Valerie Dejean New York, NY phone: 1-877-4AUTKID Discussion: Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Auditory Processing Disorder, Motor Planning, Dyspraxia home

Learning routine and how one fits into the routine may take longer.Children with difficulties may perform slowly, or not be able to performat all, when asked to follow multi-stepped directions.

They may require a longer exposure to a new activity in order to learnit. They may initially use trail and error approaches to a task until theycan generate a motor plan about how to approach the activity.

This can also carry on to higher levels of reasoning. They can havedifficulty organizing their thoughts and language to express themselves.

 The link between Praxis and Language

 Ayres said that the relationship of Praxis to Language is:

 Praxis is to the physical world what speech is to the social world.

Both enable interactions and transactions.

Both are uniquely human;

Both are learned.

Some aspects of speech and language comprehension may be closely related--evendependent-- upon the development of praxis.

 Both praxis and language require integration of sensory input,and

Both require planning that enables motor expression

 Rather than say language is dependent on Praxis, Ayres felt itwas more appropriate to say that "Language is linked to praxis". She feltthat it is more logical to propose some neural process that is common toboth praxis and language.

 She noted that in the research measures done on learning disabledchildren of praxis and language often shared variance.

 Ayres contemplated a lot on this relationship between praxis andlanguage feeling that it was ideation that formed the link between thetwo

 A common test for Apraxia in adults is to ask them to pretendthat they are brushing their teeth. Therefore the question arises "Is itthe symbolic aspect of a task that is common to both speech and praxis?"

 Ayres felt that the problem proceeded this. That it was more theability to conceptualize or ideate, abilities that are dependent on sensoryprocessing and integration, that were involved. She reasoned like Piagetthat sensory motor intelligence and itÕs foundation for perceptualschema must be established before we are able to internally represent objectsand events. We must internally represent before we can use external symbols.All this must be accomplished before play ability, language and stableemotional relations can develop.

 The ability to play with toys symbolically is certainly largelyabsent or severely limited in autistic and PDD children.

The failure to master this ability is one of the major road blocks indevelopment for these children.

 The emergence of symbolic play is a major breakthrough when workingwith autistic/PDD children.

Link of Praxis with Language

 Ayres wrote that "It is not difficult to understand the importanceof praxis to the skilled use of an object but it is more difficult to understandthe role of praxis as a foundation or contributor to language and othercognitive development"

Ayres felt that it was ideation or concept formation that may link languageand praxis.

"This ability (ideation), which is common to both language and praxis,is essential to cognitive learning".

She says that It is the children with dysphasia and dyspraxia who arethe poorest in ideation. Certainly the Autistic child has both.