Why haven’t we heard of dyspraxia in children?

Did you know that about six to 10 percent of children have some features of dyspraxia, yet very few parents what it is – or how it affects kids?

What is dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia is a condition where the neurons in the brain that control motor skills and sensations don’t connect, sync and fire accurately. It’s a relatively new term that was first discussed in the 1980s in the United Kingdom (where, along with Canada, most of the research into dyspraxia is conducted). Prior to that, it was called Clumsy Child Syndrome, which was a horrendous name and inaccurate description as dyspraxia can affect people’s lives well into adulthood.

“Dyspraxia is often called a hidden condition, and it’s also very inconsistent,” explains Warren Fried, president and founder of Dyspraxia USA. Fried and his five-year-old twins all have dyspraxia. “Dyspraxia doesn’t look the same for everyone and there are a multitude of issues that go with it. Plus, there’s no medication, and it can look like a number of other conditions.”

Children with dyspraxia don’t typically look different, and they often struggle quietly because teachers, coaches and peers don’t understand how difficult it is for them to accomplish “simple” tasks.

Signs and symptoms of dyspraxia

Children with dyspraxia could have any, or all, of the following symptoms:

• struggles with fine motor skills, like handwriting and using eating utensils
• struggles with gross motor skills, like kicking a ball and walking up or down stairs
• processing delays, such as remembering a list of verbal instructions
• little or no executive functioning skills, which can include the inability to organise or belongings or manage time
• inability to accurately judge people or situations and properly respond to social cues
• visual difficulties with depth and space
• poor memory
• sensory aversions or sensory seeking (looking for sensory stimulation, such as touch or sound)
• speech delays or inability to know when/how to use words appropriately

What dyspraxia looks like in the classroom

Kids with dyspraxia have to put a lot more effort into organising their movements. They’re using their cognitive capacity to sit squarely on their chair, grip the pen and move their hand in the right direction, so they don’t have the brain space to think about the instructions and follow what’s going on.

So when a teacher gives a child with dyspraxia an assignment, they typically remember the first and last instruction given, but nothing in between. The teacher assumes they’re ignoring her directions – she sees a defiant child instead of one with a disability who requires proper support.

Hidden struggles can result in visible consequences

One of the biggest challenges of hidden conditions is getting others to understand and accept your child’s disability. Parents find themselves repeatedly explaining symptoms of dyspraxia to teachers, offering the teacher advice on how to support their child, and comforting their child when they feel defeated because their best wasn’t good enough, and they were ridiculed for doing something “wrong” in front of the entire class.

How adults, especially teachers, react to a child greatly impacts how their peers react. Unfortunately, bullying by teachers and students is common.

A child with dyspraxia must work ten times harder just to master basic tasks like buckling a seat belt or tying your shoes. And they do because they don’t want to be teased for being different. They’ll keep at it until they’ve nailed it, and they bring that perseverance to everything they do.

Because they struggle daily, they empathise with others who face adversity. They know exactly how it feels to be picked on for being different, and they don’t wish those feelings of embarrassment or helplessness upon anyone.

Let’s make our voices heard

It’s estimated that six percent of the population have dyspraxia. By comparison, 1.85 percent of the population has been diagnosed with Autism and it’s estimated that 2.8 percent of the population have ADHD. But instead of discussing dyspraxia openly, many only speak about it behind closed doors. Whether they’re embarrassed or don’t want to draw further attention to themselves or their child, they’re doing everyone a disservice.

Dyspraxia shouldn’t be shrouded in secrecy. As celebrities like actors Daniel Radcliff and Cara Delevingne, singers Mel B, Cher and Florence Welch, multi-billionaire Richard Branson, and chef Jamie Oliver publicly share their diagnosis and struggles with dyspraxia, we should too. Having dyspraxia isn’t a future indicator of failure – it’s a testament to a person’s character and perseverance.