Developmental dyspraxia
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2008-06-21T12:28:03Z
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{{Refimprove|date=January 2008}}
{{Dyslexia}}
{{Infobox_Disease |
Name = Developmental dyspraxia |
Image = |
Caption = |
DiseasesDB = 31600 |
ICD10 = {{ICD10|F|82||f|80}} |
ICD9 = {{ICD9|315.4}} |
ICDO = |
OMIM = |
MedlinePlus = |
eMedicineSubj = |
eMedicineTopic = |
MeshID = D001072 |
}}
'''Developmental dyspraxia''' is one or all of a [[heterogeneous]] range of [[development disorder]]s affecting the initiation, organization and performance of action.<ref name="titleDyspraxia Info">{{cite web |url=http://www.rdg.ac.uk/studyskills/dyslexia/dyspraxia%20info.htm |title=Dyspraxia Info |accessdate=2008-04-05 |format= |work=}}</ref> It entails the partial loss of the ability to coordinate and perform certain purposeful movements and gestures in the absence of motor or sensory impairments.
The concept of developmental dyspraxia has existed for more than a century, but differing interpretation of the terminology remains.<ref name="pmid8838385">{{cite journal |author=Dewey D |title=What is developmental dyspraxia? |journal=Brain Cogn |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=254–74 |year=1995 |pmid=8838385 |doi=10.1006/brcg.1995.1281 |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0278-2626(85)71281-X}}</ref>
Developmental dyspraxia (referred to as developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in the US) is a life-long condition that is more common in males than in females; the exact proportion of people with the disorder is unknown since the disorder can be hard to detect. Current estimates range from 5% - 20% with at least 2% being affected severely<!-- Obtain a more up-to-date statistic -->. Ripley, Daines, and Barrett state that 'Developmental dyspraxia is difficulty getting our bodies to do what we want when we want them to do it', and that this difficulty can be considered significant when it interferes with the normal range of activities expected for a child of their age. Madeline Portwood makes the distinction that dyspraxia is not due to a general medical condition, but that it may be due to immature [[neuron]] development. The word "dyspraxia" comes from the Greek words "dys" meaning bad and "praxis", meaning action or deed.
Dyspraxia is described as having two main elements:
; Ideational dyspraxia : Difficulty with planning a sequence of coordinated movements.
; Ideo-Motor dyspraxia : Difficulty with executing a plan, even though it is known.
==Assessment and diagnosis==
Assessments for dyspraxia typically require a developmental history, detailing ages at which significant [[developmental milestones]], such as [[crawling]] and [[walking]], occurred. Motor skills screening includes activities designed to indicate dyspraxia, including balancing, physical sequencing, touch sensitivity, and variations on walking activities. A baseline motor assessment establishes the starting point for developmental intervention programs. Comparing children to normal rates of development may help to establish areas of significant difficulty.
However, research in the BJSE has shown that knowledge is severely limited in many who should be trained to recognise and respond to various difficulties, including Developmental Coordination Disorder, Dyslexia and DAMP. The earlier that difficulties are noted and timely assessments occur, the quicker intervention can begin. A teacher or GP could miss a diagnosis if they are only applying a cursory knowledge.
<blockquote>
"Teachers will not be able to recognise or accommodate the child with learning difficulties in class if their knowledge is limited. Similarly GPs will find it difficult to detect and appropriately refer children with learning difficulties."<ref>{{citation
| title=Do teachers know more about specific learning difficulties than general practitioners?
| last1=Kirby
| first1=Amanda
| last2=Davies
| first2=Rhys
| last3=Bryant
| first3=Amy
| publisher=British Journal of Special Education
| url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/bjsp/2005/00000032/00000003/art00003
| date=2005-11}}</ref></blockquote>
==Developmental profiles==
Various areas of development can be affected by developmental dyspraxia and many or all can persist into adulthood. Often various coping strategies are developed, and these can be enhanced through physiotherapy.
===Speech and language===
Developmental verbal dyspraxia is a type of ideational dyspraxia, causing linguistic or phonological impairment. This is the favoured term in the UK; however it is also sometimes referred to as articulatory dyspraxia and in the USA the usual term is apraxia of speech <ref>Pam Williams, ''Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia'', Nuffield Hearing & Speech Centre</ref>. Key problems include:
* Difficulties controlling the [[speech organ]]s.
