Wednesday, 16 April 2025

What are special needs and learning difficulties part 2

 you’ve provided a concise and accurate summary of Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder - DCD),

 highlighting its key characteristics and potential causes. Let's break down the information:

What is Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder - DCD)?

Developmental Coordination Disorder: You correctly identify Dyspraxia as a disorder affecting movement and coordination.   

Intelligence Not Affected: You accurately emphasize that Dyspraxia does not impact intelligence, though it can slow down task completion.   

Hidden Physical and Mental Learning Difficulty: You highlight its hidden nature and its impact on both physical (balance, coordination, grip, sports, 

driving) and mental (reading, writing comprehension, math - similar to Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia) skills.

Cause:

You list several potential contributing factors:

Premature Birth: Being born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.   

Low Birth Weight: Being born with a lower than average weight.   

Lack of Oxygen to the Brain: Hypoxia during birth.   

Brain Injury or Trauma: Damage to the brain.   

Unclear Genetic Link: The role of family history is not fully understood.

Maternal Substance Use: Drug or alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy.   

Treatment:

Physiotherapy: You correctly identify physiotherapy as a key treatment approach. 

The NHS link you provided offers further information on DCD in adults.   

Types of Dyspraxia (Based on your Research and Experience):

You categorize Dyspraxia based on the difficulties you've personally experienced:

Motor Dyspraxia: Difficulty with gross motor skills like jumping, skipping, running, and fine motor skills like dressing.   

Verbal Dyspraxia (Speech Dyspraxia): Difficulties with speech articulation.   

Oral Dyspraxia: Problems with the mouth, throat, tongue, saliva control, and swallowing.

Personal Overcoming and Persistent Challenges:

Overcome Skills: You share a positive example of overcoming difficulties with holding cutlery and cutting food.

Lifelong Strengths and Weaknesses: You acknowledge having lifelong strengths and weaknesses in literacy skills

(reading, writing, spelling, grammar,

punctuation) but a consistent weakness in math.

Key Takeaways:

Motor and Cognitive Impact: Dyspraxia affects both physical coordination and cognitive skills related to learning, 

particularly literacy and numeracy.   

Developmental Origin: It's a developmental disorder, meaning it originates in childhood.   

Varied Potential Causes: Several factors during pregnancy and birth are linked to an increased risk.   

Importance of Therapy: Physiotherapy is a crucial intervention to improve motor skills.   

Individual Experiences: The specific types and severity of Dyspraxia can vary greatly from person to person, 

as highlighted by your own experiences.

Persistence of Challenges: While some difficulties can be overcome, others may persist throughout life.

Your summary provides a good, personal, and informative overview of Dyspraxia, encompassing its definition, 

potential causes, treatment, different types, 

and the lifelong impact it can have on individuals.

Sources and related content


Developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia) in children - Symptoms - NHS 



 

www.nhs.uk



Living with Dyspraxia - unesco mgiep 



 

mgiep.unesco.org



Preterm Birth | Maternal Infant Health - CDC 



 

www.cdc.gov



Developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia) in children - NHS 



 

www.nhs.uk



Even Mild Oxygen Deprivation at Birth Can Have Lasting Effects - Ankin Law 



 

ankinlaw.com


 



you’ve provided a clear and concise explanation of Dysgraphia, focusing on its core characteristics and impact.

 Here's a breakdown of the key information:

What is Dysgraphia?

Handwriting Difficulty and Disability: You accurately describe Dysgraphia as a condition that makes handwriting difficult and can

be considered a disability. The struggle to write neatly and tidily, even with lined paper and margins, is a primary characteristic.   

Handwriting Learning Difficulty/Impairment: You also correctly identify it as a learning difficulty specifically affecting handwriting.   

Reading and Writing Ability vs. Presentation: You highlight that individuals with Dysgraphia often read and may be able to write,

but their handwriting may be messy and disorganized without visual cues like lines and margins.

Key Challenges Associated with Dysgraphia:

Neatness and Legibility: Difficulty producing neat and legible handwriting.   

Expressing Thoughts in Writing: Challenges in organizing and expressing thoughts clearly on paper so that they make sense to others.   

Planning and Organizing Written Work: Struggles with planning and structuring written tasks and ideas.   

Grip on Writing Tools: Difficulty with the physical act of gripping pens and pencils correctly and comfortably.   

Avoidance of Writing-Related Tasks: A tendency to avoid activities like writing, drawing, and coloring due to the difficulty they present.   

Automaticity of Letter/Number Formation: Affects the ability to automatically form letters and numbers, making writing slow and

effortful process.

Slower Task Completion: Dysgraphia can slow down writing speed, reading (due to the effort involved in the writing process),

and overall completion of tasks and coursework.   

In summary, your description effectively captures the essence of Dysgraphia as a learning difficulty that primarily 

impacts handwriting and the physical act of writing but can also extend to challenges in organizing written thoughts 

and potentially affecting the speed of other related tasks. It's important to remember that while the most visible sign

 is often messy handwriting, the underlying difficulties with motor skills, visual-spatial processing, and language processing

 can contribute to the broader challenges faced by individuals with Dysgraphia.

Sources and related content


What Is Dysgraphia? | Reading Rockets 



 

www.readingrockets.org



Dysgraphia: What It Is, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment - Cleveland Clinic 



 

my.clevelandclinic.org



Disorder of written expression and dysgraphia: definition, diagnosis, and management - PMC - PubMed Central 



 

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


 


 




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