Imitation deficits are well-documented in autism although the specific nature of these deficits is not completely understood. Researchers have attempted to account for imitation deficits within the context of cognitive theories of autism but these theories have not been successful in explaining all of the gestural disturbances reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The types of gestural impairments along with error patterns observed in autism are similar to those reported in adult patients with limb apraxia. In this thesis, a neuropsychological account of apraxia was explored. A cognitive model of praxis processing that has been tested in adults with limb apraxia was adapted for a group of children with autism. An experimental battery of tasks was designed to assess the different levels of gestural processing following the cognitive model. The battery included seventeen different experimental tasks: nine tasks assessing the production of meaningful gestures across modalities (verbal, visual, tactile, and imitation); two tasks assessing the imitation of meaningless gestures; six tasks assessing gestural recognition and gesture comprehension. The main aim of the thesis was to determine if the gestural performance patterns identified in individuals with autism could be more parsimoniously explained by disorders of praxis processing than by the traditional cognitive theories of autism. More specifically the aims were: (1) Determine if an ASD group differs from a group of typically developing controls in their ability to imitate meaningful and/or meaningless gestures, (2) Determine if deficits in gesture production are task dependent (transitive, intransitive, pantomimes), (3) Determine if group differences in gesture production are better accounted for by underlying cognitive deficits in visual motor (VMI), visual perceptual (VP), and working memory abilities (listening recall, (LR) digit recall (DR) and word list matching (WLM), (4) identify the specific patterns of gestural impairments using a single case approach to analysis using results of recognition, comprehension, production and imitation tasks across gesture types. Experiments testing gesture imitation and gesture production across modalities employed a logistic regression approach to analysis which was designed to compare a group of individuals with autism to that of a typically developing control group. Five main findings emerged: (1) Individuals with autism performed more poorly in tasks of imitation and production across modalities than their typically developing peers; (2) Meaningful gesture imitation and production tasks were not performed equally, supporting the theory of task dependency; (3) The same cognitive variables predicting imitative success of meaningful gestures also predicted production success. An increase in visual perception and listening recall were associated with greater success; an increase in LR was also associated with greater success; (4) Different cognitive variables predicted imitation success of meaningless gestures. Listening recall was associated with increased success of hand imitation but not finger imitation. Finger matching was associated with higher performance of finger imitation but not hand imitation and this effect was slightly stronger in the TD group; (5) Results of the single case approach to analysis revealed that patterns of praxis processing were identified in individuals with autism that were similar to those of previously reported cases of limb apraxia. Ideational, ideomotor, and ideational with ideomotor praxic syndromes were all revealed. The results of this study confirm that the cognitive model of Cubelli and colleagues (2000) successfully predicted patterns of praxis processing in ASD thereby confirming that the deficit extends beyond imitation. Standard cognitive theories of autism were unable to accommodate all of the findings. The implications of these results and synthesis of dyspraxia and current autism theories are discussed.

No description available.

Background: Dyspraxia, a form of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), is one of the most common disorders of childhood (Wann 2007). However, while there is increasing evidence that in many cases childhood motor difficulties persist into adulthood (Kirby et al 2013) little is known about the impact of the condition during adolescence. Moreover, existing research reflects the interests and concerns of professionals and parents rather than the perspectives of teenagers themselves. Methodology: The study was guided by the philosophical principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). A Research Reference Group of older teenagers and young adults with dyspraxia was involved in the study design and analysis of findings. Sixteen interviews were carried out with teenagers aged 13-15 years over a two year period. Participants’ accounts were subjected to a systematic process of ideographic, inductive and interpretative analysis. Findings: Five themes that represent the lived experience of dyspraxia during adolescence emerged. These were: “Doing everything the hard way”; “I didn’t want to be seen as someone different”; “I’m an intelligent person but I can’t even write. It’s making me fill up”; right help, right time; and making sense of the diagnosis. In accordance with the philosophical principles of IPA the findings prioritise the voice of the participants, and my influence as the researcher and insights offered by the Reference Group on the interpretation of findings are acknowledged. Evidence built through the process of interpretative analysis is drawn together into a conceptual framework. This is presented as a novel means of demonstrating the complex interaction of personal and environmental factors that influence the lived experience of DCD/dyspraxia during adolescence and their impact on teenagers’ sense of identity, agency, ambition and emotional resilience. The thesis concludes by summarising the new understandings about DCD/dyspraxia that the study brought forth, identifying how these might help parents, professionals, support organisations including the Dyspraxia Foundation and researchers to improve outcomes for teenagers living with DCD/dyspraxia in the future.