* Difficulties making speech sounds
* Difficulty sequencing sounds
** Within a word
** Forming words into sentences
* Difficulty controlling breathing and [[phonation]].
* Slow language development.
* Difficulty with feeding.
<!-- I have not added support strategies for any of the 6 areas as I don’t know if that violates the medical disclaimers. I would appreciate advice on this. -->
===Fine motor control===
Difficulties with fine motor co-ordination lead to problems with handwriting, which may be due to either ideational or ideo-motor difficulties. Problems associated with this area may include:
* Learning basic movement patterns.
* Developing a desired writing speed.
* The acquisition of [[grapheme]]s – e.g. the letters of the [[Latin alphabet]], as well as numbers.
* Establishing the correct pencil grip
* Hand aching while writing
===Whole body movement, coordination, and body image===
Issues with gross motor coordination mean that major developmental targets including walking, running, climbing and jumping are affected. One area of difficulty involves associative movement, where a passive part of the body moves or twitches in response to a movement in an active part. For example, the support arm and hand twitching as the dominant arm and hand move, or hands turning inwards or outwards to correspond with movements of the feet. Problems associated with this area may include:
* Poor timing.
* Poor balance (sometimes even falling over in mid-step). Tripping over one's own feet is also not uncommon.
* Difficulty combining movements into a controlled sequence.
* Difficulty remembering the next movement in a sequence.
* Problems with spatial awareness, or proprioception.
* Some people with dyspraxia have trouble picking up and holding onto simple objects due to poor muscle tone.
* This disorder can cause an individual to be clumsy to the point of knocking things over and bumping into people accidentally.
* Some dyspraxics have difficulty in determining left from right. {{Fact|date=October 2007}}
* Cross-laterality, ambidexterity, and a shift in the preferred hand are also common in people with dyspraxia. {{Fact|date=October 2007}}
* Dyspraxics may also have trouble determining the distance between them and other objects.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
* Some dyspraxics have difficulty achieving and maintaining continence either of bladder or bowel or both. Bedwetting or nocturnal enuresis is common.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
==General difficulties==
Dyspraxic people may have [[Sensory Integration Dysfunction]], a condition that creates abnormal oversensitivity or undersensitivity to physical stimuli, such as touch, light, and sound {{Fact|date=February 2007}}. This may manifest itself as an inability to tolerate certain textures such as sandpaper or certain fabrics, or even being touched by another individual (in the case of touch oversensitivity) or may require the consistent use of sunglasses outdoors since sunlight may be intense enough to cause discomfort to a dyspraxic (in the case of light oversensitivity). An aversion to loud music and naturally loud environments (such as clubs and bars) is typical behavior of a dyspraxic individual who suffers from auditory oversensitivity, while only being comfortable in unusually warm or cold environments is typical of a dyspraxic with temperature oversensitivity. This typically occurs if the dyspraxia is comorbid to an autistic spectrum disorder ([[Pervasive developmental disorder|PDD]]) such as [[autistic disorder]] or [[Asperger syndrome]] {{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
Dyspraxic people sometimes have difficulty moderating the amount of sensory information that their body is constantly sending them, so as a result these people are prone to panic attacks{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. Having other autistic traits (which is common with dyspraxia and related conditions{{Fact|date=February 2007}}) may also contribute to sensory-induced panic attacks.
Moderate to extreme difficulty doing physical tasks is experienced by dyspraxics, and fatigue is common because so much extra energy is expended while trying to execute physical movements correctly.<ref name="titleDyspraxia">{{cite web |url=http://www.childlearningdifficulties.com/Dysprraxiaind.htm |title=Dyspraxia |accessdate=2008-04-05 |format= |work=}}</ref> Some (but not all) dyspraxics suffer from [[hypotonia]], which in this case is chronically low muscle tone caused by dyspraxia{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. People with this condition have very low muscle strength and endurance (even in comparison with other dyspraxics) and even the simplest physical activities may quickly cause soreness and fatigue, depending on the severity of the hypotonia. Hypotonia may worsen a dyspraxic's already poor balance to the point where it is necessary to constantly lean on sturdy objects for support{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
Dyspraxics may wish to live alongside others, although they often find it difficult. They can be messy and cluttered with a tendency to outburst including aggression, 'good and bad days' (mood swings) and difficulty in understanding the meaning of everyday interactions within a household<ref name="titleDyspraxia Foundation - Symptoms">{{cite web |url=http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/services/ad_symptoms.php |title=Dyspraxia Foundation - Symptoms |accessdate=2008-04-05 |format= |work=}}</ref>
Because of this, they sometimes end up arguing with people they care deeply about and regretting it when the mood swing is over.
