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Dyspraxia (or Developmental Coordination Disorder) is just as common as dyslexia, and again boys are more susceptible than girls. Praxis means ‘doing’, and the most obvious difficulties are usually in motor coordination, affecting either fine motor skills (like holding a pen), or gross (big) movements like running or throwing. Muscle tone may be poor, resulting in ‘floppy’ movement, or joints may be unusually flexible and ‘bendy’, leading to other kinds of postural and movement difficulties. As in dyslexia, left-right confusions are common—with particular difficulties coordinating actions between left and right sides of the body (‘crossing the midline’). Thus, complex tasks that involve using both hands together (tying shoelaces, or doing up buttons) can prove frustratingly difficult to learn.

Not all dyspraxic children are overtly clumsy, though. The younger child may compensate for his unsteadiness by using excessive muscle tension, so the problems may go undetected. Later, when he tries to run, jump or dance, or to throw and catch a ball, his lack of coordination becomes apparent. Difficulty or failure in these areas can lead to anxiety or embarrassment, and more tension. He may therefore dislike and avoid team sports and games (or dancing, where he may epitomize the saying about having two left feet!). Dyspraxic difficulties apply more fundamentally to the planning and carrying out of any complex, sequenced actions. Organization and time-keeping are usually poor, and if he’s dyspraxic your child may be slow to start and finish tasks. He may be able to do one thing properly at a time, but can easily get distracted and try to do too many things at once, so none gets finished.

As with dyslexia, this syndrome is independent of general ability, and strengths often include good reasoning and creative problem-solving skills, including lateral and holistic thinking. Verbal abilities are usually superior to non-verbal abilities, with particular weaknesses in visuo-spatial and attentional processing. Spelling and copying from a board, as well as handwriting, are usually areas of difficulty, although reading itself may or may not be a problem.

‘Our son was always a cause for concern amongst his teachers. We cut additives like tartrazine from his diet, and that helped a lot, so he was no longer hyperactive. The other problems remained, though.

In the end, the new Special Needs teacher suggested he might have dyspraxia, which proved to be the case. Yes, it’s a label, but now that everyone understands, we have put strategies in place that will help him.

One of those strategies is changing his diet to follow the principles you outline. It’s early days yet, but I’m convinced we’re already seeing a difference.’ – Jan and Andrew

Because his verbal abilities may be very good, the discrepancy between these and his written work (particularly when under timed pressure) can lead others to think your dyspraxic child is just being lazy or careless, even when he’s trying very hard indeed. When time is not limited, his work may be outstanding, which can add to that impression. No surprises that he may be susceptible to stress and frustration, often appearing irritable and moody as a result. With respect to attention, ‘sensory overload’ (too much happening at once) is often a problem for the dyspraxic child—but once absorbed in something, he may have an unusual capacity to maintain his concentration, provided that the environment offers few distractions. While naming no names at all, I will say that in my experience dyspraxic tendencies are perhaps over-represented within academia, because in highly able individuals, dyspraxia often manifests as the ‘absent-minded professor’ syndrome!