Coordination disorders linked to dyspraxia are partly caused by an alteration in the representation of the body.
- 2 and 6% of school-age children suffer from dyspraxia.
- According to Inserm, these coordination disorders are linked to a poor representation of the body in space.
- Dyspraxic children make more involuntary parasitic movements.
According to Inserm, the coordination disorders that affect the lives of people with dyspraxia are linked, at least in part, to a poor representation of their body in space. Alice Gomez, researcher at the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, studied this neurodevelopmental anomaly and believes that dyspraxic children have difficulty reproducing observed movements or moving correctly in space due to this alteration of representation. of their body.
Dyspraxia: consequences on the daily life of children
Developmental coordination disorders, commonly called dyspraxia, affect between 2 and 6% of school-aged children, according to studies. These disorders lead to difficulty performing certain essential motor tasks of daily life, such as writing, tying shoelaces, brushing your teeth, jumping or climbing, playing ball. Affected children often face significant challenges in their daily life and learning. They need support and adaptations to overcome these difficulties and reach their full potential.
To confirm the hypothesis that poor representation of the body in space is linked to dyspraxia, Alice Gomez and her team carried out several experiments. They recruited 17 dyspraxic children, 20 children without motor disorders and 20 non-dyspraxic adults. The participants were subjected to different sensory and motor tests to assess their ability to precisely localize certain stimulations on their body. Results showed that children with dyspraxia had difficulty accurately identifying the touched location on their left hand, while control adults and children without dyspraxia were more accurate in their responses.
Synkinesias: dyspraxic children suffer from parasitic movements
The experiments also revealed that dyspraxic children perform more involuntary spurious movements (synkinesias) during motor tests. For example, when lifting a finger, other fingers may be mobilized involuntarily, nearby or even on the other hand. In contrast, the movements of children without dyspraxia were more precise and individualized.
Following this study, a doctoral student from the team is preparing to implement the EnCor program (for ‘Child and Body’) in several nursery schools. This program will offer daily workshops for three weeks intended to stimulate children’s representation of the body through sensory and motor exercises, as well as the naming of different parts of the body. This early approach aims to reduce the risk of severe dyspraxia in these children, improve their motor and sensory skills and promote their full development.