Often, their moods do not last too long, but they are very intense. When angered, a dyspraxic may feel beyond furious but soon the mood will be over and he\she may regret things they did when they were angry{{Fact|date=December 2007}}.
==Overlap with other conditions==
Dyspraxics may have other difficulties that are not due to dyspraxia itself but often co-exist with it. They may have characteristics of [[dyslexia]] (difficulty with reading and spelling), [[dyscalculia]] (difficulty with mathematics), [[expressive language disorder]] (difficulty with verbal expression), [[ADHD]] (poor attention span), or [[Asperger syndrome]] (poor social cognition and a literal understanding of language, making it hard to understand idioms or sarcasm). However, they are unlikely to have problems in all of these areas. The pattern of difficulty varies widely from person to person, and it is important to understand that a major weakness for one dyspraxic can be a strength or gift for another. For example, while some dyspraxics have difficulty with reading and spelling due to an overlap with dyslexia, or numeracy due to an overlap with dyscalculia, others may have brilliant reading and spelling or mathematical abilities. Similarly, some have autistic traits such as lacking an appreciation of irony or social cues, while others thrive on an ironic sense of humour as a bonding tool and a means of coping.<ref name="titleDyspraxia Adults Action">{{cite web |url=http://www.colsal.org.uk/sites/daa/THEGIFTOFDYSPRAXIA.asp |title=Dyspraxia Adults Action |accessdate=2008-04-05 |format= |work=}}</ref>
Frustration and low self-esteem are common to many dyspraxics, whatever their profile of difficulties. <ref name="titleDyspraxia — SCIPS">{{cite web |url=http://www.scips.worc.ac.uk/disabilities/dyspraxia.html |title=Dyspraxia — SCIPS |accessdate=2008-04-05 |format= |work=}}</ref>
==Other names==
Collier first described developmental dyspraxia as 'congenital maladroitness'. A. Jean Ayres referred to it as a disorder of sensory integration in 1972 while in 1975 Dr Sasson Gubbay called it the 'clumsy child syndrome'.<ref name="titleWhat is Dyspraxia">{{cite web |url=http://www.dyspraxia.org.nz/what_is.htm |title=What is Dyspraxia |accessdate=2008-04-05 |format= |work=}}</ref> It has also been called minimal brain dysfunction although the two latter names are no longer in use. Other names include:
* Dyspraxia
* Developmental Co-ordination Disorder - a subtly different condition by definition, in practice, very similar.
* Sensorimotor dysfunction
* Perceptuo-motor dysfunction
* Motor Learning Difficulties
The World Health Organisation currently lists Developmental Dyspraxia as Specific Developmental Disorder of Motor Function.<ref name="titleWhat is Dyspraxia">{{cite web |url=http://www.dyspraxia.org.nz/what_is.htm |title=What is Dyspraxia |accessdate=2008-04-05 |format= |work=}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
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*[http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/ Dyspraxia Foundation]
*[http://www.danda.org.uk/ DANDA] The Developmental Adult Neuro-Diversity Association
*[http://www.dyspraxiausa.org/ United States organization] for those with Developmental Dyspraxia
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To be integrated into the article if new information is covered:
There are not many disorders like Dyspraxia that are as little discussed and studied yet seemingly well known outside the U.S.A.
According to Dr. Mandy Kirby "Dyspraxia:The Hidden Handicap - Developmental Co-ordination Disorder" this diagnosis has existed for a long time. In the past it has been called the "clumsy child syndrome" and even such degrading labels as "motor morons"
According to the New Zealand Dyspraxia Organization "Developmental Dyspraxia has been recognized by doctors and therapists since very early this century, when it was first described it as 'congenital maladroitness'. In 1937 Dr Samuel Orton declared it to be 'one of the six most common developmental disorders', showing distinctive impairment of praxis'. Since then it has been described and labeled by many, such as A. Jean Ayres, who in 1972 called it a disorder of Sensory Integration, or Dr Sasson Gubbay who in 1975 called it the 'Clumsy Child Syndrome'. Other labels have included 'developmental awkwardness', 'sensorimotor dysfunction', 'minimal brain dysfunction', 'motor sequencing disorder', and most recently Developmental Coordination Disorder.
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