Dyspraxia treatment & tools

Although it’s related to movement and coordination, dyspraxia is a condition that affects all areas of life. While this disorder remains poorly understood, it’s vital to emphasize that numerous treatments and tools can help.

Here, you’ll learn more about dyspraxia impairment, its symptoms, and potential treatment plans and effective tools.

What is dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia, or developmental coordination disorder (DCD), is a neurological disorder that affects coordination and movement in both children and adults.

Although signs of dyspraxia appear in early childhood, they often remain unidentified until the child starts school or even later. Dyspraxia isn’t related to intelligence and can affect anyone, regardless of their intellectual ability.

This disorder is mostly related to fine and gross motor skills. Dyspraxic individuals usually have difficulty coordinating movement and can’t transfer their motor skills to new activities. This difficulty can lead to low self-esteem and a lack of social skills.

Common symptoms of dyspraxia involve:

• Delay in acquiring motor skills in early childhood (sitting, crawling, standing, and other motor tasks)
• Difficulty walking, running, jumping, tying shoelaces, and reaching other developmental milestones
• Physical skills aren’t instinctive but taught
• Difficulty understanding spacial concepts
• Awkward or slow movement, clumsiness
• Difficulty handling equipment and tools
• Issues with motor planning

What causes dyspraxia? Dyspraxia results from a disruption in the way messages are sent from the brain to the body because the motor neurons in the brain aren’t developed properly. Scientists are still working on identifying the cause of this disruption.

It’s believed being born premature and having low weight at birth increases the risk of this disorder. Moreover, having family members with movement and coordination difficulties can also be a relevant factor.

Treatment and tools for dyspraxia

While there’s no cure for dyspraxia, numerous treatments and tools can assist with motor learning and help individuals acquire new skills without difficulty.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy is a global healthcare profession that uses different methods to develop, enhance, or maintain an individual’s level of physical and mental performance.

Occupational therapists identify an individual’s everyday activities and help them overcome difficulties and challenges that may appear.

Occupational therapy has an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of dyspraxia and other learning difficulties, including dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It can also be effective for those recovering from a stroke.

When it comes to treatment, occupational therapists can help dyspraxic individuals understand why they struggle with certain activities. They can also work with parents, pediatrics, and educators to create an approach that encourages individuals to develop and achieve their potential.

Occupational therapists offer support for dyspraxic individuals and their well-being in any area of life.

Speech therapy

One of the types of dyspraxia is speech dyspraxia, also called verbal dyspraxia or apraxia.

Speech apraxia is a disorder where individuals have difficulty pronouncing words correctly and consistently. Keep in mind that this difficulty isn’t related to injuries to speech muscles.

There are two types of speech dyspraxia: acquired and developmental dyspraxia, i.e., childhood apraxia of speech. Speech therapy can be an effective treatment option for both types.

Speech therapy treats speech disorders and communication problems. It helps individuals speak clearly through different exercises, including problem-solving, breathing exercises, organizational activities, etc.

Behavioral analysis

Behavioral analysis is the scientific study of human behavior, which explores why people behave the way they do and how certain behaviors can be changed and prevented.

Behavioral analysts can help dyspraxic individuals improve their social skills, communication, and independence. These professionals employ numerous positive reinforcement strategies to meet the individual’s unique needs.

Behavioral analysis can be equally useful for young children, children of school age, and adults.

Self-care

Professional help is important, but that doesn’t mean self-care should be neglected. People with dyspraxia need to take care of themselves if they want to progress and improve their skills.

For example, regular exercise and physical activity can improve coordination, reduce fatigue, and prevent weight gain. Moreover, learning to talk positively about the disorder and getting the necessary psychological support is also crucial for success.

Those who struggle with organization could benefit from using a calendar or Post-It notes to create reminders and plans.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy can do wonders for dyspraxic individuals. Such therapy usually revolves around strengthening muscles through different exercises. Physical therapists tailor these exercises to match an individual’s needs and overall physical condition.

By gaining more muscle functionality, dyspraxic individuals improve their motor skills, posture, and balance and enhance hand-eye coordination.

Text to speech software

Although dyspraxia isn’t directly related to reading, the lack of fine motor skills can make activities like reading much more challenging. Dyspraxic individuals may have difficulty turning pages, pointing to words or illustrations, or holding books.

Fortunately, children and adults with dyspraxia can enjoy written content without reading it, thanks to text to speech software. Such software turns texts into speech and allows people to hear the words in a natural-sounding voice.

Speechify – the TTS tool for reading anything

One of the best text to speech (TTS) programs on the market is Speechify  Since it features the latest AI technology, Speechify allows its users to transform almost any written text into speech in the blink of an eye.

Users can customize the settings according to their liking. They can choose the preferred speed, voice, and even accent. Speechify is available as a browser extension, an independent desktop app, and a smartphone app, so it can be used anywhere.

Speechify allows individuals to improve word recognition, master different accents, exercise attention skills and focus, and identify and fix errors. Plus, it enables multitasking. For example, children with dyspraxia can exercise while listening to their favorite book.

Speechify is suitable for individuals with cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, and other disabilities. Of course, anyone who wants to listen to content instead of reading can use this software.

The software offers a free and paid subscription plan. You can try it for free and see whether it’s the right fit for your needs.

FAQs

What are the types of dyspraxia?

Many experts divide dyspraxia into types according to the problems that most affect an individual. Common types are verbal dyspraxia, constructional dyspraxia, ideational dyspraxia, and ideomotor dyspraxia.

Does dyspraxia worsen with age?

Dyspraxia doesn’t worsen with age like some other diseases. However, it can affect individuals in different ways and different stages of life. Hence, it may seem like the symptoms are worsening, even though that’s not the case.