Post by RS on Dec 10, 2013 13:56:40 GMT
A quick question - What do Florence Welch of Florence and the machine, photographer David Bailey, Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter, entrepreneur Richard Branson, entrepreneur Bill Gates and author Emily Bronte all have in common? Well, they all have dyspraxia, a type of developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), which was once know as clumsy child syndrome. Dyspraxia affects around 1 in 50 people or could even as high as 1 in 10 people (depending on various studies) in the United Kingdom and is a neurological condition. If we look at the statistics of 1 in 10, this equates to 10% of the population, therefore, in a school class of 100 pupils, at least 10 children could have the condition.
The condition is relatively unknown and, because of this, is often misunderstood. Due to a lack of understanding of the condition in children, they often get into trouble for not being able to do things and are often referred to as lazy, when, in reality, sufferers are trying very hard to do tasks that anyone else will find easy to complete.Thankfully, paediatric services are beginning to get better at recognising dyspraxia in children, although we are a long way to go when compared to the recognition of conditions such as ADHA, or dyslexia and autism.
How you can recognise a child with Dyspraxia?
The pre-school child:
• Is late in reaching milestones, e.g. rolling over, sitting, standing, walking, and speaking
• May not be able to run, hop, jump, or catch/kick a ball, although their peers can do so
• Has difficulty in keeping friends; or judging how to behave in company
• Has little understanding of concepts such as ‘in’, ‘on’, ‘in front of’, etc.
• Has difficulty in walking up and down stairs
• Poor at dressing
• Slow and hesitant in most actions
• Appears not to be able to learn anything instinctively but must be taught skills
• Falls over frequently
• Poor pencil grip
• Cannot do jigsaws or shape sorting games
• Artwork is very immature
• Often anxious and easily distracted
The school-age child:
• Probably has all the difficulties experienced by the pre-school child with dyspraxia, with little or no improvement
• Avoids PE and games
• Does badly in class but significantly better on a one-to-one basis
• Reacts to all stimuli without discrimination and attention span is poor
• May have trouble with maths and writing structured stories
• Experiences great difficulty in copying from the blackboard
• Writes laboriously and immaturely
• Unable to remember and/or follow instructions
• Is generally poorly organised
Dyspraxia does not affect intelligence, but may make learning new skills more difficult. Adults with dyspraxia may have developed coping strategies to find ways around everyday tasks they find difficult, for example, they may find their movement problems improve as they find ways to adapt. As they grow older and accept themselves, their confidence and self-esteem may also improve; this may be because the pressure to 'fit in' as an adult is not as strong as with children and teenagers.
Some people also find staying fit helps their co-ordination, reduces feelings of fatigue and helps with potential weight gain.
A new book, called “You’re so Clumsy Charlie”, has been written by a Lancashire business woman, Jane Binnion, who has the condition.
A new job has been written by a Lancashire business woman who has the condition called “You’re so Clumsy Charlie”.
This book was written for children, as Jane said she could not find any books for children that covered the condition; Jane said this made her sad, because, as a society, people tend to spend a lot of time focusing on what people can’t do, rather than focusing on what they can do. According to Jane, the problems with dyspraxia is that people with the condition often look fine, and people become disappointed with the way in which they behave, making assumptions that they are lazy or careless. This lack of understanding, and also being criticised on a daily basis, has an impact on the individual’s self-esteem.
There is help out there, but it is often difficult to know where to go and how to obtain it. The first port of call would be to your own doctor, to explain your concerns. There is also the Dyspraxia Foundation and their web site is:
Dyspraxia Foundation
Of visit Janes web site at Janes web site
The condition is relatively unknown and, because of this, is often misunderstood. Due to a lack of understanding of the condition in children, they often get into trouble for not being able to do things and are often referred to as lazy, when, in reality, sufferers are trying very hard to do tasks that anyone else will find easy to complete.Thankfully, paediatric services are beginning to get better at recognising dyspraxia in children, although we are a long way to go when compared to the recognition of conditions such as ADHA, or dyslexia and autism.
How you can recognise a child with Dyspraxia?
The pre-school child:
• Is late in reaching milestones, e.g. rolling over, sitting, standing, walking, and speaking
• May not be able to run, hop, jump, or catch/kick a ball, although their peers can do so
• Has difficulty in keeping friends; or judging how to behave in company
• Has little understanding of concepts such as ‘in’, ‘on’, ‘in front of’, etc.
• Has difficulty in walking up and down stairs
• Poor at dressing
• Slow and hesitant in most actions
• Appears not to be able to learn anything instinctively but must be taught skills
• Falls over frequently
• Poor pencil grip
• Cannot do jigsaws or shape sorting games
• Artwork is very immature
• Often anxious and easily distracted
The school-age child:
• Probably has all the difficulties experienced by the pre-school child with dyspraxia, with little or no improvement
• Avoids PE and games
• Does badly in class but significantly better on a one-to-one basis
• Reacts to all stimuli without discrimination and attention span is poor
• May have trouble with maths and writing structured stories
• Experiences great difficulty in copying from the blackboard
• Writes laboriously and immaturely
• Unable to remember and/or follow instructions
• Is generally poorly organised
Dyspraxia does not affect intelligence, but may make learning new skills more difficult. Adults with dyspraxia may have developed coping strategies to find ways around everyday tasks they find difficult, for example, they may find their movement problems improve as they find ways to adapt. As they grow older and accept themselves, their confidence and self-esteem may also improve; this may be because the pressure to 'fit in' as an adult is not as strong as with children and teenagers.
Some people also find staying fit helps their co-ordination, reduces feelings of fatigue and helps with potential weight gain.
A new book, called “You’re so Clumsy Charlie”, has been written by a Lancashire business woman, Jane Binnion, who has the condition.
A new job has been written by a Lancashire business woman who has the condition called “You’re so Clumsy Charlie”.
This book was written for children, as Jane said she could not find any books for children that covered the condition; Jane said this made her sad, because, as a society, people tend to spend a lot of time focusing on what people can’t do, rather than focusing on what they can do. According to Jane, the problems with dyspraxia is that people with the condition often look fine, and people become disappointed with the way in which they behave, making assumptions that they are lazy or careless. This lack of understanding, and also being criticised on a daily basis, has an impact on the individual’s self-esteem.
There is help out there, but it is often difficult to know where to go and how to obtain it. The first port of call would be to your own doctor, to explain your concerns. There is also the Dyspraxia Foundation and their web site is:
Dyspraxia Foundation
Of visit Janes web site at Janes web site