Dyspraxia: Dispelling the Myths

Dyspraxia is a common diagnosis that affects physical and motor co-ordination, and organisation.

Dyspraxia also falls under the umbrella term of neurodiversity. However, unlike other common neurodivergent diagnoses such as dyslexia, ADHD, or autism, dyspraxia is still a relatively unknown quantity and often misunderstood.

Many individuals with dyspraxia have a unique set of strengths, commonly these include:

• Creative and original thinking

• Good strategic thinking and problem-solving skills

• Determination and great work ethic

• Highly motivated

• Able to develop their own strategies to overcome difficulties

The following famous people with dyspraxia have honed in on these talents to help them overcome their challenges:

• Daniel Radcliffe (Actor)

• Cara Delevingne (Model, Actress and Singer)

• Florence Welch (Singer)

• David Bailey (Photographer)

• Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour MP of South Shields)

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about dyspraxia and what it truly entails. Dyspraxia Week is a great opportunity for us to dispel some of those myths.

1.       Myth: Dyspraxia is extremely rare

According to ACAS (2017), 5% of the UK population have a diagnosis of dyspraxia. In fact, approximately 6-10% will have some features of dyspraxia.

2.      Myth: Dyspraxia is the same as dyslexia and dysgraphia

Research has shown that 52% of those diagnosed with dyslexia also have a diagnosis of dyspraxia, indicating that there could be some link between the two. Though you can often see dual diagnosis of dyspraxia with other neurodiverse labels, there are some very distinct differences in characteristics.

Dyslexia is commonly associated with difficulties in reading and writing, affecting literacy skills. Like dyspraxia, those with dysgraphia may also struggle with handwriting. However, instead of being solely a coordination challenge, those with dyspraxia may also struggle with processing and transposing thoughts onto paper, like dyslexia.

3.      Myth: It’s just clumsiness

Because of its links to motor coordination, dyspraxia can often be written off as ‘just clumsiness’. Someone with dyspraxia may appear clumsy due to motor coordination challenges, but it can also affect orientation as well as organisation and sequencing skills.  Dyspraxia can also be associated with difficulties with coordinating the muscles in the jaw, lips, and tongue when talking. These challenges with coordination when talking is referred to as oral dyspraxia.

4.       Myth: There is no way to help someone with dyspraxia

There are many ways to support individuals with neurodifferences such as dyspraxia:

• An individual may be referred to occupational therapy or speech therapy.

• There are opportunities to develop further tools and strategies at school with 1:1 support.

• This support can also be offered at university through DSA support, and in the workplace through Access to Work and employer support.

• There are also a range of assistive technologies available to support individuals with process ideas and transposing them into written text, such as dragon software.

Harry Saville

Solutions Partner at Lexxic

Learn about Dyslexia, take a look at our blog post: Dyslexia - Breaking Through Barriers