Teaching Tips for Children with Dyspraxia

There are many "invisible" disorders children struggle with these days that often go undetected. And these are the children, unfortunately, that can slip through the small cracks in the educational system. One of these "invisible" disorders is Dyspraxia.

Dyspraxia is a condition where a child has difficulty thinking out, planning and carrying through with certain sensory or motor tasks. It's almost as though the child doesn't understand the steps involved in a task or she gets "lost" when attempting to carry it out. And because he isn't able to remember the steps, the skill doesn't become automatic. For example, when we learn to tie our shoes, we learn to make a knot, make two loops, tie those together then pull them tight. After a few tries, we can "just do it" and it becomes an automatic skill we don't have to think about every time we tie our shoes. For children with Dyspraxia, this ability to learn and practice something until it's smooth and automatic doesn't seem to happen as easily, if at all. And most frustratingly, a lot of these children are able to master a skill one day but then aren't able to do it at all the next because nothing seems to "stick."

It is most common in children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), especially those with vestibular and/or proprioceptive difficulties, but can also be seen in children with Autism, ADHD or with specific learning difficulties, including Dyslexia.

These children have difficulty learning and remembering the steps involved in new tasks and/or skills. Dyspraxia can be seen in various forms but the most common appear to be:

• Ideomotor Dyspraxia: Difficulty being able to do simple, single motor tasks, such as waving goodbye.
• Ideational Dyspraxia: Struggling with performing multi-level motor tasks, such as brushing teeth or going to the toilet.
• Dressing Dyspraxia: Struggling with the steps of getting dressed or getting ready to go outside.
• Oromotor Dyspraxia: Speech issues.
• Constructional Dyspraxia: Difficulty with understanding one's position in space, coordinating the body to move and relating to objects and people in space (spatial relation).

Students with Dyspraxia often appear confused and frustrated, especially when trying to read, write or even listen to lecture-style teaching. She may need extra instruction on tasks with many steps and, even then, may get "lost" when trying to carry out the task. She may also seem clumsy and unable to move her body in an organized way to participate in certain sports or playground/gym activities. She may not seem to hear you when you speak to her and may struggle with directions. She may also have a low self-esteem, poor social skills and emotional immaturity. Finally, you may find she tries doing a task almost obsessively and/or to the point of a meltdown because she knows what the task is and what the end result should be but can't will her body to follow through.

It's important to remember that these children often understand the task but struggle with figuring out how to start it and require extra help remembering the steps involved. They are curious, willing and able learners they just need a few different strategies to help them stay focused and on track.

Children with Dyspraxia will benefit greatly from having a predictable schedule or routine. The following are a few ways teachers can help children with Dyspraxia be active and stay positive in the classroom:

(1) Be sure the classroom environment is organized. The main struggle children with Dyspraxia have is with organization-both in their bodies as well as within their environments. If the classroom and teacher are well organized, then these children may have a much easier time organizing themselves. Most teachers strive for a well-structured classroom following the "Everything in its place and a place for everything" logic but this point is still worth mentioning as a first step. Centers, such as reading or craft areas, that are set-up and tidy; tubs for each sort of tool or craft item used in the classroom that are well-labeled on the outside; and areas assigned for work and for play are all a few great ways to help a child with direction problems stay on track.

(2) Post up the weekly routine/schedule. One kindergarten teacher wrote out the events students would do each day of the week in huge, bold, capital letters near the front of the class. This way, students remember that on Tuesdays, for example, they'd be going to the library and on Thursdays they needed to put their homework bags in the bin by their jackets in order to get the following week's lessons put in. What this does is give the sense of security that such-and-such will happen on the same day and same time each week. All children need routine in order to function properly but it is essential for children with Dyspraxia. A good additional tip for this is to put pictures or stickers to emphasize the event for children who need visual cues (eg: a picture of books for the library, gym equipment for recess or gym or sparkly stickers representing craft time.)

(3) Outline the daily schedule each morning. It also helps to go over the schedule for the day first thing every morning. This way, any changes or additions to the regular routine can be discussed and reviewed. Children with Dyspraxia may not react well to sudden and/or unexpected changes to their routine. Preparing them in this way not only helps to reduce anxiety but also doesn't single them out in any way as the entire class is addressed.

(4) Create a "story" about unexpected events that may occur. Situations such as fire drills, assemblies or substitute teachers can prove very overwhelming to a child who depends on the familiar. To help these children through such situations, creating a story with them-including detailed steps on what will happen, how the event might make them feel and what they think good ways of dealing with it might be-helps prepare them for an event in a fun way while empowering them to come up with their own solutions. Writing the story into an actual book format, where students can contribute their own pictures, is a great way to keep the steps fresh as well as offers an in-class resource whenever children need it.

(5) Transitional songs or cues. Younger children respond well to singing some sort of transitional song between activities, such as the "Clean Up Song," "Snack Time," or "Good-Bye." Other options include dimming, flashing or turning off lights; giving a five minute warning then count down ("Four more minutes." "Three more minutes." etc.)

(6) Color-coding work materials. Color coding notebooks and book covers helps students be sure they'll have the right materials for the right subject. If it isn't possible to create color-coded book covers for textbooks, putting a removable sticker on the cover helps too. That way the child can pull out her math text with the blue sticker on the corner to go with her blue math notebook.

(7) Set up solid homework organizer. A local Grade One teacher provides an organizer containing the weekly spelling lists, homework assignments as well as recording upcoming events-it's similar to an agenda with a month-to-month calendar then is further broken down into weeks. The teacher encourages parents to write short notes for her regarding homework or other concerns to which she replies in the notebook or has the option to arrange meetings or phone call meetings. Children are responsible for writing homework assignments in the organizer each day which the teacher checks for accuracy as well as to ensure the student understands what is expected in the homework assignment. If there is any confusion, parents find notes of explanation with the homework. Finally, parents are expected to sign or initial that homework was checked. This keeps the communication lines strong between school and home and keeps the same organizational expectations similar in both environments.

These are very simple steps that can make a huge difference to a child who struggles with organizing himself for everyday tasks. A final idea that seems to work well is taping a letter line right to the students' desks or the weekly spelling lists if she isn't able to follow direction or lessons on the blackboard.

Some additional invaluable tools for teachers include Carol Stock Kranowitz's books, The Out Of Sync Child, Answers to Questions Teachers Ask About Sensory Integration as well as her Preschool Sense series. Not only do these books teach about Dyspraxia but also offer additional useful strategies, tips and checklists to keep handy.

Children with Dyspraxia can achieve academic success right alongside their peers. All they need is a little organizational assistance and the encouragement and support to keep going.