What is Dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is a deficit in motor planning and is one of the most common manifestations of sensory integrative dysfunction. This is a brain dysfunction that interferes with the ability to motor plan and hinders the organization of mostly tactile (though sometimes vestibular and proprioceptive) sensations.
How does it affect children?
A child with dyspraxia has less of a sense of their body and what it can do. Large or small toys have very little meaning for the child due to poor body perception and they do not know how to utilize those toys appropriately. The child does not realize the opportunities for fun. A child with poorly organized sensations of touch, movement, and position will feel clumsy and confused.
How do children with dyspraxia cope?
A child with dyspraxia and average intelligence will try to copy other children playing with toys without success. The child’s clumsiness makes them accident-prone and messy. The child may tend to break toys sometimes in an effort to cope with the frustration or feeling of poor self-esteem. The child with dyspraxia cannot “go with the flow”.
To perform a task or have a skill we initially have to motor plan in order to learn. Once the task or skill has been learned, it no longer requires motor planning or conscious attention as long as the situation is similar or familiar. Since motor planning is the first step in learning skills, the child with dyspraxia usually has a shortage of skills and has to struggle with motor planning each task over and over again to be successful.
What can be done?
The best approach is to let the child grow at their own pace with proper guidance. Our Occupational Therapy services at Synergy Therapeutic Group in Carbondale and Du Quoin, IL, offer personalized and effective treatment to support the growth of each individual child.
To schedule an appointment, please call us in the southern Illinois area at one of our offices located in Carbondale or Du Quoin, IL or click here.