Dyspraxia Awareness Week: 13th-19th October
What is dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is generally recognized to be an impairment of the organisation of movement. This may include difficulties with
- Language
- Perception
- Thought
Where dyspraxia affects communication skills it is called developmental verbal dyspraxia.
Who can it affect?
Dyspraxia affects both children and adults.
How are children with dyspraxia identified?
- Late in reaching milestones e.g. rolling over, sitting, standing, walking, and speaking
- May not be able to run, hop, catch or kick a ball although their peers can do so
- May have difficulty in keeping friends; or judging how to behave in company
- May have little understanding of concepts such as ‘in’, ‘on’, ‘in front of’ etc
- May have difficulty in walking up and down stairs
- Poor at dressing
- Slow and hesitant in most actions
- Appears not to be able to learn anything instinctively but must be taught skills
- Falls over frequently
- Poor pencil grip
- Cannot do jigsaws or shape sorting gamesOften anxious and easily distracted
How does dyspraxia affect speech and language in children?
- Speech may be immature or unintelligible in early years
- Language may be impaired or late to develop
- Co-ordinating the precise movements of the lips, tongue and jaw, which are used in the production of spoken language; resulting in severe and persisting speech production difficulties
- It can occur in isolation or in conjunction with general motor difficulties.
How does dyspraxia affect speech and language in adults?
- May talk continuously and repeat themselves
- Difficulty with organising the content and sequence of their language
- May have unclear speech and be unable to pronounce some words
- Speech may have uncontrolled pitch, volume and rate
How can ITS help you?
If you or a family member has dyspraxia, ITS can help. We would be happy to provide you with information regarding assessment as well as the most appropriate intervention including how long this may take.
How can I contact ITS?
Telephone: 0845 838 291. We are happy to provide a complimentary telephone consultation.
Email: info@integratedtreatments.co.uk
Confidential Enquiry Form
Further information
The Dyspraxia Foundation
http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/
Victoria Taylor
07/10/2013
Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services.
I.T.S is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire, East Midlands and Southern England. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Psychotherapists
