Aim: To explore the complex nature of dyspraxia and develop a basic understanding of how the ability to carry out voluntary, planned actions is impaired by dyspraxia. To gain insight into how dyspraxia impacts upon everyday activities and how to support the person with dyspraxia.
The ability to carry out normal, voluntary actions is dependent on the 
ability to plan and co-ordinate sequences of individual movements: combine a series of movements in the correct order that together enable the desired action to be performed.
Acquired dyspraxia refers to a disorder affecting the individual’s ability to combine movements to perform learned, volitional actions. The person with dyspraxia may be observed to have the physical ability to carry out the individual muscle movements needed to carry out everyday purposeful actions. What they struggle to do is to correctly put together the series of movements needed to carry out a desired and planned action. This problem occurs even though reflexes are intact and muscle strength and range of movement may be entirely normal (in the absence of further Physical Impairments Related to Brain Injury).
This impairment of the ability to carry out planned, volitional actions is distinct from the ability to perform, spontaneous, unconscious actions that are not deliberately planned and thought about e.g.
- A person may spontaneously be able to put their hands over their mouth when they sneeze but fail to do the same movement when requested to do so.
- When asked ‘who wants this money?’, the person may spontaneously shout ‘me’, but be unable to produce the word ‘me’ when requested to do so.
Reflexive actions are unimpaired by dyspraxia e.g.
- Withdrawing a hand after accidently touching a hot oven ring.
- Expressions of pain when stubbing a toe etc.
Praxis means movement; it is derived from the Greek word meaning “doing”. In this context Praxis refers to the doing of volitional, goal directed and purposeful movement in order to perform an action. It is a complex interplay between motor, sensory, perceptual and cognitive processes.
The praxis system is made up of a series of functions associated with particular areas of the brain including the frontal and parietal cortex, basal ganglia, and white matter tracts between these areas. These areas work together to produce the desired purposeful movement in order to perform the required action.
Damage to the brain can disrupt the praxis system resulting in an individual who struggles to execute purposeful movement in order to perform actions, i.e. has dyspraxia or apraxia.
Dyspraxia is a complex condition, not yet fully understood. It is recognised that there are many different types of dyspraxia which can impact upon a wide range of functions e.g:
- Ideomotor Dyspraxia and Ideational Dyspraxia
- Verbal Dyspraxia
- Oro-motor dyspraxia affecting movements of the facial muscles
- Gait dyspraxia affecting walking
- Oculomotor dyspraxia affecting eye-movements
It is important to note that dyspraxia can often be perceived as a lack of co-operation on the person’s part. This can often be because the individual has been observed performing a task independently one day but being unable to do so the next. This variability is normal.
Dyspraxia and Impact on Activities of Daily Living
Functional Implications of Dyspraxia
How to Help the Person with Dyspraxia