Re: Dyspraxia

[Guest guest]

Can someone please explain the symptoms of dyspraxia. Is it the same as apraxia? Is this another disorder that autistic children may have? Any info is appreciated!!!! ThanksSent via BlackBerry by AT&TFrom: specialeffectstutoring@...Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:45:21 +0000To: <Texas-Autism-Advocacy >Subject: Re: Oops, cont'd 90 days? They have 60 days to complete evaluation and thirty to meet for assessment result ARD.LesliSent via BlackBerry from T-MobileFrom: "twinnfun" Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:14:00 -0000To: <Texas-Autism-Advocacy >Subject: Oops, cont'd Eval was finished 10/28 but ARD meeting is not happening until Friday, 12/12. Can they use the missed school days as an excuse for their violation to adhere to the 90 days? Also, would any services offered be retro active from the time son turned 3 or from last day of 90-day- period? Oh, and it's HISD, of course...

[Guest guest]

> Can someone please explain the symptoms of dyspraxia. Is it the same as

> apraxia? Is this another disorder that autistic children may have? Any info

> is appreciated!!!! Thanks

" The brain's inability to plan muscle movements and carry them out. "

Here's something somewhat related, although I would welcome literature

re: ASD + dyspraxia.

http://www.autistics.org/library/inertia.html

"

The Why of this Article

One night, my freshman year in college, camped in somebody's backyard

in LA to attend a political protest, I realized there was a pattern to

the various things I hadn't done -- mail a letter to collect an

already-won thousand-dollar scholarship, make an orthodontist

appointment after years of having the braces stuck uselessly on my

teeth, do most of my homework in high school, brush my teeth before I

was 17 anytime other than the day I was going to the dentist -- and to

the things I had done - an award-winning high school science fair

project, a fair bit of reading, endless hours on the internet - and

that this pattern had little to do with motivation, caring, internal

desires, or even how much I enjoyed doing the activities in question,

and quite a bit to do with how the activities were structured. This

realization triggered a welcome shift in my thinking, and I set about

studying how exactly I seemed to work in this respect, how I could

structure my life so as to make this less of a problem, and what

similar phenomena seemed to happen in others.

This article and presentation are an attempt to communicate what I've

pieced together, geared partly at inertial people trying to figure out

how to structure their lives in a way that works.

Wanting and Doing: A common-sense model and its limitations.

In high school, I passed many hours thinking about how I wanted to be

doing my homework, being frustrated with myself for not doing my

homework, making elaborate plans to try to get myself to homework...

and still not starting my homework. When I've tried to describe how

this worked to others, I've generally been met with disbelief. " If you

didn't do it, " they say, " You must not really have wanted to. " This

idea seems to function partly as a belief about how people work, but

also partly as a definition -- what a person wants to do is almost

defined as what they end up doing. The belief-structure underlying

this -- our society's common-sense explanation for what a person does

and does not end up doing -- seems to go something like this:

A person is a chooser. They have an array of options laid out in front

of them, and they take whichever one they most want -- whichever

option they care most about doing. What a person does is exactly the

same as what that person cares most about doing.

I don't know how well this model works for most people, but I know

this model does not work for me, or for a number of other autistic

spectrum inhabitants. For the purpose of this paper, I'll call anyone

for whom this model is far from working " inertial " , and I'll call the

phenomena which make it difficult or impossible for them to connect

intention and action " inertia " . I'm going to try to explore what

factors effect inertia in various people, and how one might structure

one's life to make inertia less of a problem. "

It's a good read.

-

http://heybryan.org/

1

[Guest guest]

Hi ~Dyspraxia is a motor planning disorder, like said.  Children with dyspraxia have difficulty learning new skills, don't learn by watching, they have to be taught hand-over-hand and have to practice the skill repeatedly to learn the "muscle memory".  Apraxia is most commonly associated with an oral/verbal planning disorder, but it's basically the same thing.  Dyspraxia has been thought of as a sensory processing/integration dysfunction...which is very commonly comorbid with an autism spectrum diagnosis.  Dyspraxia is researched and recognized a lot more in the UK and Australia

than in the US.  I used to have a bunch of links, but I lost them when I upgraded my browser.  I'll look (later? tomorrow?) to see if I still have the old browser. :)Love,Diane.

[Guest guest]

Crossroads Institute, Little Giant steps and National Association for

Child Development all address dyspraxia in their therapy programs.

here is some biomed info.

The Best Dyspraxia Program Ever

By Dorfman, M.S., L.D.N.

Children with developmental delays demonstrate varying

degrees of difficulty with motor planning. This disorder is called

dyspraxia, a technical term derived from the Latin roots " dys "

meaning " poor " and " praxis " meaning " coordination " . Apraxia is a more

serious version of this disability, with severely limited motor

planning.

Dyspraxia can affect gross, fine, and oral motor skills. Activities

such as riding a bicycle, running, and eating with utensils require

skilled motor planning. When dyspraxia affects the ability to

coordinate sounds, the result is impaired speech and language.

Dyspraxia, Speech and Language

How does an individual find the right words, sequence them into

sentences, and converse? Since conversations can take many

directions, mental flexibility and the ability to prioritize ideas

are essential. If grandma asks what he likes about

school, he could choose to say recess, but if he has dyspraxia, he

may comment on his new truck. Children with language motor planning

issues often answer questions tangentially, with scripts, or by

echoing. Fluid social interactions require a combination of competent

motor planning and sufficient processing speed.

