About Dyspraxia

What is Dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia also called DCD (Developmental Co-ordination Disorder) is a complex, medical condition which not only affects a child’s co-ordination but also many other areas for example, perception, sensory processing, organisation and handwriting. Dyspraxia has a profound impact on the child in all areas of life from learning in school, playing football, making friends and even sleeping at night.

How common is Dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia is an incredibly common but poorly understood and often missed condition. Surprisingly, the number of children with dyspraxia, is high. Approximately 6% of children aged between 5-11 years are affected with 2% being severely affected. This equates to 2 children with dyspraxia in every class but sadly many are not identified.

Why don’t people know about Dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia is often termed a “Hidden” condition. These children’s difficulties are not obvious in the same way as a child needing to use a wheel chair where little or no explanation is required as to some of their needs. Many teachers use the expression “I can’t quite put my finger on it” when describing children potentially affected with dyspraxia. Without training it’s difficult for teachers and professionals to know how to recognise the signs and support these children especially in a busy classroom. Few professionals who work with children or young people receive any training in this common, hidden, complex condition. It also frequently occurs with other conditions or Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia, ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder), ADHD ( Attention Deficit Hyperactivity), which can detract from recognising it. This overlap or co-occurence is referred to as Neurodiversity. Children with dyspraxia are often very bright children who are painfully aware of their difficulties and are extremely clever at masking it. They are usually well behaved at school and are at risk of being overlooked in terms of getting their challenges identified and supported. Parents frequently describe children who bottle up their stress all day and then explode once in the safety of home.

What are some of the signs of Dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia is complex and there are many signs to look out for. Some common signs but by no means all are:

Late with some or all of their early developmental stages such as walking
Sometimes miss out crawling and bottom shuffle
Poor co-ordination with learning skills like football and bike riding
Appear “clumsy”, fall over or bump into things, drop things
Poor spatial awareness
Poor handwriting despite giving good verbal answers
Struggles to organise things

There are many more.

Should I learn about Dyspraxia?

YES definitely!

Anyone working with children and young people or any parent/carer concerned their child might have dyspraxia should definitely learn about dyspraxia. It’s a critical first step in supporting them.

How do I learn more about Dyspraxia?

At the very heart of our charity is 20 years personal experience of parenting a child with dyspraxia. Our charity has listened to and supported thousands of children, their families and teachers and one thing is crystal clear to us “The importance of the key adults in the child’s life being trained in dyspraxia”. The children tell us “All I need is for my dyspraxia to be understood”. Whether you are a parent/carer or a teacher, we have a training package suitable for you to learn all about dyspraxia and the many practical, low cost ways you can support these children.

We offer :

How do I get advice for a child with Dyspraxia?

Our helpline is the best place to start. Open School Days 10-3pm 01905 676118 or email cathy@dyspraxiahelp.org.uk We encourage calls from parents/carers/SENDCOs, teachers and anyone wanting advice. We take hundreds of calls and support lots of children and young people with dyspraxia.