Dyspraxia in Adults: It’s More Than Just Clumsiness
- Sarah - MoodLifter
- May 31
- 6 min read
When I look up information about dyspraxia, especially from an adult perspective, I’m often struck by how little there is. Since the Dyspraxia Foundation closed, there’s been a real gap in high-quality, affirming resources that speak to the lived experience of adults navigating the world with dyspraxia. It can feel lonely, like the conversation stopped somewhere around childhood diagnoses and never picked back up.
What I do find online tends to fall into two extremes:
A list of things people with dyspraxia “can’t” do — often clinical, deficit-focused, and dehumanising
Or a well-meaning attempt to balance this with “dyspraxia strengths,” like creativity or problem-solving
While strengths-based language is important, it sometimes misses the mark. I’ve yet to meet someone who thought, “Wow, I’m really creative… maybe I have dyspraxia!” Strengths don’t erase the challenges — and framing dyspraxia only as giftedness can invalidate the real challenegs and exhaustion many people face.
Dyspraxia — also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) — is still widely misunderstood, especially in adults.
Many people grow up without a diagnosis or recognition. Instead, we internalise words like "clumsy," "messy," or "awkward," without anyone ever exploring whether our brains simply work differently when it comes to planning and coordinating movement. Even today, dyspraxia is often reduced to “being bad at PE” — but that’s only part of the picture.
In this post, we’ll explore what dyspraxia can look like in adulthood, the types of motor coordination that may develop differently, and how this can shape day-to-day life in subtle (and sometimes exhausting) ways.

What is Dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference that affects the way we learn, plan, and carry out movements. It doesn’t impact intelligence, but it can influence how our bodies and brains communicate, especially when engaging in new or unfamiliar tasks.
That’s a key point: dyspraxia often becomes most noticeable when facing novel, unpractised movements. A person may be excellent at knitting or playing piano (after years of repetition), but still struggle to tie a dressing gown belt or coordinate a new dance move.
Unfortunately, many assessments for dyspraxia still rely on self-report questionnaires or checklists completed without observing any movement — which is quite frankly, ridiculous. As someone who has both experienced and administered these assessments, I can tell you: watching someone try to catch a ball or how they hold a pen often tells you more than a form ever could.
Different Patterns of Movement and Coordination in Dyspraxia
Rather than thinking of these as “difficulties,” it may be more helpful — and more accurate — to see them as differences in how movement is processed, organised, and expressed. These differences shape how we move and function — they often bring fatigue, frustration, and relational challenges in a world not built with us in mind, but they are not flaws.
Whole-Body Movement Expression
Gross motor movements use the arms, legs, or whole body, like walking, running, catching, or jumping. You might notice:

Frequently bumping into furniture or doorframes
Tripping or misjudging steps and curbs
Walking out of a familiar room and turning the wrong direction
Feeling unsteady or out of sync with ball sports or balance activities
Rather than being about ability, these moments reflect a nervous system that processes movement and body position differently, often requiring more mental effort to navigate the physical world.
Two Sided and Cross Body Coordination
"Bilateral movement" involves using both sides of the body together in a coordinated way — for example, clapping, swimming, or tying shoelaces. It also includes cross-body coordination, like touching your left hand to your right knee or coordinating opposite limbs while walking.
Differences here might show up as:
Struggling to cross midline (e.g. reaching across your body)
Feeling off-balance or unsteady when both arms or legs need to move in sequence
Not moving in a rhythm or mirroring movements in dance or group exercise
Challenges coordinating hands and arms to do different things, like steering with one hand, adjusting the gear stick with another, and turning your head to check mirrors when driving.
The way both arms need to move differently while dressing or undressing can be tricky — putting on a jumper might tie you up in knots.
These differences can lead to avoiding group activities, struggling with dressing tasks, or feeling visibly “out of sync” with others.
Fine Motor expression

These are precise, small movements, typically using the hands and fingers, such as writing, using cutlery, or manipulating small objects.
🦜 These might show up as:
Poor handwriting or hand fatigue after a short time
Red areas or indents on fingers from pressing a pen too hard
Accidentally tearing or squashing bread while spreading butter, due to pressure control
Difficulty using buttons, zips, or jewellery clasps
Finding chopping vegetables or holding utensils uncomfortable or awkward
These differences often impact academic tasks, mealtimes, and self-care, and may lead to creative adaptations or preference for certain tools. For example, I use scissors to cut pizza rather than a pizza cutter, because it gives me more control and feels easier to manage.
Movement Sequencing and Initiation