Diploma thesis "Evaluation of developmental dyspraxia and effects of its therapy in children" summarizes the knowledge of developmental dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in the theoretical part. The practical part deals with the usage of new diagnostic method for identification of motor difficulties in children, Movement Assessment Battery for Children, second edition. The presence of motor difficulties in some children with ADHD and some children with neurofibromatosis type 1 was confirmed. The significant difference between motor skills in gymnasts and in children attending to all-round sport activities was not detected. No significant correlation between BMI and the level of motor skills in children was found. The evaluation of the effect of therapy confirmed that intervention is useful for children with developmental dyspraxia. The best improvement was found in activities which were specifically trained. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Les troubles spécifiques du développement praxique (ou gestuel) sont diagnostiqués comme Dyspraxie ou Trouble de l’Acquisition de la Coordination (TAC). Leur compréhension se heurte à de nombreuses impasses, et dans la définition des concepts de praxies et de coordination motrice et dans l’analyse théorique des déficits qu’ils recouvrent. En l’absence de théorie spécifique à l’enfant, les connaissances concernant le développement atypique des praxies se sont élaborées sur une transposition des modèles « adulte » mais sans en appréhender la pertinence. L’objectif principal ici est de dégager les arguments qui étayeraient l’hypothèse d’un trouble spécifique du développement praxique. Le parti est pris de proposer un examen fondé sur les théories du geste chez l’adulte, et qui cible les différents niveaux cognitifs engagés dans son développement: fonctions perceptives (visuelles, spatiales), exécutives (planification, flexibilité, inhibition) et compréhension orale. Les performances d’enfants diagnostiqués dyspraxiques ou TAC et au développement typique sont comparées dans deux études, de groupes puis de cas multiples. Nos résultats montrent des troubles divers « dans » la production du geste, inconstants dans les profils individuels, et associés avec des déficits non spécifiquement gestuels (perceptifs, exécutifs ou de compréhension). Face à cette hétérogénéité, la thèse propose de déconstruire la conception des troubles spécifiques du développement praxique, au profit d’une analyse qui ne confonde pas un trouble « du » geste avec tout déficit se manifestant « dans » le geste. / Specific deficit in praxic (or gestural) development are diagnosed as Dyspraxia or Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Understanding them proves problematic, both when defining the concepts of praxis/motor coordination and when providing a theoretical analysis of the deficits they cover. In the absence of theory specifically related to children, knowledge about atypical development of praxis is gleaned by applying « adult » models, without really understanding whether this is appropriate. The aim of this thesis is to explore the arguments underlying the hypothesis of a specific deficit in praxis development. Tasks were selected based on adult cognitive models of praxis processing in order to enable a comprehensive and theoretically analysis of gestures. We also examined different cognitive functions involved in the praxis development: perception (both visual and spatial), executive functions (planning, flexibility, inhibition) and oral comprehension. The performance of children diagnosed as dyspraxic or DCD is compared to those considered to show typical development in two studies: on groups and multiple case studies. Our results show various difficulties in producing gestures, mostly inconstant in case studies, and related to deficits that are not specifically gestural. Given the heterogeneity of the disorders that we found, this thesis is aimed at deconstructing the concept of specific deficit in praxis development in favour of an analysis that does not confuse gestural problems with other deficits made apparent through gesture.

O Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) inclui em seu diagnóstico diversos sintomas, apresentando uma ampla variedade nos níveis de desenvolvimento e funcionamento. Embora não central ao diagnóstico, diversos pesquisadores têm associado déficits motores e dispraxia a esse diagnóstico. Além disso, tem-se associado prejuízos funcionais decorrentes da dispraxia em crianças com TEA. Na literatura são poucos os estudos que avaliam dispraxia em crianças com TEA, nenhum destes estudos no Brasil. Assim, nosso objetivo foi verificar se as crianças com TEA apresentam um perfil de dispraxia característico. Para isso realizamos coleta com 03 grupos distintos, cada um composto por 30 crianças, foram eles: TEA (G-TEA) nível 1, Síndrome de Down (G-SD) e controle (G-C). Para avaliação da praxia, optamos pelo teste Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), que avalia diversas funções de praxia e já foi utilizado em estudos com a população alvo de nosso estudo. Além disso, utilizamos a Escala de Comportamento Adaptativo Vineland (para verificar o nível adaptativo dos indivíduos participantes), escala de Avaliação de Traços Autísticos (ATA) para sustentação diagnóstica do G-TEA e utilizamos a Escala de Classe Social de Pelotas, para verificar se a classe social teria impacto na amostra. Como resultado, as crianças do G-C apresentaram escores dentro da faixa de normalidade, sendo todos os escores positivos, as crianças do G-TEA apresentaram escores mais baixos do que o G-C, no entanto, apenas em 07 dos 17 testes tiveram prejuízos, com desempenho abaixo do normal, sendo estes testes relacionados à praxia (imitação de posturas, movimentos e oral, além de praxia sem indicação visual), função vestibular (equilíbrio e nistagmo) e, estereognosia. As crianças do G-SD apresentaram desempenho abaixo do normal em todos os testes aplicados, possivelmente isso é decorrente da comorbidade da síndrome com deficiência intelectual. Além disso, encontramos uma diferença significativa maior no escore da Vineland relacionado à Atividade de Vida Cotidiana, ao compararmos crianças com TEA com grupo controle. Estudos corroboram o achado em nossa pesquisa, indicando que, crianças com TEA apresentam dispraxia que parece ser característica deste transtorno. Alguns estudos encontraram que as crianças com TEA apresentam prejuízos nas mesmas áreas dos encontrados por nós. Os profissionais embora defendam a intervenção com essas crianças, têm usado poucas avaliações que justifiquem tais intervenções, dessa forma, acreditamos que é importante o uso de instrumentos para avaliação da praxia em crianças com TEA, visando direcionar o planejamento terapêutico e ganhos funcionais para essas crianças / Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) includes in its diagnostic several symptoms, with a wide variety in the levels of development and functioning. Although motor deficits and dyspraxia are not relevant to the diagnosis, several researchers have done this association. In addition, functional impairments due to dyspraxia have been associated in children with ASD. In the literature, there are few studies evaluating dyspraxia in children with ASD none of these studies in Brazil. Our aim was to verify if children with ASD have a characteristic dyspraxia profile. To do this, we performed a collection of three different groups, each composed of 30 children: ASD (G-ASD) level 1, Down Syndrome (G-DS) and control (G-C). In order to evaluate praxis, we decided to use the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), which evaluates several praxis functions and has already been used in studies with the target population of our study. In addition, we used the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (to verify the adaptive level of the participants), Autistic Trait Scale (ATA) for diagnostic support of G-ASD and used the Pelotas Social Class Scale to verify if social class would have an impact on the sample. As a result, G-C presented scores within the range of normal, and all scores were positive, G-ASD children presented lower scores than GC, however, only in 07 of 17 tests with performance below of the normal, being these tests related to praxis (imitation of postures, movements and oral, besides praxis without visual indication), vestibular function (balance and nystagmus) and stereognosis. The G-DS children presented below-normal performance in all applied tests, possibly due to the comorbidity of the syndrome with intellectual disability. In addition, we found a major significant difference in the Vineland score related to Daily Living Activity, when comparing children with ASD with the control group. Studies corroborate the finding in our study, indicating that children with ASD have dyspraxia that appears to be characteristic of this disorder. Some studies have found that children with ASD has same difficulties that we found. Although practitioners advocate intervention with these children, they have used few evaluations instruments to justify such interventions, so we believe that it is important to use instruments to assess praxis in children with ASD, in order to direct the therapeutic planning and functional gains for these children

