Dyspraxia
What is it?
The Dyspraxia Foundation define it as:
Developmental dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. It is an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. The term dyspraxia comes from the word praxis, which means 'doing, acting'. Dyspraxia affects the planning of what to do and how to do it. It is associated with problems of perception, language and thought.
Developmental dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. It is an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. The term dyspraxia comes from the word praxis, which means 'doing, acting'. Dyspraxia affects the planning of what to do and how to do it. It is associated with problems of perception, language and thought.
Symptoms
The Dyspraxia Foundation give the following possible symptoms for Dyspraxia as might be seen in Teenagers:
Secondary school age Dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. Associated with this there may be problems of language, perception and thought.
Dyspraxia is an immaturity in the way the brain processes information and this results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. Estimates put the number of children experiencing the condition at between 2 and 10% of the population. Boys are four times more likely to be effected than girls.
In some cases Dyspraxia is not identified until the child reaches secondary school. He/she may have managed to cope through their previous schools with only minor difficulties. However, the structure of secondary schools may prove to be too difficult for the child and it is at this point that problems manifest themselves especially in view of the organisational skills that are required in secondary education. If Dyspraxia is not identified and the child enters secondary education there can be such a high incidence of low self esteem and disaffection that behavioural difficulties are evident.
Secondary school age Dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. Associated with this there may be problems of language, perception and thought.
Dyspraxia is an immaturity in the way the brain processes information and this results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. Estimates put the number of children experiencing the condition at between 2 and 10% of the population. Boys are four times more likely to be effected than girls.
In some cases Dyspraxia is not identified until the child reaches secondary school. He/she may have managed to cope through their previous schools with only minor difficulties. However, the structure of secondary schools may prove to be too difficult for the child and it is at this point that problems manifest themselves especially in view of the organisational skills that are required in secondary education. If Dyspraxia is not identified and the child enters secondary education there can be such a high incidence of low self esteem and disaffection that behavioural difficulties are evident.
- Difficulties with physical activities such as in P.E. with the child having difficulty with eye hand and eye foot co-ordination (i.e. ball skills), running or using equipment easily
- Poor posture, body awareness and awkward movements
- Confusion over laterality with the pupil interchanging between left and right hand for different tasks
- Poor short term visual and verbal memory - copying from the board, dictation, following instructions
- Writing difficulties both with style and speed - frequently children have an awkward pen grip
- Poorly developed organisational skills and difficulty with planning essays
- Activities which involve well developed sequencing ability are difficult
- Problems with awareness of time, pupils need constant reminders
- Often have poor exercise tolerance, tire easily and may require longer periods of rest and sleep
- Some children may have phobias, obsessive or immature behaviour
- Sensitive to external stimulation e.g. different levels of light, sound and heat intensity
- Extremes of emotions, highly excitable at times and evidence of significant mood swings
- Lack of awareness of potential danger, particularly relevant to practical and science subjects
- Often loners and have limited development of social skills
How can it affect Maths?
The short-term memory problems impact on the ability to perform multi-stage tasks. Think of a recipe - it is a series of co-ordinated actions to produce a desired result. In cooking, the inability to perform all the steps accurately (leaving out nutmeg for example) might not have a noticeable impact. Maths is not so forgiving - the answer will be wrong. Long-term memory is seldom impaired, so facts can be acquired and recalled. Some dyspraxics have difficulty discriminating between left and right. Directional problems impact on multi-stage calculations as well as traditional addition, subtraction, multiplication and division methods.