Dyspraxia Awareness Week, taking place from October 13-19, 2024, is an important opportunity to elevate understanding and awareness of dyspraxia within our community. To fully appreciate the significance of this initiative, let’s first explore how dyspraxia impacts a student’s daily life in the classroom, shaping their experiences, interactions and ability to complete tasks.
Mia (10 Years Old, Dyspraxia)
10-year-old Mia sits at her desk. She is focusing on the teacher but is overwhelmed by the amount of steps the class writing task involves, and she struggles to keep up with the lesson.
In the bustling classroom atmosphere, Mia tries to organise herself during the transition to the next task. Although she is familiar with the arrangement of the furniture and resources in the classroom, she has trouble locating the pencils and paper amongst the movement of her peers. On the way back to her table, Mia stops to speak with her friend and accidentally tips the container of pencils all over the floor. The whole class stops and looks at her. Her friend tells her not to worry and helps Mia pick up the pencils, but Mia still feels embarrassed.
As she attempts to write, she tries to hold onto her pencil, but it slips from her fingers, and the letters are jumbled on the page. Mia is aware that her writing is a lot messier than her peers and feels self-conscious. Her teacher comments that Mia’s writing can be neater and she should try harder.
In P.E, while her peers easily dribble the basketball, Mia finds coordination elusive, leading to feelings of frustration and isolation. Rather than participating in the game, she retreats to the sidelines, watching as her friends laugh and play.
Mia is relieved to have art class, where her creativity shines. Her imagination flows onto the canvas with vivid colours and creative designs, where her dexterity takes a backseat to her boundless creativity.
Mia enjoys going to school, but having dyspraxia means a lot of tasks take up more energy than they should. Mia’s day at school oscillates between creative tasks, which make sense for her brain and body, and tasks that require significant amounts of energy and effort because it is harder for her brain and body to process the information and produce the actions needed to complete these tasks. She is naturally creative and talented in arts, where she thrives, and she looks forward to these activities. She is very happy during creative lessons but can feel frustrated and anxious and lacks confidence in other lessons. Mia sees that school is easier for her peers and she can’t understand why it is so hard for her.
Mia’s story offers a poignant glimpse into the complexities of life in the classroom for a child with dyspraxia. Yet, it’s essential to recognise that dyspraxia manifests uniquely in each individual, leading to a diverse range of challenges and strengths. For some, it may be the frustration of struggling with motor skills, while for others, it could also involve difficulties navigating social interactions or managing sensory overload.
Like other forms of neurodiversity, it’s crucial that dyspraxia is understood, accommodations are provided and opportunities to demonstrate strengths are fostered, whether a child at school or an adult in the workplace.
What is Dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia, also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), is a neurological condition affecting an individual’s ability to plan and coordinate movements to perform tasks.
When we discuss motor skills, we often focus on gross motor skills—like those involved in playing sports—or fine motor skills, which include writing or using utensils. However, it’s essential to recognise that dyspraxia can also impact lesser-known skills, such as social skills and emotional wellbeing.
Nearly every task we undertake relies on some form of motor coordination, which is why dyspraxia can affect a wide array of skills for those who experience it. Understanding the broader scope of dyspraxia’s impact is crucial for providing effective support.
Dyspraxia Facts:
- Dyspraxia is a neurological and developmental disorder.
- Also known as ‘Developmental coordination disorder.’
- It is estimated to affect approximately 10% of the population.
- Dyspraxia is frequently diagnosed in childhood but affects adults too.
- Dyspraxia does not affect intelligence but can impact some cognitive skills involved in learning.
- Dyspraxia can co-exist with other neurodiversity disorders, such as ADHD, dyslexia and autism.
- There is a notable lack of awareness regarding dyspraxia among healthcare professionals and educators compared to other neurodiverse diagnoses.
- A survey conducted by The Dyspraxia Foundation (UK) revealed that 69% of teachers reported having received no specialised training in dyspraxia.
- Research indicates that allied health professionals, such as occupational therapists, are more aware of the signs of dyspraxia, particularly challenges with motor coordination skills.
- The social and psychological signs of dyspraxia are under recognised.
Signs of Dyspraxia
‘We tend to fob off dyspraxia as dyslexia’s lesser-known “clumsy” cousin, with stereotypes of knocking over cups and getting bruises from missed balls. However, dyspraxia is about mental processing as much as physical coordination, and affects everything from the way I read to how I organise my thoughts.’ – Emily Beater
- Below average motor coordination skills, such as fine and gross motor skills. Poor motor coordination skills result in challenges with everyday tasks such as writing, tying shoelaces, sports participation, and organisation skills.
