Umbrella: Dyspraxia/DCD

Odd as this may seem to make a Dyspraxia page…on my Dyspraxia blog, I did it for many various reasons:

1) It gives Dyspraxia its own page full of detail in the same format as the other learning differences making it all neat and tidy.

3) Why should I leave out Dyspraxia, considering it is what this blog is about ‽

(dis-prax-see-uh)

[In a nut shell] Dyspraxia is the “Inability to perform co-ordinated movements”

~ Symptoms/Attributes ~

Symptoms/Attributes  Examples/Explanation                                                       
Gross Motor Control Co-Ordination Skills 
Poor Balance  Example- Falling over, disorientation etc
Poor Posture  Weak muscle tone and may even have flat feet
Poor Integration of the two sides of the body  (Basically difficulty with the whole body working together as one)
Poor hand-to-eye co-ordination  Example-Difficulty catching a ball, driving a car etc
Lack of rhythm  Problems with dancing, etc
Exaggerated Additional Movements  Arms flapping while running
Clumsy Movements  Stumbling
Lack of special awareness
Tend to trip, fall, bump in things and people
Fine Motor Control Co-Ordination Skills
Lacking in manual dexterity  (The skill in using hands)
Poor hand controlling skills  Poor pen grip and find writing across a line difficult
Difficulty grasping-Too hard/too soft  Difficulty with tools and other implements (Cutlery, Mathematics instruments etc.)
Difficulty with dressing & similar actions  Doing up buttons, tying shoelaces, cleaning teeth
Poorly Established Hand Dominance
Difficulty in Hand Dominance  May use different hands for different tasks or switch during tasks
Speech & Language
May talk continuously & repeat themselves
Difficulty in organising content and sequence of speech Make say wrong words or speak words in the wrong order
Unclear speech or unable to pronounce some words
Speech having an uncontrollable pitch, volume and rate
Eye Movement
Tracking (The act of moving just the eyes)  Difficulty in following moving objects with eyes-may move head excessively. Tend to lose place  while reading. Also eyes may not move smoothly but ‘jump’
Poor relocation  Cannot look quickly from one object to another (Like TV to magazine etc
Perception-Interpretation of Different Senses 
Poor visual perception
Over sensitive to light  Painful/uncomfortable in bright environments
Under/over sensitive to touch  Dislike in being touched and/or loose or tight clothing (Tactile defensiveness)
Under/over sensitive to smell and taste
Under/Over sensitive to temperature and pain
Difficulty in disguising sounds from background noise  Like on the telephone and cannot hear the other person because of sounds (music, construction,  office noises etc)
Lack of special awareness  Can result in clumsiness (see clumsy)
Lacking in sense of direction, time, distances, weight, speed etc  Can result in difficulty driving, cooking etc
Lacking in sense of direction; difficulty knowing left from right  Map reading skills are poor, giving/receiving directions is difficult
 Learning, Thought and Memory
Difficulty in planning and organising thought  Faced with multiple/several things to be done and don’t know what to do in what order
Poor memory-especially short term  May lose/forget things often
Difficulty in staying focused/staying on task  Can be messy/cluttered
Slow to start and finish a task
Difficulty with concentration-easily distracted  May wonder about aimlessly/daydream
Poor sequencing  Maths, reading, spelling, writing etc can be hindered
May only do things properly one at a time but try to many things at once
Difficulty in following instructions  Especially when multiple instructions are given at the same time
Accuracy problems  Difficulty with copying writing, movement, sounds etc
Emotion & Behaviour
Difficulty in listening, maybe tactless and interrupt frequently  Especially in large groups
Difficulty in reading body language/picking up non-verbal clues
Poor judgement of personal and others’ voice, tone, pitch and rate
May take things literally also difficulty in understanding jokes
Slow to adapt to new/unpredictable situations  May even ovoid the situation(s) altogether
Easily frustrated-wants immediately gratitude  Frustration when things go wrong
Tend to opt out of difficult situations/tasks
Tendency to have ‘Good days’ and ‘Bad days’
Tend to get stressed, depressed and anxious easily
May have difficulty sleeping
Prone to low self esteem & emotional outbursts
Prone to phobias & fears
Prone to obsessions, compulsions & addictive behaviour

~ STATISTICS ~

10% of the UK population have Dyspraxia – 2% of those 10% suffer with it severely.
So to put it simple- For every 1000 people: 100 will have some degree of Dyspraxia and of those 100,  2 will have it severe.

