SPD Symptoms
Motor Disorder: Sensory Based Motor Disorder
Those with Sensory Based Motor Disorders (SBMD) have difficulty navigating this world. Their bodies simply don't do what their brains tell them to do. SBMD has been broken down into two different categories. The first is Dyspraxia, taken from the Greek word 'praxis' (to do) and the Latin prefix 'dys' (badly), and involves poor motor coordination, timing, planning, organizing and sequencing.
The second category of Sensory Based Motor Disorder is Postural Disorder. A sensory based Postural Disorder negatively impacts a person's muscle tone, balance, and ability to operate their muscles and operate their own bodies successfully. Often labeled as lazy and clumsy, those with a Postural Disorder have a hard time matching their peer's physical abilities and speed.
Related checklist: Dysgraphia
Dyspraxia
Tactile Based Motor Issues
_______ Difficulty handling scissors, eating utensils, and other handheld devices
_______ Difficulty performing various fine motor activities, such as zipping and buttoning clothing without looking
_______ Difficulty with dressing and handwriting
Vision Based Motor Issues
_______ Have a hard time navigating through crowded hallways or noticing obstacles before collision
_______ Unable to visualize and follow through with a multi-step physical task
_______ Poor hand-eye and foot-eye coordination
_______ Frequently miss when reaching for an object
_______ Difficulty navigating up or down stairs or across uneven surfaces
_______ Unable to learn complex movement plans, such as dance steps, by sight alone
Vestibular Based Motor Issues
_______ Difficulty learning, organizing, and performing unfamiliar movement sequences
_______ Unable to use what you've previously learned to help with new tasks
Proprioception Based Motor Issues
_______ Poor motor control and body awareness
_______ Experience anxiety around moving through space or moving up or down stairs
_______ May often over or under extend muscles to perform a task, causing you to break things or drop them
_______ Difficulty adjusting and navigating body parts to dress yourself efficiently
Postural Disorder
Oral Motor Dysfunction
_______ Frequently drool and have difficulty keeping things in your mouth
_______ May tend to spit while eating
_______ Poor eating habits, such as eating with your mouth open or not chewing thoroughly
Ocular Motor Dysfunction
_______ Difficulty tracking a moving object through your path of vision
_______ Poor depth perception
_______ Have a hard time using one eye to cover for another, crossing the visual midline
_______ Experience double vision when objects are placed several inches or more from face
_______ Difficulty focusing and getting your eyes to work well together
_______ Have terrible aim when reaching for objects
_______ Difficulty hitting a baseball or performing a similar task in another sport
Vestibular Motor Dysfunction
_______ Difficulty maintaining balance while standing, tend to lean or slump on objects, furniture and walls
_______ Poor balance when attempting physical activities, such as riding a bicycle, jumping, or going up and down stairs
_______ Move awkwardly and in an uncoordinated fashion
_______ Difficulty catching or protecting yourself when falling
_______ Very clumsy, often tripping or bumping into objects or knocking things over
_______ Sit in awkward or unusual positions to balance out the body
_______ Difficulty getting both sides of the body to work together or using one side to assist the other when performing physical tasks
_______ Have a hard time crossing the 'midline', moving one arm or leg across the center of the body
_______ Poor gross and fine motor skills
_______ Are loose, floppy, and fidgety
_______ Low endurance, tire easily
Proprioceptive Motor Dysfunction
_______ Poor posture while sitting or standing
_______ Low muscle tone, especially in the abdominal area
_______ Sit in awkward positions, like over the edge of a seat
_______ Often lean head forward onto hands, arms, or other objects when working at a desk or eating
Proprioceptive Motor Dysfunction
_______ Difficulty digesting food properly, often experiencing constipation or 'leaky gut'
_______ Difficulty passing stool or urinating 'on command', may have a 'shy bladder'
_______ Difficulty swallowing food properly, frequently gagging or choking
_______ Frequently have a heartbeat or respiration rate that doesn't match your condition (i.e. heart racing and breathing heavily when at rest, or vice versa)