They are not clumsy, they have dyspraxia

Nov 13 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

I CAN’T take him anywhere. Why can’t she be more careful? He’s so clumsy ...

Admit it, you’ve said it about your children. But what if it’s not their fault? They may, in fact, be suffering from a medical disorder called dyspraxia.

It’s sometimes unkindly referred to as ‘clumsy child’ syndrome; the condition is an impairment of the organisation of movement, which can lead to problems with co-ordination and coping with simple tasks many of us take for granted.

Frequently falling over, difficulty walking up and down stairs, poor at dressing, no spatial awareness, problems forming relationships and prone to bullying. These are all familiar symptoms.

The problem is caused by messages from the brain not being transmitted properly. This means attempts to make movements are often not carried out or are done so in an incorrect way, which can lead to clumsiness and frustration.

Dyspraxia is thought to affect up to 6% of the population and up to 2% severely. Males are four times more likely to be affected than females.

Symptoms can often be misinterpreted, with a definite diagnosis sometimes proving difficult.

Dyspraxia sometimes runs in families and anecdotal research suggests it is likely that there is one pupil affected in every class of 30 children.

As the child ages is it likely these problems will persist and transfer into their future learning. This can be seen in very short attention spans, poor handwriting and drawing skills, persistent problems with interpersonal skills and difficulties in dressing themselves.

There is no cure for the illness, although therapy may be sought for individual problem on a case-by-case basis.

Holmfirth teaching assistant Hazel Carr has been helping children with dyspraxia for a number of years and has designed an exercise programme.

She has written a book, Dancing With Dyspraxia, which is a humorous look at her work with special needs children.

When her eldest son was six the education authorities acknowledged that he had dyslexia and Hazel volunteered to support him in class.

As she worked with other children with similar difficulties she found a new interest in special needs education and went on to train as a teaching assistant.

In 2002 she went on a course on dyspraxia and after it, with the support of the school at which she works, she started the exercise programme.

After helping more than 90 children Hazel has had the satisfaction of watching the youngsters she has helped move on in school and reach their full potential.

Many have been diagnosed with dyslexia and other special needs, but often the underlying cause is dyspraxia, she feels.

She says: “The exercises I use are all based on dealing with all the difficulties at the same time.

“Children start jumping feet together, hopping on the left and right foot. We walk along lines and in and out of hoops for balance, left and right laterality, direction and listening.

“We use skateboards and skipping ropes and for tracking difficulties we use bean bags. The parts of the body that are weak are strengthened, from the upper/lower body to the arms, wrists and hands.

“When the children did the exercises you noticed how one side was much weaker than expected in most children.

“Once their body was balanced and stronger there brain was kick started. As neural pathways strengthened processing increased.”

The free programme continues for as long as children need it and some have been on it for as long as two years. For some a difference was seen in six weeks.

Hazel said: “I found that if they did all the same exercises every day the children strengthened their neural pathways and motors skills and any weaknesses that were left were then highlighted and corrected with specific exercises.”

She realised over the years that most books on the subject were highly technical and contained research, statistics, graphs and long words that made them heavy going for ordinary readers.

She decided to write a book that answered the questions frequently asked of her by staff and parents but one that would give the answers in straightforward language.

Theresa Hart, a trustee of the Dyspraxia Foundation, says: “There is no cure for dyspraxia but there are many coping techniques to help make life easier for sufferers and their families.

“More importantly, we need to educate the public and teachers and bring home the message that people with dyspraxia are not difficult and stupid, just different and special.”

Dancing with Dyspraxia, by Hazel Carr, is available from www.woodfieldpublishing.co.uk at £15. Hazel’s own website is www.discuss-dyspraxia.co.uk