A few words about the

While the causes of dyxpraxia are still poorly understood, we know very well how to define it as a motor development disorder affecting the automation of voluntary gestures. In his daily life, a dyxpraxic child will have different symptoms, such as difficulty performing specific gestures, often making him clumsy, or language delays. Dyspraxia can be associated with visual-spatial disorder and can also combine with other DYS disorders, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or attention deficit disorder.

Thomas, 15, is a dyspraxic child: the first signs confirmed by a psychomotor assessment

Thomas remembers the first symptoms of his dyspraxia vividly: difficulty dressing, tying shoes, doing construction games, and most importantly, getting around in space. After an occupational therapy and psychomotor assessment, the support team confirms the diagnosis: that of dyspraxia. He then began a rehabilitation plan allowing him to improve his daily actions and compensate for his disorders using digital tools. Today, a new challenge: Thomas challenges himself to improve his visuospatial benchmarks and motor reflexes by joining a motivated football team to help him progress. Being a dyspraxic child no longer prevents Thomas from carrying out great projects!

Symptoms of Dyspraxia

The observation of a general awkwardness and complicated visuo-spatial landmarks.

If the cause of dyspraxia is still poorly known, the symptoms are often revealing: they affect the daily life of the child and are often quickly identified in his school life. The child encounters difficulties in carrying out the automatic gestures of everyday life: tying his shoes, playing marbles, pouring himself a glass of water, drawing with precision... He gets tired quickly when he needs to be skilful and coordinate their movements.

His concentration is difficult for him and therefore requires a lot of effort. Unable to carry out all the activities like the others, a dyspraxic child may sometimes suffer from a lack of self-confidence and a feeling of exclusion that it is important not to let settle.

A team diagnostic

Referring professional:

The diagnosis of dyspraxia is most often made alongside a multidisciplinary team. It will essentially focus on four points

- ses difficultés d’orientation dans l’espace

- his problems of coordination and automation of gestures

- his clumsiness in daily life

- any associated disorders (problems related to eye movements, attention deficit, lack of self-confidence or anxiety).

After excluding an orthopedic or muscular problem, the medical team performs tests to assess the importance of dyspraxia: neuropsychological, ophthalmological, occupational therapy, speech therapy and pediatric assessment. An early and precise diagnosis will make it possible to establish a project adapted to the dyspraxic child to help him in his social and school life.

Needs related to dyspraxia

Thoughtful tools for the child

The dyslexic child most often needs suitable equipment to compensate for his disorders: it will be better to bring the right tools rather than to strive to repeat again and again actions that he will not be able to accomplish.

The use of the computer in general will be for him a facilitation allowing to relieve him. Its relationship to time may need to be imaged to be better understood. He will need to learn simple postures to help him with the precision of his movements. Children with dyspraxia will prefer language activities, such as listening to stories, rather than construction or manual games

It is also necessary to support him in his self-confidence to help him integrate into everyday life.

Its compensations

Facilitation by the computer: thanks to adapted tools, digital technology will allow the dyspraxic child to compensate for his motor or coordination disorders to write his lessons and carry out his exercises.

Synthesis and voice recognition can support him in his language and writing disorders.

Games stimulating listening, creativity, music, reading, rather than manual activities will help him to flourish and enhance his talents.

Favoring visual objects, pictorial interpretations, oral instructions, will help the child suffering from dyspraxia to better practice and understand.

DID YOU KNOW ?…

There are at least 3 forms of dyspraxia!

Gestural dyspraxia: this is a deficit in motor acquisitions and gestural coordination. It is complicated for a child to reproduce the gestures of everyday life automatically.

Constructive dyspraxia: it concerns the activities of assembling different elements in space: difficulties in all construction games but also in manual work. It also affects writing, which has constructive aspects.

Visuospatial dyspraxia: it seems to be the most common to date. In addition to pathological gestural impairment, it is associated with a visual disorder, characterized by a defect in visuomotor coordination, as well as a spatial disorder, characterized by difficulties in understanding and analyzing the notion of space.

A dyspraxic child. And?

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe, the famous Harry Potter, is a dyspraxic person. We often read that he always had trouble tying his own shoelaces and that he had long struggled with handwriting problems. When he was a child and to help him manage his disorder, his mother enrolled him in theater classes. Today known worldwide, he is one of the actors who achieved the most success on the screen. His dyspraxia never stopped him from realizing his dream.

DYS disorders and their particularities

Pour accompagner les enfants souffrant de troubles d’apprentissage, il est important de comprendre chacune de ces singularités. Qu’ils soient DYS ou multi DYS, ces enfants méritent qu'on se plonge sur chacun de ses besoins.

Reading disorder manifested by difficulty in identifying letters, syllables or words.

Gesture disorder inducing difficulty in performing specific movements (pathological clumsiness).

Numerical learning disorder, more specifically related to the calculation and perception of numbers.

Writing disorder related to difficulty in performing graphic and drawing gestures.

Written expression disorder causing difficulty in writing words with the correct spelling.

Communication disorder relating to difficulties in oral language and in constructing sentences.

Disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and uncontrolled motor restlessness.

Many learning disabilities are still unrecognized and are being studied for better support.

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