Dyspraxia or Developmental Coordination Disorder

Most of us at some point in our lives have met people who are clumsy or uncoordinated. They may have bad handwriting, cut vegetables in a very untidy manner, not be able to learn to drive or may not be able to catch a ball to save their lives. It is possible they may have Dyspraxia, and no you don’t have Dyspraxia just because you have bad handwriting!  

When Dhruv was 4.5 years old, we took him for an assessment at a child developmental centre where the Occupational Therapist told me she felt that he has Sensory Processing Disorder and “Somatodyspraxia” (another name for Dyspraxia). He was diagnosed with Autism only by the age of 6, as he did not possess the classic markers of Autism. I was fascinated by the word “Somatodyspraxia” and wondered if she was speaking Greek or Latin. She then asked me to read “The Out of Sync Child” to know more and that’s how I started my journey of reading books related to developmental disorders.

Dyspraxia or ‘Developmental Coordination Disorder’ is a hidden disorder that impacts your coordination and motor planning. According to Dr. Jean Ayres, the term Somatodyspraxia describes dyspraxia (difficulties with conceptualizing, planning, and executing motor actions) that is associated with poor tactile (touch) and proprioceptive (body position and awareness) perception and discrimination.

Confused by that definition?

Let me simplify it.

Imagine, if you woke up one day and found it difficult to do regular day to day stuff like wearing slippers correctly, brushing your teeth, spitting, washing your face, having a bath on your own, getting dressed (buttoning your shirt or zipping your jeans), wearing shoes, writing, eating, riding a bike the list goes on…how comfortable would you be? And remember you also have Autism and are facing another set of challenges with it!!

Let’s start with the “simple” task of brushing. If you think about it, there is a lot of planning and execution required before one can brush one’s teeth. How to hold the brush correctly, how much pressure to exert while holding the toothpaste tube, and how much toothpaste to apply? Do you brush upwards, downwards, or sideways? How many times to brush before spitting?

Spitting too isn’t as easy as you and I take for granted. One has to learn how to spit. How to fill water in your mouth, how to cup your palm and hold water, how to make an ‘O’ with your mouth and spit it out and rinse your mouth. It doesn’t come easily for a child with motor planning difficulties; for instance, Dhruv learned to spit only by the time he was 8. He still cannot cup his palm and fill water the way we do to wash his face or mouth and uses a tumbler.

Watching him struggle with these simple activities of daily living, made me realize how much we, the so-called “normal” people take things for granted.   Living with Dyspraxia and Autism challenges Dhruv to no end and yet I see him try on a daily basis, somedays he succeeds, and some days he fails, yet he does not give up and tries again. As parents, we marvel at this spirit in him and it inspires us to do our best for him.

Some key points regarding Dyspraxia: –

1. For starters, a diagnosis is essential. A well-trained and experienced professional should be able to diagnose it and suggest an appropriate intervention plan or strategy.
2. Many children with Dyspraxia struggle with esteem issues. Therefore, it is very important to bolster his self-esteem by working with his strengths to overcome weaknesses/ difficulties.
3. Children with Dyspraxia experience difficulties with both fine and gross motor skills. Hence, Sensory Integration and Occupational Therapy, aimed at improving the child’s motor skills are necessary. 
4. Integrating both sides of the body (left and right) or crossing the midline can be challenging for them. Make them do activities that use both sides of the brain. I have found “Brain Gym®” to be quite helpful; be it tracing the lazy 8 using both hands one by one, double doodles, and many more.
5. Make the required accommodations for the child. Writing is a huge challenge for Dhruv, so we switched to typing. If shoes with laces are an issue, switch to shoes with Velcro, Crocs or Slip- Ons.
6. As they have poor body awareness, teaching them daily living skills can be challenging. Focus on one skill at a time by breaking it into steps. If teaching a skill involves 4 steps, you do the first 3 and make him do the final step independently. It is akin to him adding the ‘last piece’ to a jig-saw puzzle and thus completing the picture. This will give him a sense of accomplishment and keep him be motivated to try again, till the skill has been learnt in its entirety. This is called “backward chaining “.
7. Give simple short instructions for the child to follow. Always praise the child when he does something correctly.   
8. Children with Dyspraxia turn into adults with Dyspraxia, so it is important to understand their challenges. Some challenges they may be able to overcome with regular therapy, while some may last a lifetime.
9.  It is important to think, about how useful will a particular skill be for a child for life and then work on it. For instance, taking a bath on his own is something he has to learn and is non-negotiable. On the other hand, if he does not pick up driving, it is not the end of the world !!!

For parents who suspect their children have Dyspraxia, the book “Dyspraxia” by Dr. Amanda Kirby would come in handy.  The book “Out of Sync Child” by Carol Kranowitz would also help in understanding the sensory issues of the child.  

To read more, please visit the original link 

Disclaimer: Article republished here with prior permission from the author 

Image is taken from the internet

Read another blog on Developing Writing Skills