Background: Dyspraxia, also included under the term Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), is a condition characterised by an impairment in motor skills function which impacts negatively on other aspects of daily living such as athletic capability, handwriting, self-esteem and social interaction. However, no effective therapy currently exists to address all of these issues within this group. The aim of the present study therefore was to investigate whether a complementary therapy, called Fascia Bowen therapy, would improve neuromuscular function and psychological wellbeing in males aged 8-11 (at Primary School) diagnosed with this condition. Methods: A group of 10 participants meeting the criteria of 15th centile or below in motor skills functioning, received a Fascia Bowen therapy treatment session from a qualified Fascia Bowen practitioner each week for 6 weeks. All participants’ motor skills function were assessed by an occupational therapist before and after the end of the intervention using the Motor Skills Assessment Battery for Children test (MABC-2). Additionally, parents, teachers and participants completed questionnaires measuring self-esteem, social skills, social interaction, behaviour and scholastic function before and after the intervention. Results: The participants showed significant improvement in neuromuscular function over time using the MABC-2. However, no significant changes were shown in the other measures of functioning. Although parents did provide some anecdotal reports about positive changes in real life, these were not reflected in the measures. The results suggest that while improvements were shown as significant in the motor domain, which was the focus of the therapy, the results did not translate to other domains of life over time. 13 Conclusions: Further research is necessary to test the efficacy of the treatment’s effects using a larger sample, a control group and a longer intervention timescale. A six week intervention period may not be sufficient to show significant changes in self-esteem, social skills, social interaction, behaviour and scholastic functions which have deep-rooted constructs developed over many years. These may therefore take a long time to change.

O Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) inclui em seu diagnóstico diversos sintomas, apresentando uma ampla variedade nos níveis de desenvolvimento e funcionamento. Embora não central ao diagnóstico, diversos pesquisadores têm associado déficits motores e dispraxia a esse diagnóstico. Além disso, tem-se associado prejuízos funcionais decorrentes da dispraxia em crianças com TEA. Na literatura são poucos os estudos que avaliam dispraxia em crianças com TEA, nenhum destes estudos no Brasil. Assim, nosso objetivo foi verificar se as crianças com TEA apresentam um perfil de dispraxia característico. Para isso realizamos coleta com 03 grupos distintos, cada um composto por 30 crianças, foram eles: TEA (G-TEA) nível 1, Síndrome de Down (G-SD) e controle (G-C). Para avaliação da praxia, optamos pelo teste Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), que avalia diversas funções de praxia e já foi utilizado em estudos com a população alvo de nosso estudo. Além disso, utilizamos a Escala de Comportamento Adaptativo Vineland (para verificar o nível adaptativo dos indivíduos participantes), escala de Avaliação de Traços Autísticos (ATA) para sustentação diagnóstica do G-TEA e utilizamos a Escala de Classe Social de Pelotas, para verificar se a classe social teria impacto na amostra. Como resultado, as crianças do G-C apresentaram escores dentro da faixa de normalidade, sendo todos os escores positivos, as crianças do G-TEA apresentaram escores mais baixos do que o G-C, no entanto, apenas em 07 dos 17 testes tiveram prejuízos, com desempenho abaixo do normal, sendo estes testes relacionados à praxia (imitação de posturas, movimentos e oral, além de praxia sem indicação visual), função vestibular (equilíbrio e nistagmo) e, estereognosia. As crianças do G-SD apresentaram desempenho abaixo do normal em todos os testes aplicados, possivelmente isso é decorrente da comorbidade da síndrome com deficiência