Dyspraxia

What is Dyspraxia? 

Dyspraxia, also known as developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), is a common disorder that affects movement and co-ordination. Dyspraxia does not affect your intelligence. It can affect your co-ordination skills – such as tasks requiring balance, playing sports or learning to drive a car. Dyspraxia can also affect your fine motor skills, such as writing or using small objects. 

Symptoms of dyspraxia 

Symptoms of dyspraxia can vary between individuals and may change over time. You may find routine tasks difficult. 

If you have dyspraxia it may affect: 

• your co-ordination, balance and movement 
• how you learn new skills, think, and remember information at work and home 
• your daily living skills, such as dressing or preparing meals 
• your ability to write, type, draw and grasp small objects 
• how you function in social situations 
• how you deal with your emotions 
• time management, planning and personal organisation skills 

Strategies for the workplace.  

• Time management: Before you start work, plan what you must do that day and prioritise your tasks. Use visual aids such as mind maps, flow charts, and spider diagrams. Ask your employer to help you with planning and prioritising and at the same time make clear (tactfully!) that you would prefer them not to ‘hover over’ you and that you find being put under pressure difficult. Ask your employer to give you plenty of advance warning of deadlines. 

• Organisation: Organise your workload into urgent and non-urgent piles. Break down tasks and projects into manageable chunks. Think of large projects as a series of small tasks with a beginning and an end. Reward yourself when you have finished a task. Make sure that you take regular breaks to maximise your productivity and concentration. 
• Instructions: Write down instructions clearly and keep them for safe reference. Ask your employer to take time to clarify instructions if necessary. At meetings, use a tape recorder to help you to remember what you must do. 
• Operating office machines: When you use a computer, make sure that you sit in a comfortable position. It may be possible to use an ergonomic keyboard and mouse. Slowing down the mouse can help, as can using keyboard shortcuts if you find the mouse particularly difficult to manipulate. Keep clear instructions on how to operate photocopiers, fax machines, printers etc. Pin the instructions up next to these machines – then they can serve as a memory jogger for other people too. 
• Written work: Use your word processor’s grammar- and spell-checks and consider asking someone to proofread your work. If appropriate, ask for speech recognition software and proofreading programs. Make use of templates. Your employer may be willing to send you on a course to improve your writing skills. 
• Coping with distraction: You could look into the possibility of flexi-time – coming in early or leaving late. A partition around your desk or wearing headphones can also help to reduce distractions. 
• Attitude: Try to be as calm and positive as possible. You might want to think about using basic mind and body relaxation exercises to help you to reduce your stress levels and thus improve your overall performance. Assertiveness training may help you to communicate more effectively at work. It is important to show your employer that you have many strengths; and that you want to do a good job and can achieve this, with the right support. 

Links for Dyspraxia 

Dyspraxia in adults - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Diagnostic criteria for Dyspraxia (dyspraxiauk.com)

Dyspraxia Foundation