The holidays are for fun and family, and we should keep in mind that these holidays can be especially important for children.

Dyspraxia is a neurological condition that affects a child’s physical coordination and movement. It’s also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder and can affect up to 6% of the population, with boys more likely to be affected.

Let’s face it, children aren’t always easy to understand. There is a tendency among adults to assume children are simpler than adults, but children can be very complex, and while their behaviour can often tell us their mindset, it can just as well end up doing the opposite!

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability affecting up to 10% of the population; yet misconceptions and myths run rampant. We have all heard them at some point. A common example is that dyslexic children are not smart and have lower IQ, or dyslexic people can’t read.

It’s not simple or easy to determine if a child has a learning disability. Many otherwise normal behaviours can sometimes be misidentified for being a learning disability. However, parents will actually predict their child’s later autism spectrum disorder long before any professional diagnosis. According to a 2009 research (J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2009 Oct; 30(5): 367–375.),

…Studies indicate that parents recognize signs of autism far earlier than it is diagnosed.