a task, and try to be patient. 

Taking part in activities such as painting, drawing, sewing, tracing and playing. musical instruments can help to improve a dyspraxic child's visual skills and hand-eye co-ordination.

 

Professional Treatment

 

If your doctor suspects that your child has dyspraxia, he will be referred to a paediatrician or a local child development centre. A specialist will assess your child and identify the cause of his problem. The recommended treatment will depend on which of your child's faculties are most affected:

 

Speech: articulation may be immature or even unintelligible. A speech therapist will help to prevent delayed or impaired speech.

Movement: occupational therapists will help your child to develop strategies to enable him to learn certain skills. Different therapists use different strategies, but they will often break a skill down into its small component parts. Each skill is then learnt separately before being put back together into a whole skill.

 

Thought: a child psychologist may be able to help your dyspraxic child to plan and organize his thoughts. The psychologist will also aim to find ways to build your child's confidence and self-esteem.

 

Outlook

 

There is not a cure for dyspraxia, but the earlier your child is treated the greater the chance for improvement.

• A lot of the skills that are taken for granted will never be automatic to a dyspraxic child and he may have to be taught these skills.
• The impact of motor planning difficulties will lessen as a dyspraxic child gets older.
• Motor planning is needed to help your child learn new skills. Once a skill is learnt, less motor planning is needed and therefore the dyspraxia is less of a problem.

 

For  More  Information:  Please  consult  your  physician  on  your  next  visit.