Dyspraxia: Characteristics and Profile of the Dyspraxic Child
Dyspraxia: Characteristics and Profile of the Dyspraxic Child. The characteristics of Dyspraxie
The characteristics of Dyspraxie. Dyspraxia is a non-verbal neurodevelopmental dysfunction that affects approximately 6% of children aged 3 to 5 years. The motor execution of an intentional gesture is disturbed even though there is no mental retardation, visual or auditory motor handicap, psycho-affective developmental disorder, or neurological lesion. Little is known about the causes of dyspraxia. This disorder affects an average of 2 to 4 boys for every girl. Click here to join us
Dyspraxie, treatment of dyspraxie, remedy, symptoms of dyspraxie, diagnosis
For most people, the gestures of daily life are carried out without problems. However, performing an intentional gesture that implies a purpose is something complex. This will first require the elaboration of a planning in the brain. During the realization of this gesture, the individual will rely on internal kinesthetic (movement in space), proprioceptive (the position of the members of his body in space) and vestibular (the posture of the body) information. He will also need to rely on external visual, tactile and auditory information.
The characteristics of Dyspraxie
Some children will have difficulty or even be unable to coordinate their movements, i.e. to plan them in sequence. They will have to make a lot of cognitive and concentration efforts to achieve this. In spite of this, their gestures will not be very harmonious, complicated. These children may suffer from developmental dyspraxia or Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD).
The term « Dyspraxia » is commonly used in France today by various professionals. However, since the publication of the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the term used today is « Developmental Coordination Disorder » (DCD).
Even if there are nuances between these different terms and some authors differentiate between them, many people use « Dyspraxia », « CDD » and « DCD » to talk about the same neurodevelopmental disorder.
The characteristics of Dyspraxie
– 1. ideatory dyspraxia
The chronological sequence for performing a real gesture is altered. The child will therefore have difficulty using cutlery, scissors, a compass, etc.
– 2. Ideomotor dyspraxia
Contrary to ideatory dyspraxia, this is a disorder in the organization of the motor movement in the absence of the object. It is therefore the fact of « pretending », of imitating gestures with the hands or fingers such as peek-a-boo, miming, etc.
– 3. Visual-constructive dyspraxia
This is a disorder in assembly and construction activities (stacking blocks, Lego, etc.). The child also has difficulty distinguishing right from left.
The characteristics of Dyspraxie
– 4. Visual-spatial dyspraxia
Disorder of spatial organization and structuring. For example, the child is unable to reproduce a drawing properly by copying it. This disorder almost always involves a parallel eye disorder.
– 5. Dressing dyspraxia
The child has real difficulties dressing himself (buttoning, lacing…). Be careful, however, because learning to dress is long (between 3 and 6-8 years of age) and complex.
– 6. Oral-lingual-facial dyspraxia
Actions such as blowing, whistling or sticking out the tongue are impossible to perform under verbal instruction or by imitation.
In infants, gross motor skills are generally acquired within a normal time frame. Later on in early childhood, the dyspraxic child will present difficulties in manipulations involving visual-manual skills (cubes, blocks, but also dressing). There will also be a postural instability with sometimes stereotyped movements and a difficulty to fix a goal with the eyes.
The characteristics of Dyspraxie
In terms of daily domestic activities, the young dyspraxic child often presents as clumsy: he inadvertently breaks his toys, pushes the furniture around and can sometimes fall down by himself. They have difficulty eating alone, dressing themselves, and sometimes put their clothes on backwards. He can’t button himself up or tie his shoelaces. Once again, construction and assembly games fail, even when he has to follow a model.
Learning to ride a bike or swim is long and difficult, the child gets tired and has little autonomy.
Often misunderstood, the dyspraxic child will be unwilling to do this kind of thing and may pretend not to like the activity which will cause difficulties. It is therefore necessary to be vigilant when a child says that he does not like drawing or riding a bike for example.
The characteristics of Dyspraxie The characteristics of Dyspraxie
During a tonus examination, syncinesia (i.e., the simultaneous movement of another part of the body that is not necessary for the execution of a task) and hypotonia (decrease in muscle tone) may be detected.
Writing will be slow and difficult in terms of the flow of the gesture and the dyspraxic child will have difficulty following the line. In addition, he will have difficulty reproducing graphic forms or positioning his fingers correctly, as well as for manual praxis (finger positions).
Conscious of failure, he spends a lot of energy to succeed in his action, which will tire him.
On the emotional level, the dyspraxic child is felt to be immature. There is a loss of self-esteem which encourages feelings such as sadness or anxiety, sometimes even leading to depression. Labeled as clumsy, dizzy and lazy, they tend to isolate themselves at recess and often exhibit behavioral problems.
What are the consequences of dyspraxia on school learning? The characteristics of Dyspraxie
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) has a significant impact on school learning.
– Graphism: We observe disorders in the maturation of the gesture and in the organization and spatial structuring. For example, the child will not be able to orient himself on a sheet of paper.
– Writing: Writing is not automatic and the result is messy. In detail, the dyspraxic child writes letters with an unequal size and stumbles on oblique letters (N, X, W…) most often.
– Arithmetic: Spatial dyscalculia can be observed in counting, in setting up and solving operations on the sheet of paper, or in moving from the sheet to the board. Reading a text in French is done from left to right. In mathematics, the resolution of an operation is done from right to left, which can disturb its realization.
– Geometry: The directions and spatial relations will not be respected (axes of rotation, axes of symmetry…).
– Reading: Hesitant and slow, the dyspraxic child tends to confuse similar letters (b/d, p/q, n/u) and does not manage to cut words into syllables.
– Comprehension of written instructions: The child does not know how to look for relevant information because of an inability to visualize the structure of the text.
– Spelling: Spelling difficulties are related to copying difficulties. The child will make copying errors, especially when moving from the board to the notebook.
– Learning to read lessons: Difficult because of the lack of reference points and line breaks. The child will have problems with spatial disorganization, lack of reference points, line breaks, etc.
The characteristics of Dyspraxie
– Singing and mime: Gestures cannot be reproduced and the child will not be able to follow the rhythm of a song correctly.
– In physical education: Difficulty learning new games, keeping pace with other students and aiming at a target.
These disorders are disabling and cause a delay in school learning as well as a loss of self-esteem. As these difficulties are not well understood by teachers and cause rejection by other children, it is important to detect dyspraxia as soon as possible.
Diagnosis and rehabilitation of Dyspraxia. The characteristics of Dyspraxie
On the diagnostic level, a neuropsychological assessment is essential in order to have an overall view of the child’s profile. If dyspraxia is evoked, it will then be important to carry out psychomotor, ergotherapeutic and orthoptic assessments.
Dyspraxia responds favorably to rehabilitation, especially in occupational therapy and psychomotricity. Moreover, if the child presents a proven psycho-affective disturbance or even a depressive state, it will be important to propose a psychotherapy.
Redation: Latifou WOROU , Web redacteur à Afrique Santé Bio, tradithérapete et traducteur indépendant de français-allemand.
