Dyspraxia confusion

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Hi,

Just a few questions if anyone knows the answer to any. I am very confused...

Does anyone have a dyspraxia diagnosis? What are the benefits of such a diagnosis? Are there any therapies?

What do you do when you have a selection of AS, dyspraxia, and ADD symptoms?

Are dyspraxics actually a group of clumsy aspies? Or is it a separate condition altogether?
If not, why does there seem to be such an overlap between dyspraxia and AS?

The dyspraxics I watched on you tube reported social skills and social understanding problems, like me. Does this mean i am dyspraxic and not an aspie?

Can a diagnosed dyspraxic get a disability benefit?

Dyspraxia or Apraxia is a separate diagnosis from AS. Many of the diagnostic criteria for dyspraxia is similar to the physical manifestations of AS such as coordination problems and other such things. The main difference is dyspraxia is a motor-function disorder and AS is considered a neurological condition. There is also a motor-function disorder of speech which is verbal dyspraxia but is related to the fine motor skills of the tongue and mouth, not the neurological processes of creating speech in a coherent manner.

I am not aware of whether dyspraxia is rated for disability, but considering it is a motor function disorder, I believe it would be. However, to actually be determined as disabled it needs to be significantly disabling which usually means it needs to be diagnosed by a specialist and often compounded with other issues.

In regards to having a mix of multiple symptoms, the three diagnoses you mention have overlapping symptoms, so they could technically all be one disorder that needs to be evaluated by a professional to discern which one it is, or it could be what is called a co-morbid condition where you are having multiple issues at once. It is not at all uncommon for those with AS to have ADD as well, and occasionally comorbid physical motor skill issues. If you are concerned about the definitions, particularly for filing for disability you need to see a specialist for each thing and make sure you have comprehensive evaluations for all of it to prove the degree of disability and the accurate diagnoses.

Best of luck in finding answers.

Chrissy

Thanks, Chrissy, there a lot of things in there for me to think about. Though I kind of wonder if dyspraxia actually is AS, but a different manifestation of it? Ie, autism that effects motor coordination.

I think that the fact I probably has dyspraxia explains why I dont have the classic AS stims.. I think a stim is generally a coordinated movement. The only stim I have is pacing.

It is certainly possible, I have seen many of these disorders that I research that have similar characteristics and manifestations. My fiancee also is an aspie who has motor control problems and he lacks some of the normal stims, except pacing and rocking. Our son on the other hand does complex body twisting motions and throws himself on things repeatedly because he has a sensory integration disorder as an aspect of his AS.

I have never thought of stims as specifically coordinated movements, more as "loud" body tics. For me they've always been like this odd sensation that builds until I just have to do a certain movement, whether coordinated or not. I will have to look into that further to see what the clinical diagnostic folks say vs. common experience.

(studying people, particularly psych and sociology is my special interest so I can get kind of in-depth on it).

Chrissy
USAF Veteran
4A251

I remember when I was little I was misdiagnosed with dyspraxia. I don't remember much, but they gave me physiotherapy. It wasn't until I was 13 that I was diagnosed with Asperger's.

it is confusing. I have dyspraxia and autism. I was slow to meet motor related and speech milestones becuase of it. I have to correct something above. dyspraxia is also considered a neurological condition.

I know 3 people in real life with dyspraxia but no autism. all three have social difficulties. I think the social difficulties are not as severe as in autism. But they are there. dyspraxia also causes problems with organization and memory. mostly it is a difficulty in organizing movement but it can include organizing speech and thought. balance and muscle tone can also be affected. People with dyspraxia also have sensory problems. All 3 people i know with dyspraxia have sensory problems. One so bad he doesn't leave his house. He also has verbal dyspraxia and people could only begin to understand what he was saying when he reached 12.

I was diagnosed with dyspraxia when I was 10 or 11. It's very common in the ASD. I had to have occupational therapy and it improved my balance and sensory issues. My mom says I outgrew it. I don't fit the dyspraxia profile anymore anyway.

Anyway interesting to see others have had intially been diagnosed with it. Perhaps it was around before AS and more popular back then. I dont know.

I think my husband has dyspraxia. His balance isn't very good.

