What is dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia, also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), is a lifelong condition that emerges in childhood but continues to impact people throughout their teenage years and into adulthood.

Understanding the symptoms of dyspraxia in teenagers is important for finding the right support and accommodations during a critical stage of development. In this blog post, we will explore the symptoms of dyspraxia in teenagers and how Aim Forward can offer insights and support to help them thrive.

Dyspraxia in adolescence

Dyspraxia is a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) characterised by difficulties in motor coordination, planning, and execution of movements. It mostly affects physical skills, but it can also influence other areas of functioning, including organisation, processing sensory information, and social interaction.

At Aim Forward, we provide dyspraxia diagnostic assessments for individuals aged 16+, and dyspraxia needs assessments for those aged 14+. We have online appointments available within the next two weeks. Get in touch here to find out more and book your assessment.

Common symptoms of dyspraxia in teenagers

Fine motor difficulties:

• Handwriting: Dyspraxic teenagers often have difficulties with handwriting, which may be hard to read, inconsistent, and require a lot of effort.
• Using tools: Finding it hard to use tools and utensils, like scissors or cutlery, can persist.
• Buttoning and zipping: Having trouble fastening buttons, zippers, or managing clothing items that require coordinating your finger movements is common.

Gross motor challenges:

• Balance and coordination: Dyspraxic teenagers may have ongoing difficulties with balance, coordination, and taking part in sports or physical activities.
• Sports and physical education: The inability to excel in sports and physical education classes can affect self-esteem and motivation to take part.

Organisation and planning:

• Time management: Dyspraxic teenagers may find it challenging to manage their time efficiently, leading to missed deadlines and stress.
• Organisation: Difficulty organising tasks, keeping track of assignments, and managing daily routines can affect academic performance.

Sensory sensitivities:

• Sensory processing: Sensory sensitivities, like heightened responses to sounds, textures, or lights, can persist and affect daily life.

Speech and language difficulties:

• Pronunciation: Pronunciation issues, articulation challenges (forming certain sounds), or speech clarity problems from early childhood may continue into the teenage years.

Social and emotional impact:

• Anxiety and Frustration: Dyspraxic teenagers may experience anxiety and frustration when confronted with daily challenges.
• Social interaction: Difficulties in social settings, like maintaining eye contact, reading non-verbal cues, or taking part in group activities, can be persistent.

Academic performance:

• Handwriting and assignments: Handwriting that is hard to read and difficulty with written assignments can affect academic achievement.

Aim Forward: supporting teens with dyspraxia

Recognising and understanding the symptoms of dyspraxia in teenagers is important for identifying the right support and accommodations. Aim Forward specialises in comprehensive assessments and support for dyspraxic teenagers. Here’s how we can assist:

• Accurate assessment: Aim Forward offers accurate assessments to diagnose a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) with traits of dyspraxia and identify the impact it has on a person’s life.
• Personalised recommendations: Following assessment, we can provide personalised strategies and recommendations to help dyspraxic individuals navigate daily challenges.
• Access to coaching: Aim Forward can support dyspraxic people to embed and learn new strategies and techniques designed to address specific needs.

Dyspraxia does not disappear in teenage years; it continues to influence various areas of a teenager’s life. Recognising the symptoms of dyspraxia in teenagers is the first step toward obtaining the support and accommodations needed to thrive in education, social interactions, and daily activities. Aim Forward is committed to assisting teenagers with dyspraxia on their journey to achieving their full potential and building a strong foundation for adulthood.

Dyspraxia symptoms and co-occurring neurodivergent conditions

Dyspraxia can sometimes occur in combination with other types of neurodivergence, meaning a teenager may experience the symptoms of two or more conditions simultaneously.

Understanding the complex overlap between different neurodivergent diagnoses, mental health and other disabilities, helps parents and professionals understand the full scope of a teenager’s needs and ensures they receive holistic support.

Dyspraxia and dyslexia

Both dyspraxia and dyslexia share common symptoms with sequencing and processing speed.

While dyslexia primarily affects reading, spelling, and decoding language, dyspraxia affects the fine motor control needed for writing. A teenager with both may find difficulties with:

• Handwriting: the physical act of forming letters may be slow, tiring, and illegible (dyspraxia).
• Written output: organising thoughts into a coherent paragraph or report (dyslexia/sequencing issues) may be challeging.
• Reading fluency: difficulties with visual tracking and eye movements can sometimes be linked to motor control issues.

