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Dyspraxia Activities

Dyspraxia is a term referring to a disorder related to motor skill development. People with this disorder display difficulty planning and completing specific fine motor tasks. Approximately 6 percent of all children display some symptoms of dyspraxia, and about 70 percent of those affected by this disorder are male, according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities Inc. This disorder can affect such simple motor skills as waving goodbye, as well as more complex tasks such as brushing teeth.

  1. Motor Skill Success

    • Adapting a task in order to reduce the motor skills required can lead to a child's success. It is extremely important that a child experience positive self-esteem when working on specific peer-related activities. Helping a dyspraxic child with common activities that have been adapted to build up the child's self- esteem include some of the following: For longer writing assignments, have the child use a keyboard, or pens, crayons or pencils that have larger grip sizes. You might also consider having your child modify their physical education program, as well as wear clothes with bigger fasteners.

    Interacting with Young Children Having Dyspraxia

    • Engage in times of play directed by the child where you join in and imitate his activities but ask no questions nor initiate any demands. Follow his lead and make an allowance for the long response time found in some children with dyspraxia. According to Marie E. Anzalone, Sc.D., OTR & G. Gordon Williamson, Ph.D., OTR, you should expand upon themes in child-directed play activities. For example,if a child happens to be in the kitchen "cooking," you could help the child expand upon that theme by joining in and setting the table and helping feed the baby. This strategy helps build the child's play repertoire so that his imagination can be flexible. Modify the environment so that creativity and flexibility in play can be fostered. Rather than suggesting solutions as a child is involved in various problem solving tasks, ask questions about what will happen next.

    Other Activities Dealing with Dyspraxic Children

    • Work on the organizational skills of the child, not your own. When it comes to giving adult direction, do "less" and not "more". You will find that it usually takes the disorganized child longer than the average child to learn motor activities. Help the child from progressing to a new skill to practicing it repeatedly so that he will be able to perform the task with ease. Because some children have a hard time evaluating their own actions, honest feedback should be provided. Be aware of children who try to escape from the primary task and seek a "crash" solution such as having an "accident," using aggression or just refusing to participate so that they won't have to complete a task. As stated by Anzalone and Williamson, this may indicate that a task is too difficult and needs to be simplified. Provide a routine for children that is structured, reasonably predictable and consistent.

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