This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English EducationReport.

People who have unusual difficulty with reading, writing or otherskills may have a learning disability. Today we continue our seriesabout learning disabilities with a report about a movement disorder.This condition is called dyspraxia.

With dyspraxia, the brain does not send messages clearly to otherparts of the body. People with dyspraxia have a poor understandingof the messages sent by their senses. They have difficulty linkingthese messages to actions. As a result, people with dyspraxia havetrouble planning and organizing thoughts. Physical activities arealso difficult to learn and perform.

Experts say the kinds of difficulties experienced by a personwith dyspraxia can change from day to day or at different times inlife. Babies with dyspraxia do not try to crawl or roll over. Later,they may have difficulty with eye movements. They may move theirhead instead of just their eyes. Children with dyspraxia may havetrouble walking or holding a cup, riding a bicycle or throwing aball.

Social skills may be difficult for people with dyspraxia tolearn. So they might have trouble making friends. People withdyspraxia can find sports activities extremely difficult. They mayeven have trouble speaking. Some cannot make the physical movementsnecessary to speak clearly. Adults with dyspraxia can have problemsdriving a car or cleaning the house. They can have problems cooking,writing, typing, even washing and dressing themselves.

Experts say dyspraxia cannot be cured. They say people with thisdisorder must understand that it takes them longer to learn to dothings than other people. It will also take them longer to rememberhow to do what they have already learned.

Early intervention can help. Professional therapists say thereare ways to help make life easier for those with dyspraxia. They sayparents and teachers must understand that people with dyspraxia needhelp learning simple movements. Experts say children should be urgedto take part in easy physical activities that can increase theirtrust in their abilities.

We continue our series about learning disabilities next week. Allof our programs are on the Internet at WWW.51VOA.COM. Linksto more information about dyspraxia are also included.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by NancySteinbach. This is Steve Ember.