Dyspraxia and mental health

Living with dyspraxia means repeatedly facing challenges in tasks that others find effortless. This daily struggle can significantly impact a teenager’s mental well-being, often leading to a cycle of frustration, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

A teenager may find challenges with:

• Low self esteem: their constant struggles with motor tasks or organisation can lead to a sense of failure or being “less capable” than peers. This internalises into a negative self-image.

• Social anxiety; difficulties with motor coordination can lead to avoidance of sports, group games, or even social settings such as not having lunch in the dining hall for fear of spilling. Issues with non-verbal cues and social timing can also cause distress in interactions.

• General anxiety: dyspraxic teenagers often anticipate difficulty in routine situations (e.g. getting ready on time, finding the right classroom, completing homework). This constant anticipation creates a state of chronic stress and worry.

• Depression: the cumulative effect of isolation, frustration, and low self-worth can lead to feelings of hopelessness and sadness, which may manifest as withdrawal or irritability.

Dyspraxia symptoms and diagnostic assessments

Whilst Aim Forward cannot offer diagnostic services for autism or mental health conditions, we can offer diagnostic services for teenagers aged 16+ that cover specific learning difficulties including dyspraxia, ADHD & dyslexia. Find out about our diagnostic assessments here.

You should always speak to your GP first if you are experiencing motor (movement) coordination difficulties.

Educational psychologists and specialist assessors are also able to assess for a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) with traits of dyspraxia in people aged 16 or over. At Aim Forward, our team includes educational psychologists registered with the HCPC and specialist assessors with an Assessment Practising Certificate, who can provide diagnostic assessments for specific learning difficulty (SpLD) with traits of dyspraxia.

During a diagnostic assessment with Aim Forward, you will be asked to complete several tasks. These are not pass or fail tests – they are designed to highlight indicators of a SpLD as well as your strengths and weaknesses. The following areas will be explored:

• Language and practical tasks
• Memory
• How long it takes you to process information
• Reading ability
• Writing and spelling skills

The diagnostic assessment also involves a background information questionnaire, which you complete before the diagnostic assessment. This provides the assessor with information about your educational background, medical history and any previous assessments.

Our dyspraxia diagnostic assessments take place remotely via video call, last around 3 hours and cost £820 (inc VAT). Within two weeks of the assessment, you’ll receive a detailed report showing your cognitive profile and diagnostic outcome.

Dyspraxia symptoms and needs assessments

For teenagers with dyspraxia or with co-occurring conditions, a needs assessment can be extremely helpful when considering support strategies, as it takes a holistic approach; looking at the person’s experiences with their neurodivergence and mental health, not just the specific diagnosis. Needs assessments can be booked for individuals aged 14+ and you don’t need a formal diagnosis to have one.

A needs assessment can help guide teenagers and parents towards useful tools and resources to support their dyspraxia, in addition to allowing them a safe space to feel heard and understood.

A needs assessment is a relaxed, friendly discussion with one of our knowledgeable assessors to find the right tools for learning and working your way.

Your assessor will explore what matters most to you, but some of the areas could include:

• Reading and research – how quickly and easily can you understand information as you are reading it?
• Writing and composition – how easy do you find it to type or write at speed?
• Meetings, presentations and note-taking – to what extent does your writing speed or skill affect your ability to keep up with note-taking in meetings or presentations?
• Time management and organisation – how easy do you find it to keep track of when things are happening during a day or week with multiple appointments, meetings or deadlines?
• Environment – how easy do you find it to work in uncomfortable or distracting environments, especially when you feel fatigued?
• Wellbeing – how does your dyspraxia/DCD impact your mood and self-esteem?
• Potential reasonable adjustments – what changes to the way you work or learn, like typing rather than hand-writing, would help you in your day-to-day activities.

Our dyspraxia needs assessments take place remotely via video call and last around 2 hours. Following the needs assessment, you’ll receive a bespoke report with practical, personalised strategies that can be put in place to help you learn and work your way.

We can also provide follow-on coaching that allows for extra on-going support whilst implementing new strategies.

Email [email protected] for availability and more information.