intelectual. Além disso, encontramos uma diferença significativa maior no escore da Vineland relacionado à Atividade de Vida Cotidiana, ao compararmos crianças com TEA com grupo controle. Estudos corroboram o achado em nossa pesquisa, indicando que, crianças com TEA apresentam dispraxia que parece ser característica deste transtorno. Alguns estudos encontraram que as crianças com TEA apresentam prejuízos nas mesmas áreas dos encontrados por nós. Os profissionais embora defendam a intervenção com essas crianças, têm usado poucas avaliações que justifiquem tais intervenções, dessa forma, acreditamos que é importante o uso de instrumentos para avaliação da praxia em crianças com TEA, visando direcionar o planejamento terapêutico e ganhos funcionais para essas crianças / Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) includes in its diagnostic several symptoms, with a wide variety in the levels of development and functioning. Although motor deficits and dyspraxia are not relevant to the diagnosis, several researchers have done this association. In addition, functional impairments due to dyspraxia have been associated in children with ASD. In the literature, there are few studies evaluating dyspraxia in children with ASD none of these studies in Brazil. Our aim was to verify if children with ASD have a characteristic dyspraxia profile. To do this, we performed a collection of three different groups, each composed of 30 children: ASD (G-ASD) level 1, Down Syndrome (G-DS) and control (G-C). In order to evaluate praxis, we decided to use the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), which evaluates several praxis functions and has already been used in studies with the target population of our study. In addition, we used the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (to verify the adaptive level of the participants), Autistic Trait Scale (ATA) for diagnostic support of G-ASD and used the Pelotas Social Class Scale to verify if social class would have an impact on the sample. As a result, G-C presented scores within the range of normal, and all scores were positive, G-ASD children presented lower scores than GC, however, only in 07 of 17 tests with performance below of the normal, being these tests related to praxis (imitation of postures, movements and oral, besides praxis without visual indication), vestibular function (balance and nystagmus) and stereognosis. The G-DS children presented below-normal performance in all applied tests, possibly due to the comorbidity of the syndrome with intellectual disability. In addition, we found a major significant difference in the Vineland score related to Daily Living Activity, when comparing children with ASD with the control group. Studies corroborate the finding in our study, indicating that children with ASD have dyspraxia that appears to be characteristic of this disorder. Some studies have found that children with ASD has same difficulties that we found. Although practitioners advocate intervention with these children, they have used few evaluations instruments to justify such interventions, so we believe that it is important to use instruments to assess praxis in children with ASD, in order to direct the therapeutic planning and functional gains for these children

Abstract   Introduction: Play is a primary occupation of children as well as a powerful medium in paediatric occupational therapy. Dyspraxia refers to a problem in planning new movements because of a poor body scheme that derives from deficits in processing vestibular, proprioceptive or tactile sensations. This study mapped the information that has been written about play in children with sensory processing disorder (SPD) described as dyspraxia.  Methods: A methodology of scoping review was used. The data was collected through electronic databases (academic and non-academic) and reference lists. Academic databases were CINAHL, AMED, Medline, ERIC, PsychInfo and PubMed.  Results/findings: Four themes emerged from the data; play skills, play behaviour, environment and therapy effect. Dyspraxia does not necessarily affect to play skills but more to the quality of play and to the participation in play situations. Some children had learned to adapt their skills or used compensatory clowning. Modification of the environment helped to cope with the situation and finding “the just-right-challenge” helped participation. In case studies, sensory integration therapy increased the ability to play.  Conclusion: Dyspraxia does not always lead to disruption of play skills. Play should be assessed separately and considered as important goal in therapy as sensory processing difficulties.

No description available.