What Is Dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia is a medical condition that affects the coordination and movement of the limbs, so that the patient cannot maximize physical activity like other normal people. People with dyspraxia usually look more careless and have disturbances in their balance. Dyspraxia is more common in boys than girls and this condition does not affect a person's intelligence. Although signs of dyspraxia have emerged from an early age, it is difficult to detect because the level of child development is different from one another. Generally, children with new dyspraxia are diagnosed at the age of five years or more.


Symptoms of Dyspraxia
People with dyspraxia usually experience some difficulties or disorders in some cases, such as:

• Coordination, balance and movement.
• Learn new techniques, think, and remember information while working or while relaxing.
• Basic daily living skills, such as dressing or tying shoelaces.
• Writing, typing, drawing, and holding small objects.
• Social situation.
• Manage emotions.
• Time management, planning, and managing things.

While the symptoms that may appear in children with dyspraxia are:

• Babies need more time to sit, crawl or walk.
• Unusual body position.
• Difficulty playing with toys that require good body coordination, such as arranging blocks.

In children with dyspraxia, the symptoms that may be seen are:

• The difficulty to learn to eat alone with cutlery.
• The child looks awkward and careless, like often bumping or dropping things.
• Difficulty concentrating, following instructions, and understanding information.
• Difficulties in organizing yourself and completing assignments.
• Cannot learn new abilities automatically.
• Difficulty in getting new friends.
• Have behavioral problems.
• Low self confidence.

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Causes and Risk Factors of Dyspraxia
Coordination and movement of limbs is a complex process involving various nerves and parts of the brain. If there is a disturbance in one nerve or part of the brain, this can cause dyspraxia.

But until now it is still unclear why the causes of coordination of limbs do not develop normally. There are a number of things that can increase a person's risk of developing dyspraxia, namely:

• Premature birth , before reaching 37 weeks' gestation.
• Born with less than normal body weight.
• Have family members who suffer from dyspraxia.
• Mothers consume alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs while pregnant.

Diagnosis of Dyspraxia
To diagnose patients suspected of having dyspraxia, need a team of pediatricians, physiotherapists, psychiatrists, and neurologists.

Patients with dyspraxia will be examined to gather information in several ways such as:

• Is the patient's motor skills incompatible with age and intelligence. Patients can also be asked to do a movement such as jumping or drawing to see the patient's skills in doing gross and fine motor movements.
• Obstacles in the daily activities of patients or patients without achievement in school due to lack of skills. This lack of skills is not caused by other diseases.
• Do patients experience learning difficulties and whether their motor skills are worse than expected.
• Does the patient have a mental disorder assessed by a psychiatrist.
• Birth disorders or abnormalities or a history of delays in child development.
• The presence or absence of family members suffering from dypraxia.

All information and results of the examination will be assessed by the team and it will be concluded whether the patient has dyspraxia or not.


Treatment of Dyspraxia
Until now there is no cure for dyspraxia, but sufferers can undergo several therapies to reduce disruption in carrying out daily activities. Some therapies that can be done are:

• Occupational therapy . Occupational therapy will help sufferers find practical ways to stay independent and organize routines every day.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy . This therapy will help sufferers to manage problems by changing the patient's perspective and behavior.

The techniques, methods, and approaches are different for each patient. The team will design the right type of therapy once dyspraxia is diagnosed. Support from the closest people is very important in helping patients manage their conditions and live their lives well. This is the main goal of the treatment of dyspraxia.

Children with dyspraxia often have other disorders such as ADHD , dyslexia , and autism. The disorder that accompanies dyspraxia must also be treated separately.

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