SpLD - Dyspraxia Key Characteristics

Children with dyspraxia may:

• appear to be clumsy, bumping into people and objects

• have difficulty in judging distances and the position of objects in space, so find ball games particularly hard

• be unable to change speed and direction without overbalancing

• need to be watched carefully when climbing on playground equipment because they have no sense of danger

• appear to be uncoordinated, particularly when running, jumping, hopping or riding a bike

• be unsure of which hand to use and may change hands in the middle of an activity

• have immature use of pencils, crayons, scissors, puzzles and simple construction toys

• have difficulty in copying shapes and pictures

• have difficulty producing some speech sounds and be unable to communicate their ideas easily

• find it confusing if they are given too much verbal information at a time because they take longer to process it and are rarely able to make immediate responses

• find it hard to sequence information and reproduce it verbally, which affects their ability to answer questions in the classroom

• find it difficult to adapt to a structured school routine

• have limited concentration and poor listening skills

• be easily upset and have temper tantrums, which annoys other children

• have poor social interactions and difficulty making friends

• be rough and aggressive because they have difficulty controlling their movements.