What is Dyspraxia?

Developmental dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement that presents problems in coordinating movements. For example, people with dyspraxia may have difficulties with driving, cooking, riding a bicycle and sports involving  hand-eye co-ordination. It is an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. The term dyspraxia comes from the word 'praxis', which means 'doing or acting' and is associated with problems of perceptions, language and thought.

Dyspraxia and dyslexia often co-exist in the same person. They may also co-exist with conditions such as attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and dyscalculia (difficulty with mathematical concepts). Some people also have tactile defensiveness - they are oversensitive to touch. Others may have articulatory dyspraxia, which causes difficulties with speaking and pronunciation.

 Next Review date January 2024