~

Dyspraxia is 4 times more likely to occur in males than females

~

5% of children in the UK have Dyspraxia

~

Professionals think that there is at least 1 Dyspraxic child in every classroom- whether they are diagnosed or not is another matter altogether.

~

Dyspraxia on Mother’s side? 37% chance of it being passed down…
Dyspraxia on Father’s side? 60% chance of it being passed down!
Dyspraxia on Both sides?     82%  chance of it being passed down!

~

Dyspraxia is identified/picked up mostly between the ages of 7 and 10, however due to the age of discovery some people in their 30s and above are only being diagnosed now. For the newer generations, we are lucky that Dyspraxia has had a chance to become more known.

~

Dyspraxia, in theory, has been known for about 100 years!


~
 FACTS ~

Video games have been proven to help those with Dyspraxia!

~

 Dyspraxia is not contagious except for a chance of being passed down the generations, which does not count as contagious anyway; that’s called Genetics

 ~

Dyspraxia is not curable, but would you want it cured?

~

~ MYTHS~

Dyspraxia doesn’t exist: WRONG! Of course it does
Dyspraxics can’t dance: WRONG! (we have our own dance :D)
Dyspraxia is like Dyslexia: WRONG! They are two completely different learning differences just with similar letters in the name.
Dyspraxia is usually outgrown by adolescence: KIND OF (Mostly from coping strategies, but it can’t really be outgrown and can resurface as new/harder situations come around)
Most people without Dyspraxia are afflicted with similar attributes like Dyspraxia: PERHAPS-But nowhere near the extreme, (I tire of people thinking they’re like that without really knowing)

~ Useful Websites & Blogs ~

DYSPRAXIA BLOGS
Blogger of Something (Life of Alex) lifeofalexguttridge.wordpress.com 
Monique’s Blog on Dyspraxia (and other related conditions)
 Don’t Dis My Ability
Dealing with Dyspraxia: dealingwithdyspraxia.blogspot.co.uk/
Dyspraxic Fantastic Text Version: Fantastic Dyspraxic (Text Version)
Natalie’s Blog: www.theblogwithonepost.wordpress.com
www.whyiwonttalk.com / whyiwonttalk.wordpress.com/
Rosie’s Blog: thinkoutsideofthecardboardbox.blogspot.co.uk
alittlemoreunderstanding.wordpress.com
Jake Borretts’ Writing Blog (Facebook): Crohn’s Disease and Dyspraxia
DCD and Me dcdandme.wordpress.com/
Remus’ Blog on Dyspraxia: A Life with Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia test(s):
Neuroknowhow.com

(They also specialise in Dyslexia and ADHD as well!)

 

Dyspraxia Charities:
http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/

(They offer information and guidance to Dyspraxia so it is worth a look!)


Dyspraxia Information Websites & Pages:
See information about Dyspraxia from the NHS

NHS INFORMATION (FOR ADULTS)
NHS INFORMATION (FOR CHILDREN)


Dyspraxia Support Groups:
Dyspraxia Support group (13-25) Dyspraxia & DCD Foundation Youth Group

Dyspraxia Forums:
To talk to other people with Dyspraxia is a great way to learn more, cope and get support.  However it’s not all about Dyspraxia and you can talk about other things as well!

Dyspraxic Teens
Dyspraxic Adults

(NOTE: Please read their terms and conditions and also note I do not have any control over the topics and comments posted so please be advised there might be things there that might cause offence)

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