Last week was Special Educational Needs Awareness week and so I wanted to bring your attention to a certain special need that I feel doesn't recieve much attention. I feel like I can write a blog about special needs as I am dyspraxic. I only have a mild form but it still affects my everyday life, and I want to bring awareness to it, as I was only diagnosed with it when I was 15, and life would have been so much easier if it had been picked up on earlier!What is dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. It is an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. The term dyspraxia comes from the word praxis, which means 'doing, acting'. Dyspraxia affects the planning of what to do and how to do it. It is associated with problems of perception, language and thought. Dyspraxia can also be called clumsy child syndrome - which I personally find rather amusing!
What causes dyspraxia?
For the majority of those with the condition, there is no known cause. Current research suggests that it is due to an immaturity of neurone development in the brain rather than to brain damage. People with dyspraxia have no clinical neurological abnormality to explain their condition.
People who have dyspraxia often find the routine tasks of daily life such as driving, house work, cooking and taking care of themselves difficult. They can also find coping at work is hard. People with dyspraxia usually have a combination of problems, some including:
- Poor balance
- Tendency to trip & fall over (clumsy child syndrome)
- Lack of manual dexterity. Poor at two-handed tasks, causing problems with using cutlery, cleaning, cooking and ironing
- Difficulty in following a moving object smoothly with eyes without moving head excessively
- Over- or under-sensitive to touch. Can result in dislike of being touched and/or aversion to over-loose or tight clothing - tactile defensiveness
- Poor sequencing causes problems with maths, reading and spelling and writing reports at work
- Tend to get stressed, depressed and anxious easily
These are just a few problems dyspraxia can cause - but help is at hand for people with it!
I just wanted to raise awarness to this special need, as I am not afraid to say I have one, but sometimes people call me "retarded" for not being able to do something very well, and it bugs me when I try to explain dyspraxia and nobody really understands.
So next time you are about to call someone stupid or retarded for not being able to do a certain task, just take a while to think about that person and if your words will affect them.
Oh and a random bit of information - Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) is dyspraxic!
Please visit the dyspraxia foundation website below!
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