Lisa Mulvihill, Specialist Occupational Therapist - Dyspraxia/DCD assessment for Adults

Hello, my name is Lisa.

I am a CORU registered occupational therapist based in Ireland with over 18 years of clinical experience, predominantly in mental health and primary care settings.

I am the founder of Blackbird Occupational Therapy, a specialist occupational therapy service established to meet the needs of the adult neurodivergent community.

I work with adults from the age of 18 years upwards. I am also a clinical supervisor, adult educator/trainer and group facilitator.

As a neurodivergent healthcare professional, I am very aware of how challenging accessing health and support services can be for neurodivergent people and so I endeavour to ensure that I provide an accessible, safe, supportive and non-judgemental space for everyone who chooses to work with me.

My clinical, supervisory and training practice is underpinned by human rights and social justice. My practice is trauma informed, neuro affirming and LGBTQIA+ affirming.

Dyspraxia/Developmental Co-ordination Disorder/DCD is a type of neurodivergence categorised by challenges with gross and fine motor skills, motor co-ordination and motor planning. Historically dyspraxia was referred to as “clumsy child syndrome” and there was little recognition that adults could experience similar challenges. Dyspraxia is not something that a child grows out of and so dyspraxic children grow up to be dyspraxic adults.

Common indicators of Dyspraxia/DCD in adults:

Difficulty with tasks requiring balance, co-ordination and motor skills e.g. playing sports, driving.
Challenges with personal care tasks, e.g. shaving, brushing teeth, applying make-up, blow-drying hair.
Struggles with fine motor skills such as handwriting, “fiddly” tasks with small objects such as doing up small buttons.
Difficulty with sense of direction/distinguishing left from right.
Challenges with learning new motor skills, e.g. learning dance steps or exercise moves.
Sensory sensitivities, e.g. increased sensitivity to noise, light, touch.
Lack of awareness of body position in space, commonly bumping into or tripping over things, spilling things.
Difficulty with motor planning/Praxis.

I offer best practice, comprehensive and compassionate assessment for dyspraxia in adults from the age of 18 years in Leixlip, Co. Kildare, Ireland.
For young adults who are completing state exams/attending college a handwriting assessment can also be completed as part of the dyspraxia assessment process. This can be helpful when applying for exam accommodations.