Handwriting

1. Dyspraxia You may have seen a child in your classroom having difficulties with some or all of the following …. • Getting changed/P.E • Handwriting • Copying from the board • Remembering instructions • Social interaction • Cutting and sticking

2. Dyspraxia Did you know….. Dyspraxia is a disability which affects every aspect of daily living? The cause is not known but it is thought by some that lack of oxygen during birth may be a factor. Statistics suggest 80% of those affected are male. The effects of dyspraxia can be extreme, some people are mildly affected and may appear ‘a bit clumsy’. Others may be severely dyspraxic and have difficulties with speech and language, logical thinking and social interaction as well as gross and fine motor problems.

3. Difficulties associated with Dyspraxia • poor short-term memory • poor eye contact • speech & language problems • immaturity – chooses to play with younger children • cannot tolerate having hair washed/cut • hypersensitive to touch/sound • poor pencil grip - presses too hard or too softly • poor body/spatial awareness • cannot hop, skip, ride a bike or swim (dislikes water on his face)

4. Difficulties associated with Dyspraxia Cont . . . • tires easily – due to the extra effort involved in coping with everyday tasks • perceptual problems – usually diagnosed by an Occupational Therapist after testing, this affects how the child views the world. For example, poor depth perception may mean stairs seem like bottomless pits to a child with dyspraxia • withdrawn/behavioural problems – the pupil may never contribute to class discussions or may call out all the time, may appear to have no friends or may present with extremes of behaviour ranging from tears to what appears to be temper. • gross and/or fine motor difficulties – these are predominant in dyspraxia, praxis meaning ‘movement’ and ‘dys’ meaning ‘poor’.

5. Proprioception? - What on earth is that? UNDERSTANDING OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY TERMS • Proprioception – body awareness. Where our body parts are in relation to the space around us. • Visual Perception– how we perceive and internalise information from ourenvironment.. Judgement of distance, depth, height etc, difficulties may manifest in the form of poor pencil control, gross and fine motor skills (throwing and catching a ball etc). • Tactile Perception– touch. How things feel. Hypersensitivity may mean the child will not touch finger paints or clay etc, they may overreact to even the slightest touch. Hyposensitivity means they do not respond to touch and may find handling objects/materials difficult.. • Auditory processing – how we internalise sound. Problems may mean information is not decoded and/or remembered correctly. The child may appear confused and may not be able to block out competing background noises. Sequencing difficulties may result in a language disorder (Semantic Pragmatic).

6. If you suspect a child may have Dyspraxia Parents must always be informed first of any concerns you may have, they may be worried themselves but are not sure what to do. REMEMBER dyspraxia is a medical condition and therefore requires a medical diagnosis. There may after all be other reasons why a child appears ‘clumsy’, e.g; immaturity or lack of experience. The earlier a child is diagnosed the earlier treatment can begin. This will probably take the form of Occupational and/or Speech therapy. So how can you help in the classroom?……

7. Strategies for the Classroom • sit the child away from windows or the door to minimise distractions. • make sure the child is facing the board. • give instructions in small steps with visual cues if necessary (use gesture or actually run through the task with the child). • make sure the child only has the equipment needed for the current task,e.g; if he doesn’t need coloured pencils ask him to put them away. • Use different coloured dots next to each line of writing on the board - this aids tracking

8. Strategies for the Classroom - continued • put a green dot to show the child where to start writing and a red dot toindicate where they need to finish - this will reinforce left to right directionality • use positive reinforcement to encourage turn-taking and appropriate behaviour. • modify your language and ensure the child understands the task/instructions. • make sure clothes are not left inside out after changing for P.E. and guide the child when getting changed, help them sequence what goes on first etc.

9. More… • to aid development of poor short-term memory playKim’s game,place items on a tray, show the child, cover, remove an item - ask child what’s missing • poor pencil grip – Use small whiteboards and dry erase pens,it is easier for the child to make a mark so letter formation and left to right directionality can be practised with different coloured pens ( thereby increasing motivation). • poor social skills – Buddy System,encourage other pupil’s to give their support, this may help build self-esteem and improve social skills. It will also ensure the child with dyspraxia is not always last to be picked for team games etc. • poor organisation – Sequencing stories/games,use sequencing cards/activities to teach the child how order is important in enabling us to master most tasks efficiently. You should also receive a programme from the Occupational Therapy/Speech and Language Therapy services which can be followed as part of the differentiation in the classroom.

10. Most of all, be patient. These children have to try so much harder to do the everyday tasks we take for granted. Thank you.