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

 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.
 Difficulties associated with

 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)
 Difficulties associated with

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 withdrawn/behavioural problems – the pupil may never contribute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’.
 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 our environment.. 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).
 If you suspect a child may have

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?……

 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
 Strategies for the Classroom - continued
 put a green dot to show the child where to start writing and a
red dot to indicate 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.
 More…
 to aid development of poor short-term memory play Kim’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.
 Most of all, be patient.
These children have to try so
much harder to do the
everyday tasks we take for
granted.

Thank you.