What is dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia, also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), is a form of neurodivergence that affects coordination and motor skills.

People with dyspraxia were born with the condition; it is not acquired through environmental factors.

Dyspraxia is primarily characterised by difficulties with fine motor skills (e.g. threading a needle or tying shoelaces) and gross motor skills (e.g. riding a bike or throwing a cricket ball). It can severely impact coordination, balance, and visual-spatial awareness.

Dyspraxia can also affect verbal fluency (particularly when fatigued), as well as sequencing, planning, and organisation.

Dyspraxia exists on a spectrum, meaning its impact can vary significantly from person to person.

The diagnostic criteria for Developmental Coordination Disorder, as outlined in the DSM, are as follows.

A) Significantly poorer performance with fine and gross motor skills in relation to the individual’s age and opportunity to acquire these skills.

B) Without accommodations, the poor motor skills significantly and persistently impair activities of daily living or academic achievement.

C) Symptoms are (or were) apparent during early childhood.

D) The deficits in motor skills are not better explained by other factors, such as a learning disability, sensory impairment, or neurological impairments of mobility such as cerebral palsy.

A personal note on criterion A: while dyspraxia affects motor skills overall, an individual may have surprising strengths. My gross motor skills, for example, are generally poor, yet I was picked for the school football team. My daughter’s fine motor skills are generally poor, yet she enjoyed building Lego sets during childhood.

Further reading

You can explore a thorough list of common dyspraxia symptoms. If you’d like to understand how dyspraxia can present in real-life contexts, you may find the following blog posts useful.