features
In children with dyspraxia, the two
hemispheres of the cerebral cortex are not
working in harmony to produce the desired
results, thus ideation, planning and motor
execution are hindered
stage, preferring to "bottom shuffle" and
then walk. Later, they will avoid tasks
that require good manual dexterity.
According to the American Medical
Association, the diagnostic criteria for
dyspraxia or DCD are:
A. Performance in daily activities
that require motor coordination is
substantially below that expected
given the person’s chronological age
and measured intelligence. This may
be manifested by marked delays
in achieving motor milestones (e.g.
walking, crawling, sitting), dropping
things, clumsiness, poor performance
in sports, or poor handwriting.
B. The disturbance in Criterion A
significantly interferes with academic
achievement or activities of daily living.
C. The disturbance is not due to
a general medical condition (e.g.
cerebral palsy, hemiplegia, or muscular
dystrophy) and does not meet the
criteria for a Pervasive Developmental
Disorder.
How Occupational
Therapists Support
Dyspraxia
Occupational therapists are able to
assess children with movement and
coordination barriers to determine the
exact nature of the difficulties and how
it affects the child's day-to-day life.
Therapy intervention focuses on how
the child manages daily activities at
home, school and play, and works
on the assumption that children
develop skills as a consequence of
the interaction between the child, the
environment and the task.
Most importantly, occupational
therapists use purposeful activity and
play to work with the child to help him
or her attain the highest-possible quality
of life.
Through this client-centred therapy,
parents who have a child with dyspraxia
or who query potential can attain
specific information, programmes and
exercises to best support their child's
development.
Other useful resources include:
1. Portwood, M., Developmental
Dyspraxia: A Practical Manual for
Parents and Professionals, 1996
2. Kranowitz, C.S., The Out of Sync
Child, 1998, Skylight Press Book, A
Perigree Book, New York, USA.
3. Website: dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/
4. Website: brainhighways.com/
Aynsley Carter MScOT is a paediatric
occupational therap ist with Central
Health. She is a member of the
Canadian Association of Occupational
Therapists, Sensory Integration Network
based out of the UK and the Hong Kong
Association of Occupational Therapy.
The motor processes of carrying
out an act successfully is a complex
task that requires conscious imaging,
planning, positioning, balance, muscle
activation and coordination. Common
characteristics of a child who may
be presenting with dyspraxic
barriers include:
Play, developmental and
educational characteristics
1. clumsy – difficulty transitioning from
one body position to another
2. poor tactile discrimination – difficulty
with feeling or localising a touch
stimulus
3. inadequate body scheme – difficulty
relating their bodies to physical
objects in environmental space/
difficulty imitating actions of others
/direction of movement may
be disturbed, e.g. toys broken
unintentionally
4. difficulty with sequencing and timing
the actions involved in a motor task
5. slowness in learning activities of
daily living (especially fastenings)
6. problems in gross motor skills and
sports
7. problems in constructive or
manipulative play and poor fine-
motor abilities
8. handwriting difficulties
9. developmental articulatory deficit
10. accompanying soft neurological
signs
11. accompanying learning disabilities
Behavioural characteristics
1. Low self-esteem and poor self-
concept
2. easily frustrated; avoids new
situations
3. often manipulative
4. may prefer “talking” to “doing”
5. often late and forgetful
6. disorganised approach to tasks.
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