This is sometimes called “motor planning” — the ability to figure out what to do and how to do it, especially when the movement is unfamiliar or has multiple steps.
🦜 This might include:
Walking out of a familiar room and turning the wrong direction
Needing extra time to start moving
Getting stuck mid-task (not knowing what comes next)
Difficulty following a map or judging the angle of a turn when walking or driving
Feeling overwhelmed when too many movement decisions are needed at once
These experiences often lead to building routines, leaning on visual prompts, or finding other creative ways to keep momentum.
Speech and Oral Movement Expression
Also known as verbal dyspraxia or apraxia of speech, this is a difference in how your brain plans and coordinates the movements needed for talking and eating.
🦜 You might notice:
Speech that’s harder to understand, especially when tired
Words coming out in the wrong order, or not as intended
It being hard to say long or complex words
Differences in chewing, swallowing, or tongue movement (which can impact eating and drinking)
These can affect communication confidence — but also show how adaptable we are in finding alternative ways to express ourselves.
Anecdotes
📚 “I Thought I’d Be Kicked Out of the Dyspraxia Club”
During a research study, I had to complete a dyspraxia assessment. I’d administered these assessments myself and felt confident in movement tasks. I was convinced I’d breeze through it.
Ironically, I bounced my bag off every wall on the way to the lab.
When I saw my results, I’d scored as low as possible in many areas — making movement errors I hadn’t even noticed. That moment was disorienting, but also illuminating. Sometimes, we’re the last ones to see what’s really happening in our own systems.
🎾 “Can I Just Show You Instead?”
When I assess dyspraxia, I’m supposed to model each movement first. One day, while attempting to demonstrate bouncing a ball, I failed so spectacularly that the client gently took the ball from me and asked, “Do you mean like this?”
Yes. Yes, I did.
💬 The Emotional and Relational Impact
Dyspraxia affects movement, yes — but it also shapes how we relate to others, how we’re perceived, and how we feel about ourselves.
🦜 Humour becomes a shield when things feel awkward
🦜 People may laugh with us, but sometimes it feels like they’re laughing at us
🦜 Others wouldn’t mock disability, but somehow “clumsiness” remains fair game
🦜 We carry unknown bruises, sometimes from bumping into a world that wasn’t built for our rhythm
🦜 Dance floors, sports, or even casual group games can become zones of quiet shame
🦜 Looking at photos and seeing our posture or expression frozen awkwardly can wear us down over time
📊 Prevalence and Recognition
🦜 Around 5–6% of the population are thought to have dyspraxia
🦜 In neurodivergent populations (like ADHD and autism), 30–50% are estimated to also experience dyspraxic traits
And yet — so many adults are never told. Especially women, AFAB people, and anyone who’s spent years quietly adapting.
🧠 Want to Explore Further?
You can try these self-screening tools if you'd like a starting point:
The Adult Dyspraxia Checklist (ADC) helpful.
While it was originally designed with students in mind, the language and themes are relevant to many adults across all walks of life. You can use it as a reflective tool — not to “score yourself,” but to gently notice patterns, gather insights, and open up conversations with others (or with yourself) about your motor experiences and support needs.
They won’t give you a diagnosis — but they can be a doorway into understanding yourself better.
🌈 In Summary
Thank you for reading, reflecting, and maybe seeing some of yourself here. If you’re curious about the idea of “dyspraxia strengths,” stay tuned — I’ll be posting a separate blog soon. I believe many of these so-called strengths are actually adaptive mental health strategies developed in a world that hasn’t made room for difference.
And if you’d like to explore your own profile — your support needs, abilities, and strategies — I offer a 4-session package (4 x 1-hour) to help you build a neuroaffirmative understanding of yourself. Just drop me a message if that feels helpful.
You are not broken.
You move differently.
And that matters.
If you’ve ever avoided the group dance, or turned a doorway into an obstacle course, you are beautifully, messily welcome here.
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