Maybe he does! Sometimes I wonder about my mother too. She has had some spectacular, legendary falls. But usually they happen when she tries to do too many things at once. I dont fall over that often, though sometimes when I am in shops I upset displays or walk into people behind me.

For me, I might be mild, but it does affect me in some ways.

I find it difficult to put a string in a sewing needle.
I have beenclumsy at work and such and knocked things over and bumped into things.I have lost my balance at times at work and kinda almost fall..luckily i bumped a customer and was able to regain balance
I can't drive a standard/manual transmission vehicle, but I can drive an automatic transmission vehicle.
Im a messy eater at times.
I can play some sports, but not all.
I have good skills in regards to ball handling and such, but my body acts before my mind....thus I dont know what to do but the skills are there.In basketball and such, the whole game and chaos...other players and such all shouting and such is overwhelming and then as a result, the skill seems to just disappear.
If Im rushed, I get all clumsy and sloppy and make lots of mistakes and messes.

I've been diagnosed with HFA, dyspraxia and dyslexia. I am very clumsy

Yes I can be clumsy too at times, tory_canuck and shepeyeescapee.

Thanks to all of you who replied in this thread, you have all helped me in the making of an important decision.

I was diagnosed with dyspraxia, actually motor apraxia as a young child around 4 years of age, maybe earlier, after having grand mal seizures at ages 2 & 4. I was late with meeting motor milestones, but not verbal ones. I could walk around age 1, but my mother has told me that I was reluctant to let go of her hand.

The neurologist I went to until I was around 12, wanted to put me in leg braces when I was younger, but my mother decided it wasn't necessary, since I could walk and run, even if clumsy and awkward.

I was never put in them, and sometimes I wonder if it would have done me any good. I was never given any physical therapy. I was evaluated for dysgraphia, but it was inconclusive and they said that I didn't have it, but that I was an anaomly because I could draw well. Though I do have problems with perspective and spatial relationships in my work, even after taking many art classes.

I also never grew out of the apraxia. I was told when I was 12 or 13 that I would never be able to learn to ride a bike after spraining my hand trying to learn to roller skate. I still fall, though less as an adult, since I don't run around the way I did as a child, and I compensate better generally. And I have trouble pouring liquids, cutting my food-especially meat, etc.

I never learned to ride a bike, though I can ride one of those adult tricycles.
And I don't walk with a cane, but I've been thinking of it because I'm kind of "jerky" in my walking movements. I also get disorientated with team sports, especially basketball and volleyball, etc.

This is one reason why I'm skeptical about my SPD diagnosis rather than AS. I guess it's because my mother and other members of my family are on the Schizophrenic spectrum, they just went with that. My doctor and therapist are pushing me to learn to drive big time. And I really don't feel comfortable doing it. They think it's a self esteem thing, but it's not. I know something bad will happen if I try to drive.

I also have a mirroring problem called motor overflow, where if I move one finger or body part consciously, the other finger will on its own mimic it, to a lesser degree. And when looking a mirror and combing my hair or similar type of movements sometimes I can't get my hand to go the right way. Especially if looking at myself from behind and trying to do something stupid like cut my own hair. This is another reason I don't want to drive, because you have to use your mirrors a lot. They keep saying that you can't know until you try, but I don't always think that's true.

I'm also directionally challenged, and always get lost, even with simple things like going the right way when exiting the doctor's office and finding the right hallway.

I don't know what to do about the driving. It could change my life in some ways if I could. And I currently live in a semi-rural area with no buses and few sidewalks throughout and I can't go anywhere unless my mother drives me. And I've lived in other cities with public transit and still ended up stranded at certain times of the evening and on weekends.

Anyway, hope this info is useful. I, too, would like to know if anyone knows if dyspraxia qualifies one for disability status or accomodations.

Interesting. I will write more later as I am going out. Re driving I think if you learn you could learn slowly, and in an automatic car.. it took me ages to learn and I still struggle... dont worry about people saying it is low self esteem that you dont want to drive. That silly self-esteem movement in the 80s.. teachers blamed everything I was doing wrong on low self-esteem.. from my poor handwriting to my inability to catch a ball, even though I would miss the ball by many metres.