The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke indicate that dyspraxia consists of a disorder involving problems with the ability to plan and execute motor and sensory tasks. Symptoms are diverse and include an appearance of clumsiness, vision problems, problems reading and writing; and social and memory difficulties. The National Center for Learning Disabilities estimates that about six percent of children show symptoms of dyspraxia. Approximately 70 percent of the afflicted individuals are males. Dyspraxia exists in a variety of different forms.
Motor Dyspraxia
Dr.s Ruthmary Deuel and Amy Rauchway in “Clinical Pediatric Neurology” describe motor dyspraxia “as the inability to perform developmentally appropriate sequences of voluntary movements”. The intended movement may appear appropriate and occur in the general proper area, however, the individual displays an incorrect sequence of movements, sometimes with unnecessary movements added. The authors provide the example of the dyspraxic individual attempting to tie shoelaces. The individual appears to rapidly manipulate the shoelaces, yet the motor actions fail to result in tied shoes. The absence of visible clumsiness or slowness in movement often leads to the failure of motor dyspraxia to be recognized as the source of the failed motor actions.
Facial Dyspraxia
Deuel and Rauchway identify that facial dyspraxia manifests in a disorder called verbal apraxia. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders state that verbal apraxia is a speech disorder where an individual displays difficulty saying things correctly and consistently. Two types of verbal apraxia exist; acquired apraxia of speech, which may manifest due to brain damage at any part of life and developmental apraxia of speech which is present at birth.
Linguistic Dysgraphia
Otherwise known as dyslexic dysgraphia, the most common type of material-specific dyspraxia, Deuel and Rauchway describe this disorder as the inability of a child to verbally spell or write words correctly. Unlike individuals with dyslexia, individuals with linguistic dysgraphia read well and display good comprehension of what he or she reads. The handwriting of individuals with this disorder is often poor. While handwriting may be poor, the individual may show the ability to draw well.
Constructional Dyspraxia
The second most common type of material-specific dyspraxia, according to Deuel and Rauchway, constructional dyspraxia, consists of “poor spatial intuition”. This problem results in significant difficulties with drawing and “constructing three-dimensional models”. The authors go on to state that individuals with constructional dyspraxia may show problems with social and organizational skills. Additionally, due to problems with spatial recognition, individuals with this problem may frequently get lost.
References
- “Clinical Pediatric Neurology”; Ruthmary Deuel, M.D. and Amy Rauchway, M.D.; 2009
- National Center for Learning Disabilities: Dyspraxia
- National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: Apraxia of Speech
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: NINDS Developmental Dyspraxia Information Page
