Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia is a neurological condition that affects a person’s ability to move and co-ordinate.
It affects the individuals’ intentional movements which will an impact on their development.
There are three types of dyspraxia they are motor dyspraxia, verbal dyspraxia, and oral
dyspraxia (Health Direct 2021). Motor dyspraxia affects motor movement, verbal dyspraxia
affects speech and oral dyspraxia affects the movement of the mouth and tongue (Health
Direct 2021). Skills and abilities that dyspraxia can influence include talking, crawling,
walking, balancing, writing, eating, and drinking. It is most common in children aged
between 8 to 10 years old, this could be due to dyspraxia being unable to be diagnosed until
the age of 4 or 5 (Patient 2021). Dyspraxia does not have an impact intelligence but due to
developmental delay social skills and behaviours can also be negatively impacted. Children
would struggle with interacting with others and making friends. Dyspraxia is usually
acquired at birth and is a lifelong disease, if an adult acquires dyspraxia it is from damage to
the brain from an accident of from a stroke (Health Direct 2021). The disease is more
prominent in males then females. Symptoms of dyspraxia vary from person to person and
can change over time (Health Line 2021).

Demographic of Cohort: Age, Gender, Handedness (Pecsok et al. n.d).

The exact cause of dyspraxia in unknown however it is speculated that it could be due to the
ways the connections develop between some nerve pathways in the brain (Health Direct
2021). At the beginning the symptoms of dyspraxia are more subtle and might not linked
directly to the disease. Early dyspraxia mainly affects gross motor skills such as sitting and
standing. As the child ages dyspraxia can develop and go on to affect their fine motor skills
and verbal skills. The severity of the symptoms can vary in children leading to them not
being diagnosed at all or later in their life. In adults depending on the type of dyspraxia and
how the acquired the disease will determine what sort of symptoms they will have and how
severe they are. Even though there is no cure for dyspraxia through regular therapy sessions
the individual can relieve some symptoms and acquire and improve their abilities (Health
Line 2021).

Dyspraxia is a disease that can affect individuals of any age, gender, or race, but it mainly
develops in children. As the child ages and grows symptoms can either lighten or they can
progress further and go on to influence other aspects in the child’s life. Adults can either be
diagnosed later in life due to low signs of the disease growing up or they can acquire it due
to an accident or injury. Symptoms in adults will vary from kind to intensity depending on a
range of factors. Dyspraxia is a disease that can manifest in a variety of ways, but through
regular treatment and slight changes people with dyspraxia will be able to mange the
disease and live a complete life.

Dyspraxia Symptoms (Special Education Resource Centre [SERC] 2014).

References
Health Direct 2021, Dyspraxia, Health Direct, viewed 21 November 2021,
<https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/dyspraxia>.

Health Line 2021, How Dyspraxia Differs from Other Development Delays in Children, Health
Line, viewed 21 November 2021, < https://www.healthline.com/health/dyspraxia >.

Patient 2021, Dyspraxia, Patient, viewed 21 November 2021, <

https://patient.info/childrens-health/dyspraxia-developmental-co-ordination-disorder >.

Pecsok, M, Igelstrom, K, Kim, NY, Kastner, S n.d, ‘Divergent Development in Dyspraxic

Children Part II’.

Special Education Resource Centre 2014, Dyspraxia symptoms, Special Education Resource
Centre, viewed 21 November 2021, <http://redbridgeserc.org/resources/entry/dyspraxia-
symptoms>.