Our page on Understanding Dyspraxia explains that dyspraxia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects movement and coordination. It is a lifelong condition, meaning that the symptoms first manifest in childhood, but continue into adulthood. Diagnosis is often not made until adulthood. People with dyspraxia have trouble coordinating both fine and gross motor skills. They may therefore have trouble with skills such as writing, riding a bicycle or driving a car, and might appear clumsy.

Other areas that may be problematic for people with dyspraxia include organisation and time management, sensory management, and social skills. Indeed, many adults with dyspraxia report that these are far harder to manage in everyday life than the coordination issues.

This page provides some ideas to help you develop strategies to cope with dyspraxia.

The Effects of Dyspraxia

We are required to coordinate movement an awful lot of the time.

There will therefore be many areas that are simply much harder for people with dyspraxia. These issues may become more obvious in adulthood than in childhood, and include:

• Getting dressed without help;

• Preparing meals, including chopping up food and moving it around a pan, as well as lifting pans and dishes;

• Holding and manipulating small objects, such as pens, pencils, cutlery and tools; and

• Functioning in social situations.

At work, people with dyspraxia may find using computers and other office equipment difficult. They may also find it hard to organise their workload, or remember instructions, and their memory may generally be poor. Some people may also find it harder to cope with noise or other forms of sensory overload.

Perhaps more importantly, as one blog writer has explained, just managing everyday logistics such as getting to work via public transport can take a disproportionate amount of energy and planning. She explains that sometimes she cannot even find things in her bag, let alone navigate a new building or strange city.

This inability to do things that 'most people' think are a normal part of life can be very frustrating. It can lead to low self-esteem or lack of confidence. Some people with dyspraxia may withdraw and avoid trying to find a job as adults because of this.

It is therefore important for people with dyspraxia to find coping strategies to enable them to do what they want in life.

This might range from 'small' things like learning to drive, through to much larger life events like further or higher education, and getting a good job in a field that interests them.

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Coping Strategies for Dyspraxia

One obvious option might be to seek some kind of therapy to help you find ways to cope with issues (see box).

However, there are other options that may also be helpful.

1. You may be able to get assistive technology

   This ranges from the low-tech such as grips to make pens and pencils easier to hold, through to speech-to-text software and mind mapping tools.

   Do some Internet searching to see what is available, because you may be surprised.

   Something as simple as an electric toothbrush or can-opener may make a huge difference to your life, just by taking away a problem.

2. Exercise often helps.

   Using your muscles helps to improve your coordination.

   You might try specific exercises to help with hand control, for example, such as squeezing a piece of putty or plasticine. However, any form of exercise will help your coordination. Activities like rowing do not require hand-eye coordination, so may be easier than ball sports. Climbing is also a good option because it is an activity where you can participate to your ability level. Even just moving around to music is helpful because it strengthens your muscles and helps your spatial perception.

   You may find it helpful to read our page on How to Exercise Safely and Effectively, which has some useful tips for getting started on exercise.

3. Some people find yoga and Pilates particularly helpful

   Exercises like yoga and Pilates are designed to improve flexibility, balance and coordination (and for more about this, you may like to read our page on Types of Exercise).

   They can therefore be especially helpful for developing these skills in people with dyspraxia.

   There are many beginners' classes and videos available both online and in person. As a bonus, these forms of exercise are fairly low-stress, and aim to help you relax, so the atmosphere at classes is unlikely to be threatening.

4. Improve your time management and organisational skills

   Time management and organisation are often a problem for people with dyspraxia—just as they are for people with dyslexia and other forms of neurodivergence.

   Unfortunately, they are also fairly essential skills for most people.

   This means that you need to find strategies to help you improve your skills in these areas. These might range from using lists, sticky notes, and diaries or planners, through to a complicated system of alarms and reminders on your smartphone. One very good tip is to find a system for prioritisation, such as the Eisenhower Matrix (which is explained on our page on Time Management Skills).

   You may also be interested in our page on Organising Skills.

   Top Tip! Try some unusual strategies

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   Strategies for improving your memory that work for neurotypical people may not work for neurodivergent people. However, that doesn't mean that you will not be able find a strategy that can help. People with dyspraxia report using unusual memory cues, such as:

   • Silly rhymes;
   • Visual cues;
   • Songs;
   • Coding steps in a process onto your fingers;
   • Linking steps in a process to body parts; and
   • Using a mental template to help you work through issues.



5. Be prepared to relearn skills if you haven't used them for a while

   It may seem frustrating, but it is best to be prepared, and to understand that you may need to relearn skills if you have not used them for a while.

   This happens to everyone to some extent—but it is likely to be worse for people with dyspraxia. It may be helpful to adjust your expectations to ensure that you are not disappointed, and also to give yourself enough time to 'get back up to speed' with the skill.

6. Ask for accommodations

   It can feel very hard to ask for help or accommodations. However, it can also make all the difference to getting tasks done.

   A deadline extension here, the ability to submit something in a different format there—these can make or break a situation.

   Similarly, it may feel embarrassing to ask if someone could take you where you need to be rather than giving you directions, but it could be crucial to not getting lost.

   Don't be embarrassed, ask for what you need.

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A Final Thought

The key is to find what works for you—and then use it.

Everyone with dyspraxia is slightly different. This means that what works for you may not work for someone else—and vice versa. The most important thing is therefore to be open-minded and try things out to see if they help. If they do, great. If they don't, move on to something else.

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