Physical Therapy for Children

I hear this from parents all of the time... "My child is just a little clumsy" or "My child has a hard time keeping up with their peers in sports, but is a strong kid".  These children will sometimes perform very well on the strength section of an evaluation, but score at a very low level on the coordination section.  A possible explanation for problems with coordination could be that the child is dyspraxic. 

What is dyspraxia?  Developmental dyspraxia is a motor learning difficulty that can affect planning of movements and co-ordination as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body.  There is an underlying neurological issue, but typically, signs will not show up on a CT scan or MRI. 

Some characteristics of developmental dyspraxia are:
-Appears messy or accident prone
-Decreased sense of body and what their body can do
-Difficulty with motor planning (figuring out how to make their body perform a task like others)
-Does things in an inefficient way
-May have problems with self image
-May seem "stubborn"
-Emotionally labile/sensitive
-Complains a lot about minor physical problems
-May have slower reactions times (can be mistaken with slow auditory processing)

You may note only a few of these characteristics in your child, but having a physical therapy evaluation could be the first step to improving your child's self image and self worth.  Many children who have problems performing gross motor tasks will have a difficult time in physical education in school.  In turn, they may become quiet and introverted; feelings as though they don't "belong".  While there is no cure for dyspraxia, a trained pediatric physical therapist can assist the child in learning ways to improve their motor planning abilities and becoming more successful with gross motor learning and performance.