Dyspraxia Awareness Week is October 11 through October 17

PR Log (Press Release) – Oct 09, 2009 – Dyspraxia USA
2502 N. Clark St., Ste. #223
Chicago, IL 60641

Contact: Warren Fried
Phone: 773.248.3476
E-mail: dyspraxianfp@sbcglobal.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Dyspraxia Awareness Week is October 11 through October 17
Dyspraxia USA launches new web site to educate and raise awareness of “hidden handicap”

Chicago, IL., October 7, 2009–Raise your hand if you know what Dyspraxia is… Most Americans are aware of common developmental and learning disabilities such as Autism, ADHD, and Dyslexia. Yet, few outside the professions of Occupational and Physical Therapy or Developmental Pediatrics have any knowledge of Developmental Dyspraxia despite the fact that it affects as many as one out of every 10 children, whereas Autism affects only one out of 100 children.

Developmental Dyspraxia is a neurological condition that affects motor planning – or the brain’s ability to process and organize movements. Although it manifests uniquely in each person who has the condition, Dyspraxia affects both fine and gross motor skills leading to problems with coordination, language, as well as thought and perception. Those who have Dyspraxia face great challenges with ordinary tasks the rest of us take for granted including:
• writing
• focusing and participating in a classroom setting
• walking, running, climbing stairs
• tying shoelaces
• speaking clearly
• dressing one’s self
• making friends and maintaining relationships

Although there is no cure for Developmental Dyspraxia and there is debate among researchers and medical professionals as to the cause, early diagnosis and treatment of the condition can help alleviate many of the struggles associated with Dyspraxia.

Through the dissemination of information during Dyspraxia Awareness Week, Dyspraxia USA hopes to increase knowledge of this condition among educators, medical professionals, and parents who might perceive a problem in their young children. The organization’s campaign includes the launch of their new web site which offers detailed information on symptoms of Dyspraxia in children and young adults as well as links to articles about the condition and a forum where Dyspraxics and their family and friends can discuss living with the condition. The site also features a documentary about Canadian brothers, Tyrone and Lyndon Brown who live with one of the severest forms of Developmental Dyspraxia. Volunteers for Dyspraxia USA will also be distributing informational materials about the condition to schools and medical professionals throughout their communities across the United States.

“It is my dream that all those who work with young children learn about Dyspraxia so that anyone suffering from this condition can be identified and diagnosed to begin the necessary therapies to help them live a happy and productive life. As someone who was not diagnosed with Dyspraxia until my twenties, I am profoundly aware of the high cost, the isolation and despair, that accompany going through life untreated and misunderstood,” says Warren Fried, founder of Dyspraxia USA.

About Dyspraxia USA:
Dyspraxia USA is the only organization in the United States devoted to raising awarenss of Developmental Dyspraxia and giving those who live with this condition a voice.

To learn more about Developmental Dyspraxia please visit http://www.dyspraxiausa.org. If you would like to schedule an interview with Dyspraxia USA founder, Warren Fried, please contact him directly at the number or e-mail address provided above.