- Weak executive functioning skills lead to challenges in planning, organising tasks, and self-monitoring during task performance, resulting in difficulties with prioritising, staying on schedule, and completing tasks efficiently.
- Below expected spatial skills, which can manifest as difficulties in judging distances (e.g. throwing a ball), clumsiness when navigating familiar environments (e.g. bumping into furniture), poor directionality (e.g. getting lost easily in familiar environments) and difficulties with accurately coordinating movements (e.g. following dance steps).
- Sensory overload is common, which can result in heightened sensitivities to sounds, light, and textures, leading to feelings of anxiety, frustration, and difficulty concentrating in everyday environments.
- Difficulties with learning academic skills, such as math or specific areas of math requiring visuospatial visualisation, following muti-step sequences or drawing diagrams or graphs.
- Challenges with specific areas of cognitive processing, such as short-term working memory or processing speed.
- Knowing how to respond during social conversations can be impacted by requiring more time to process information. Other challenging areas can be multisensory processing (e.g., verbal/nonverbal communication, sensory input from the surrounding environment, rhythmical sensory-motor coordination during conversation turn-taking, or spatial judgement for personal space).
- Coordinating multiple skills together when performing tasks (e.g. eating and participating in conversations during meals or dropping items frequently when cooking).
- Adapting to different tasks and environments (e.g. appearing disorientated, disorganised or needing to complete tasks by following exactly the same steps every time).
- Dyspraxia can negatively impact emotional wellbeing by contributing to feelings of frustration, low self-esteem, and social isolation, as individuals may struggle to keep up with their peers and face difficulties in everyday tasks.
Dyspraxia Strengths
‘We dyspraxics think in a different way,’ – Florence Welch
Individuals with dyspraxia often possess unique strengths in activities and interests where their neurological systems—brain and body—can process information and coordinate sensory-motor responses effectively. These strengths can manifest in various areas, including:
- Advanced reading abilities
- Strong verbal communication skills
- Creativity (e.g. music and art) and strong imagination skills (e.g. storytelling)
- High emotional intelligence and empathy
- Persistence and resilience, particularly in activities they enjoy
- Innovate problem-solving skills, particularly in their areas of interest.
- Advanced achievement in physical activities, such as sports and dance.
- The above skills are just some examples. Many more strengths are not listed here.
Individuals with dyspraxia can achieve remarkable success in their chosen fields and areas of interest. Here are some noteworthy examples of people who have been diagnosed with dyspraxia and have excelled in their careers:
- Florence Welch (Musician)
- Daniel Ratcliffe (Actor)
- Cara Delevingne (Model, Actress and Singer)
- David Bailey (Professional Photographer)
- Ellis Genge (British Rugby Union Player)
- Ayla Hutchinson (Engineer and Inventor)
Receiving a Diagnosis
‘Dyspraxia will always be there, but it comes with different challenges over time.’ Natalie Williams.
A dyspraxia diagnosis is essential as it gives individuals a clearer understanding of their challenges, the support they need to thrive and their strengths. Without this diagnosis, many children and adults may struggle silently, unable to understand the difficulties they face with coordination, organisation or social interactions, leading to frustration, low mood and diminished self-esteem.
A formal dyspraxia diagnosis is an essential first step in accessing tailored interventions and accommodations—such as personalised learning plans, therapy, or necessary workplace adjustments—that can significantly enhance their ability to complete daily tasks, routines and their wellbeing.
A dyspraxia diagnosis also legitimises experiences and paves the way for a supportive framework recognising and nurturing their potential.
Reaching out to an occupational therapist is highly recommended as a proactive first step for addressing concerns about dyspraxia, whether for yourself or your child.
#DyspraxiaAwareness #DevelopmentalCoordinationDisorder #InclusiveEducation #SupportDyspraxia #UnderstandingDyspraxia #DyspraxiaStrengths #DyspraxiaChallenges
To meet with a professional psychologist or counsellor, call The Other Clinic at 8809 0659 or email us hello@theotherclinic.sg.
Hunt, J, Zwicker, JG, Godecke, E & Raynor, A 2020, ‘Awareness and knowledge of developmental coordination disorder: A survey of caregivers, teachers, allied health professionals and medical professionals in Australia’, Child Care Health and Development, vol. 47, Wiley, no. 2, pp. 174–183, viewed 19 August 2024, <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cch.12824>.