Motor Planning Depends Upon Good Fat

The biological foundation of good motor planning is balanced fat.

Picture the brain as a house of fat. The house's foundation and beams

are made of structural fats, the walls (cell membranes) are bi-layers

of fat and it is all stabilized by antioxidant fats that protect the

entire operation from damage. Together these fats comprise 60-70% of

the brain.

Phospholipids – Structural Fats

What lays the foundation for our house of fat are phospholipids.

Unlike the more familiar fats, triglycerides, which have three fatty

acid chains linked to a base, phospholipids have a fat soluble

molecule on one end, and a water soluble molecule on the other.

Phospholipids are the perfect building material because of their

unique ability to link to both fat and water soluble molecules.

However, their quality changes, depending upon whether they

incorporate good fats, like omega-3 fat from fish and algae, or poor

fats, like trans-fats from processed foods. The former optimize the

strength, function, and quality of brain membranes, making the

foundation strong. When combined with the latter, the foundation is

weak.

Phosphatidyl choline (PC) makes up 50-65% of the phospholipids in

membranes. Research suggests choline supplementation can improve

cognitive function. Choline is the raw material for the

neurotransmitter, acetylcholine; the major neurotransmitter that

regulates memory, motor planning, and executive function.

An excellent and effective form of phosphatidyl choline is Xymogen

Phosphaline, a thick liquid, available from The Village Green

Apothecary. . Although this supplement is expensive,

children with dyspraxia who take it are showing exciting leaps in

language complexity. Mix with apple or pear sauce, spread it on a

pancake, mix it with Nutella or camouflage it with maple syrup.

The Walls – Omega 3 Fats

Up to 25% of the brain is DHA (docosahexonoic acid), an omega 3 fat

found in fish and seaweed. Many studies show DHA's ability to improve

motor planning, attention, academics, and behavior. Essential fats

like DHA are incorporated into the windows and walls of our house of

fat. They are built into the cell membranes.

Better function follows improved structure. With sufficient DHA, the

cells take in and carry information more efficiently and accurately.

The fat you eat becomes the fat of your brain. Most people consume

many omega 6 fats, found in meat, cheese, and nuts, and few fish

based omega 3 fats. Flax seeds and oil are good sources of both omega

3 and 6 fats though they do not contain DHA. To avoid mercury

contamination in fish, good supplement manufacturers distill the DHA

to remove mercury. As a result, ironically, supplements are safer

then the real food.

Take DHA with another omega 3 fat, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Dose

at between 500-2000 mg for children. Too much fat of any type can

cause loose or yellow stools. As in all dietary supplements or

changes, watch for irritability.

Paint and Caulk – Vitamin E

Using our house of fat analogy, vitamin E protects the fat soluble

tissue from inflammation and damage, just as paint and caulk protect

a house from the weather and other environmental assaults. Vitamin E

is a fat based antioxidant, so it is important for the fat based

brain. Antioxidants donate electrons to molecules injured by chemical

toxins.

, MD, a California pediatrician, discovered that many

children with dyspraxia show symptoms of vitamin E deficiency, such

as poor articulation, low tone, abnormal proprioception, and high

pain threshold. To address dyspraxia, she recommends higher than

normal levels of vitamin E. Dr. cured her own three year old

of dyspraxia with 2,000 I.U.'s per day.

Most children do well with 800-1200 I.U.'s of the mixed tocopherol

form of vitamin E. with the upper limit of safety at 66 I.U.'s per

pound of weight. Although research offers little safety data on

children, no reported cases of toxicity are known. However, it has a

mild blood thinning effect. If using over 1200 I.U.'s, have your

child's clotting factors checked and work with a physician familiar

with using vitamin E.

I recommend using all eight types of vitamin E, including four

tocotrienols. Megafood Complete E-8 and Perfect E are products

containing the entire E complex. For a child that cannot swallow,

puncture the capsule and squeeze out the contents. A parent can

swallow the shell of the capsule and reap benefits also.

Build a Strong House of Fat

Efficient brains need the proper fats for strong motor planning.

Fight dyspraxia by building a strong house of fat. Combine good

quality phospholipids for a strong foundation with DHA for durable

walls and Vitamin E to protect the house. Only then can the brain

function maximally.

To learn more, read The LCP Solution for ADHD, Dyslexia, and

Dyspraxia by Stordy, and go to www.foodforthebrain.org.

>

> Hi ~Dyspraxia is a motor planning disorder, like

said.  Children with dyspraxia have difficulty learning new skills,

don't learn by watching, they have to be taught hand-over-hand and

have to practice the skill repeatedly to learn the " muscle

memory " .  Apraxia is most commonly associated with an oral/verbal

planning disorder, but it's basically the same thing.  Dyspraxia has

been thought of as a sensory processing/integration

dysfunction...which is very commonly comorbid with an autism spectrum

diagnosis.  Dyspraxia is researched and recognized a lot more in the

UK and Australia than in the US.  I used to have a bunch of links,

but I lost them when I upgraded my browser.  I'll look (later?

tomorrow?) to see if I still have the old browser. :)Love,Diane.

>