The children with dyspraxia are average or above average intelligence, but behaviorally immature. It is also known as Developmental co-ordination disorder, clumpsy child syndrome, hidden handicap, motor learning problems or sensitive integrative problems

Dyspraxia is difficulty with thinking out, planning and carrying out sensory or motor tasks.

Symptoms:

• Poor balance.
• Poor fine and gross motor co-ordination.
• Poor posture.
• Difficulty with throwing and catching a ball.
• Poor awareness of body position in the space.
• Poor sense of direction.
• Difficulty with throwing and catching a ball.
• Poor awareness of body position in space.
• Poor sense of direction.
• Difficulty in hopping, skipping or riding a bike.
• Sensitive to touch.
• Confused about which hand to use.
• Intolerance of having hair or teeth brushed, nails and hair cut.
• Slow to learn to dress or feed themselves.
• Difficulty with reading or writing.
• Speech problems like slow to learn to speak and speech may be incoherent.
• Phobias or obsessive behavior and impatient.

The children with dyspraxia are average or above average intelligence, but behaviorally immature.

Dyspraxia in pre-school children

• History of lateness of reaching milestones like rolling over, sitting, walking and speaking.
• May not be able to run, hop or jump.
• Unable to learn anything instinctively and must be taught skills.
• Poor at dressing.
• Poor pencil group.
• Cannot do jigsaw or shape-sorting games.
• Does not understand of in/on/behind/in front etc.
• Unable to catch or kick ball.

Dyspraxia in school age child:

• All the pre-school child may be present with little or no improvement.
• The child does badly in class but significantly better on one-to-one basis.
• Attention span is poor and the child may react to stimuli without discrimination.
• Trouble in maths, copying from blackboard.
• Writing in laborious and immature.
• Unable to remember and follow the instruction.
• Generally poorly organized.
• Anxious and distractible.
• Finds difficult to keep friends or judge how to behave in the company.

Treatment:

There is no cure for dyspraxia. Treatment mainly consists of rehabilitation through physical, occupational and speech therapies. Other interventions such as special education, psychological therapy or orthoptic exercises may be recommended.