Special Needs

Introduction

Dyspraxia is a neurologically- based disorder which affects the conceptualisation, planning and carrying out of sensory / motor tasks. The term dyspraxia comes from the Greek word “praxis” which means ‘doing or acting’ hence the literal meaning of having difficulties in doing something.

Dyspraxia affects the planning of what to do and how to do it. It is associated with problems of perception, language and thought. Dyspraxia is also known as Developmental Dyspraxia or Developmental Coordination Disorder. Children with dyspraxia are usually of average or above intelligence.

There are three types of Developmental Dyspraxia. They are Oral Dyspraxia, Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia and Motor Dyspraxia. Oral dyspraxia is associated with difficulty in reproducing mouth movements even though it may be done unconsciously. Students with Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia have difficulty in making sounds into words. A student may have difficulty in producing sounds in the beginning, middle or end of words. Motor Dyspraxia inhibits an individual from moving as planned and organising sensory input.