Recently, an article about Dyspraxia by Christian Nordqvist was brought to my attention on Facebook. This writing provides a concise explanation of the disorder CB has which is dyspraxia, a coordination disorder that affects the entire body causing delays in development with speech and motor planning. This disorder can be easily misdiagnosed (ADD/ADHD, lazy, low IQ, etc…), or not even diagnosed at all, especially in the U.S. where it is far less recognized in the medical field. When it is recognized, it is often referred to as DCD, or Developmental Coordination Disorder, which in my opinion poorly represents the broad impact of this disorder.
This article describes CB so effectively and I thought it might be an interesting task to compare the article’s description of Dsypraxia with CB. I pulled the following directly from the article and added my comparisons in italics.
Symptoms of dyspraxia
Dyspraxia symptoms may vary based upon the age of the child. With that in mind, we will look at each age individually below.
Very early childhood
The child may take longer than other children to:
- Sit.- CHECK
- Crawl – the Dyspraxia Foundation5 says that many never go through the crawling stage. – CHECK (belly crawled at 9.5 mths and on all 4s at 12 mths)
- Walk.- CHECK (17.5 mths with PT)
- Speak – according to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead6, Australia, the child may be slower in answering questions, CHECK finds it hard to make sounds or repeat sequences of sounds or words, CHECK has difficulty in sustaining normal intonation patterns, CHECK has a very limited automatic vocabulary, CHECK speaks more slowly than other kids, CHECKand uses fewer words and more pauses.- CHECK
- Stand.- CHECK
- Become potty trained (get out of diapers/nappies).- CHECK (4.25 years old for potty trained during the day, just had first dry nights this week and CB will be 5 in a couple of weeks.)
- Build up vocabulary.- CHECK
Early childhood
Later on the following difficulties may become apparent:
- Problems performing subtle movements, such as tying shoelaces, doing up buttons and zips, using cutlery, handwriting.- CHECK (haven’t even started buttoning buttons or considered tying shoelaces, handwriting is very hard, uses fork and spoon with multiple prompts during a meal but does not use a knife – CB is 5 this month)
- Many will have difficulties getting dressed.- CHECK (can independently put on and take off underwear, put on and take off pants without buttons, put on some and take off slip-on and velcro shoes, take off socks, periodically put on socks, periodically take off shirt) Numerous times he still gets frustrated and asks for help with getting dressed. He can put his shirt on if you get it started. He still cannot plan how to organize a shirt in order to get it in the right position to put it on.
- Problems carrying out playground movements, such as jumping, playing hopscotch, catching a ball, kicking a ball, hopping, and skipping.- CHECK (catching a ball, standing on one foot for very long, jumping many times, jumping from high distances, skipping, climbing high surfaces, or running very far are all either very challenging or not yet acquired skills)
- Problems with classroom movements, such as using scissors, coloring, drawing, playing jig-saw games.- CHECK – (all of the items listed frustrate CB and are very challenging)
- Problems processing thoughts.- CHECK
- Difficulties with concentration. Children with dyspraxia commonly find it hard to focus on one thing for long.- CHECK
- The child finds it harder than other kids to join in playground games.- CHECK
- The child will fidget more than other children.- CHECK
- Some find it hard to go up and down stairs.- CHECK (He can go up & down stairs independently but not fast and he has to concentrate)
- A higher tendency to bump into things, to fall over, and to drop things.- CHECK
- Difficulty in learning new skills – while other children may do this automatically, a child with dyspraxia takes longer. Encouragement and practice help enormously.- CHECK
- Writing stories can be much more challenging for a child with dyspraxia, as can copying from a blackboard. – TBD
The following are also common at pre-school age:
- Finds it hard to keep friends – CHECK – How to be a friend is still something CB is learning.
- Behavior when in the company of others may seem unusual – CHECK – CB still plays more childish games compared to peers, does not like very complicated imaginary play, still loves making loud sounds, blurts out inappropriate things, spins in circles, bangs into things, crashes things together a lot, does not recognize some social cues regarding the initiation of play, taking turns during play, and when to stop certain behaviors/actions after his peers express a dislike or disinterest.
- Hesitates in most actions, seems slow – CHECK
- Does not hold a pencil with a good grip – CHECK (He can but is quite inconsistent and will not typically hold the appropriate grip for very long)
- Such concepts as in, out, in front of are hard to handle automatically. – I believe CB understands these but has worked on these in therapy for a long time.
Later on in Childhood – TBD
- Many of the challenges listed above do not improve, or do so very slightly
- Tries to avoid sports and PE
- Learns well on a one-on-one basis, but nowhere near as well in class with other kids around
- Reacts to all stimuli equally (not filtering out irrelevant stimuli automatically)
- Mathematics and writing are difficult
- Spends a long time getting writing done
- Does not follow instructions
- Does not remember instructions
- Is badly organized.
Social and sensory – individuals with dyspraxia may be extremely sensitive to taste, light, touch and/or noise.- CHECK (We still don’t watch fireworks on July 4th b/c the sound is too loud. CB only likes to be touched on his terms. These things have improved over time but still remain issues.)
There may also be a lack of awareness of potential dangers. Many experience moods swings and display erratic behavior. – CHECK
When you have a child with dyspraxia and you see articles like this that paint a picture that resembles your child so perfectly, it is hard to refute what your child has.I will note that it is not uncommon for children with dyspraxia to also have co-morbid conditions and other learning disabilities. This is something good to keep in the back of your mind as your child gets older. You really won’t know for sure what other difficulties your child with have in the future (dyslexia, ADD, dysgraphia, etc.), but being aware can help bring the difficulty to light sooner thus helping the child get the appropriate help sooner.
As the article states, there is no cure for dyspraxia however, getting the appropriate therapies is imperative. I hope that with more awareness and research, more targeted and effective therapies and supplements will help reduce the challenges our kiddos with dyspraxia face.
I will state that despite all these challenges, CB is one of the happiest, kindest, friendliest, silliest and most curious kiddos I know.