Dyspraxia Treatment
The treatment of dyspraxia depends very much on the type and severity of the symptoms. Support is generally provided through the National Health Service (NHS), via a multi-disciplinary team of paediatrician, occupation therapist, physiotherapist and speech and language therapist. Sometimes, if there are coexisting behavioural or educational symptoms, then behavioural therapists and psychologists may become involved.
Early referral from the GP is essential to allow full assessments to take place and for the team to plan how to tackle the key difficulties. Occupational therapists usually assist the visual perceptual skills, fine motor performance, pencil holding and letter formation. For verbal dyspraxia, speech and language therapists help with speech and articulation difficulties, looking at mouth and tongue movement problems. Physiotherapists look after gross motor skills, posture and general body image and management.
Teamwork
Generally, physiotherapists will work on muscle strength and balance. Occupational therapists will handle skill areas, especially the fine motor coordination skills. They will also provide help with special equipment, which might be useful, like moulded grips for pens and pencils.
As the demands on these resources are already stretched to the limits, one of the great difficulties is that the support given is often short- lived and sporadic. Rather than trying to reach the core neurological problems and target overall neurological performance, the therapeutic option is taken, involving identifying the main weaknesses and simply training specific skills.