Specific Learning Difficulties - Dyspraxia

Background Information

Dyspraxia describes a marked difficulty in coordination. It is an immaturity in the organisation of movement and can affect language, perception and thought. In their publication ‘Dyspraxia – A Guide For Teachers and Parent’ (1997) Ripley, Daines and Barratt describe Dyspraxia as: “Problems in getting our bodies to do what we want, when we want them to do it.” Students described as dyspraxic often appear clumsy, they bump into things, they fall over, concentration is a problem, and dressing, writing and riding a bike are all difficult. They are usually of average intelligence, with good verbal communication skills.

A dyspraxic student may have difficulties with:

• Planning their movements and being aware of the space around them: they frequently bump into and trip over things. They may have a clumsy posture and poor muscle tone
• Perception: They find it difficult to judge heights and distances, making them appear to be clumsier
• Co-ordinating different parts of the body: they may find it hard to catch, throw and balance as well as moving the different parts of their body without looking. Sport and dancing can cause acute problems
• Laterality: It may be difficult to work out right from left without a reminder. Manual and practical work: They may find it difficult to handle keyboards, tools, cars, bandages, laboratory and cooking equipment safely and easily and tend to knock over and spill things often.
• Hand-writing: They tend to write laboriously slowly and/or untidily and illegibly. Accurate copying can be difficult.
• Language: They may find it difficult to pronounce some words and some may stutter
• Concentration: They may take a long time to complete a task and find it difficult to do more than one thing at a time.
• Short term memory and sequencing tasks: They may find it hard to make sense of information when listening or reading instructions, taking notes from books and lecturers, and dealing with maps and charts. They may keep forgetting and losing things as well as finding it difficult to spell.
• Organisation and thought: they may operate in a muddled way, having little sense of direction, time or weight. They may constantly miss appointments and hand in assignments late because they find it difficult to organise themselves and their work.
• They may find it difficult to express themselves easily
• Response to external stimulation: they may be over or under sensitive to noise, touch, light and taste
• All the above can lead to Emotional Problems, making them easily depressed, angry, frustrated and anxious. Many have low self-esteem. They can find it difficult to relate to others especially in groups and read social cues correctly. These difficulties will become more apparent in times of stress such as during and before exams and when embarking on a new project. They also tend to be erratic and have 'good and bad days; in normal circumstances

Be prepared to make arrangements appropriate for examinations. These may include the use of an amanuensis, a computer, extra time, rest breaks, or a separate room. Also, be aware that necessary arrangements need to be made with the relevant validating body at some point prior to any examinations.

If you need to apply for these concessions for an exam, please contact us.