Informative Positive Approaches to Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Dyspraxia

Virtually everyone in our community is somehow connected to Autism Spectrum Disorders. Through a classmate, a family member, friend, or neighbor most of us know at least one individual living "on the spectrum".Autism is a severe developmental disorder that begins at birth or within the first two-and-a-half years of life. Dyspraxia is a condition, generally present in early childhood, that affects motor skills. Occasionally, dyspraxia can be caused by traumatic brain injury, but in most cases, the cause is unknown. Specific statistics on how many people are affected by dyspraxia are difficult to find because the condition is often undiagnosed. Estimates range from 2% to 10% of the population. Males make up about 70-80% of diagnosed cases.
Most autistic children are perfectly normal in appearance, but spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviors which are markedly different from those of typical children. Less severe cases may be diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) or with Asperger's Syndrome (these children typically have normal speech, but they have many "autistic" social and behavioral problems). Autism affects about 1 in every 150 kids, but no one knows what causes it. Some scientists think that some kids might be more likely to get autism because it or similar disorders run in their families. Knowing the exact cause of autism is hard because the human brain is very complicated.
A person with ASD may have difficulty empathising (understanding the thoughts and feelings of others or seeing the world from someone else's perspective). Because of this, they may sometimes make assumptions or say things which appear strange, rude or insensitive. It is very likely that it is not their intention to cause upset. Always stay positive with ASD children Being reliable is very important. Empathise with the issue that someone with ASD may be easily upset by unpredictable change and take simple steps to avoid this wherever possible (eg a post it note on a door to advise of a room change). If they say something that you would interpret as being rude, over familiar, or intrusive, be aware that they may not realise that their comment is inappropriate. Always get to know the individual first before communicating a certain way with them.

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Dyspraxia And Sensory Processing: Are They Related?

Dyspraxia, usually referred to as developmental coordination disorder, is a motor-based difficulty with everyday tasks such as tying shoelaces, eating with a knife and fork, managing buttons and many more. This is typically caused by delayed motor skills and motor planning ability. Despite its name, dyspraxia is more than just a motor coordination disorder. Many children with dyspraxia also have difficulty with certain academic tasks, organisational skills and/or social skills.

Understanding and processing information from our environment is a vital part of everyday living. This skill, known as sensory processing helps us makes sense of the information we get from our senses, including our body and movement senses. We use this important information to determine how to respond and react in the world. Unfortunately, at least 7% of people have a hard time making accurate sense of this information and this can result in a sensory processing disorder (SPD) which can affect everyday activity. Sensory processing disorder is usually treated with sensory integration therapy by a specially trained occupational therapist.

So, is there a link between sensory processing and dyspraxia? Well, due to the historical challenges in assessments and classifications, research in the past has not been able to draw definitive conclusions either way, although newer research is suggesting that there may be a correlation. An increase in awareness of both dyspraxia and sensory processing is likely responsible for this. Now, researchers are often including sensory processing assessments in studies of children with dyspraxia.

Nonetheless, paediatric occupational therapists have argued for a link between these two for some time. This is a logical conclusion to draw. Since processing sensory information affects how we use our body, it's easy to see why difficulty processing sensory information can result in difficult organising and using the body. Examples of tasks which rely on good sensory processing might be something like handwriting: in order to write neatly and accurately, we need to understand how we are holding a pencil, where we are positioning our letters, exactly how far and in which direction to draw our lines, etc. Another example might be doing up buttons: We would need to feel the button in our hands, move the button to be pointing forward and thread the button exactly into the hole, which we are holding with our other hand. Thus, we can easily see how important it is to have good understanding of our sensory systems in order to effectively carry out these tasks.

What are the implications of this? Well, understanding the cause of difficulties can help us address them more effectively. Helping children understand the information they receive from their environment and their body can help them use their body more effectively which can lead to better skills in everyday tasks. Therefore, including sensory integration therapy into a child's intervention programme can be beneficial for a child.

Catherine Milford is an Irish-based occupational therapist and psychologist specialising in dyspraxia. You can learn more about dyspraxia by visiting the dyspraxia information website - [http://dyspraxia.eu].

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Dyspraxia / Apraxia - So Many Terms - What Do They Mean?

DYSPRAXIA OR APRAXIA

SO MANY TERMS - WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

Parents who bring their child to me for Speech Pathology often tell me that they have looked dyspraxia up on the internet, but there are so many different terms that seem to be used it becomes very confusing.

Here are some of the most common terms with their meanings:

Dyspraxia /apraxia

Dyspraxia or apraxia are interchangeable terms which mean that someone is not able to do an action. This is because the brain needs to know how to do an action, plan it, carry it out and make small adjustments, if needed, as the action happens. This is called a motor program or a motor plan. If any disruption happens to this motor planning then the result is a form of dyspraxia (or apraxia).

Developmental dyspraxia / developmental apraxia

The dypraxia is occurring in a child. Children with dyspraxia are born with the condition and it becomes more apparent as a child grows, especially when they have difficulty learning to talk.

Acquired dyspraxia / acquired apraxia

This disorder occurs when there is an interruption to the brain from disease or accident. People who have strokes (CVA) often suffer from dyspraxia. The brain can no longer plan out an action and do it, and this often includes swallowing and speech.

Ideation dyspraxia

Ideation dyspraxia happens when the brain cannot see, or conceptualise, how it is going to start an action or what that action is going to look or feel like. This makes it very difficult for children to learn to do any complex actions like talking, running or climbing.

Ideo-motor dyspraxia

Ideo-motor dyspraxia is when a motor plan cannot be executed (or carried out) properly, even though the person does have the concept of what needs to be done.

Oral dyspraxia / oral apraxia

If a person has dyspraxia that only affects the movements of the face and mouth then this is usually referred to as oral dyspraxia. Oral dyspraxia is often the cause of babies and toddlers drooling and it is hard to make speech sounds. It can also be difficult to blow bubbles, suck through a straw and imitate facial expressions. Babies with oral dyspraxia can find it hard to latch on and establish breastfeeding. When they start to eat food they often resist lumpy food and different textures.

Verbal dyspraxia / verbal apraxia / Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS)

Children with verbal dyspraxia find it hard to learn to talk. Babies use only a few sounds when they babble. They have difficulty learning to make all the sounds they need to talk and putting them together. They will then have trouble trying to put all the sounds in words and joining words into longer words and sentences. When very severe, people with dyspraxia may remain non-verbal and need to use a different communication system such as signing or picture exchange, or a high tech AAC device. Most children, however, can be helped to talk by Speech Pathology.

What to do

Most parents are not able to really identify that their child has a difficulty until they realise that the child is not learning to talk easily. Usually children with dyspraxia are able to show that they have good comprehension (understanding) skills.

If you suspect that your child may have any degree of dyspraxia, please find a local Speech Pathologist who can get to know your child and work out why she or he is having difficulty with talking. If your child has dyspraxia the Speech Pathologist can help you understand the terms and how they relate to your child.

The earlier intervention begins the better, according to all the research. So many later developing language skills depend on a child being able to talk and use communication for many different purposes. But whatever stage your child is at, treatment will make sure that they make gains as quickly as possible.

Speech Pathologists often work together with an Occupational Therapist to make sure your child learns all the skills they need for a happy life.

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