What is Dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia, also known as developmental coordination disorder (DCD), is a chronic condition that begins in childhood and causes difficulties with motor (movement) skills and coordination. The main features of dyspraxia are related to motor skills (movement).

Dyspraxia can cause a wide range of issues with movement and coordination. Some of these may be noticeable at an early age, while others may only become obvious as people get older. Dyspraxia can affect coordination skills, which can make riding a bicycle or playing sports difficult. It can also affect fine motor skills, such as writing or fastening buttons.

The main features of dyspraxia are related to motor skills (movement). They are fine motor skills and gross motor skills.

You can also have a mixture of both. People who have dyspraxia often find the routine tasks of daily life such as driving, household chores, cooking and grooming difficult. They can also find coping at work is hard. People with dyspraxia usually have a combination of problems.

Gross Motor Skills: Struggles with balance, posture, integration of the two sides of the body, hand-eye co-ordination, rhythm, clumsy, movement, changing direction, stopping and starting action.

Fine Motor Skills: Struggles with manual dexterity, two-handed tasks, manipulative skills, inadequate grasp, grooming activities