Dyspraxia ( Developmental Coordination Disorder) Dr. Judy Turner Dr Angela Taylor Chartered...
-
Upload
reynold-payne -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
1
Transcript of Dyspraxia ( Developmental Coordination Disorder) Dr. Judy Turner Dr Angela Taylor Chartered...
Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder)
Dr. Judy Turner
Dr Angela Taylor Chartered Psychologists
Content of Session
• What is dyspraxia?• Case studies• What are the underlying causes of these
difficulties? • Useful strategies • Time for discussion
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia = difficulty with actions• Dyspraxia is a motor learning difficulty that
can affect planning of movements and co-ordination as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body (NHS Direct, 2008).
• Complex neurological condition• Difficulties vary between individuals
Co-morbidity
Dyspraxia is often found in students who also have:
• Dyslexia
• ADHD
• Specific Language Disorders – receptive or expressive
• Aspergers syndrome
Case Study- Joe
• Joe -22 year old 3rd year student of Politics
• History of underachievement at school
• Extra help with handwriting in Junior school
• 1st time assessment
• Arrived an hour early so as not to be late
Joe -Academic difficulties• Difficulties with time management
• All coursework late
• Spends more time working than friends• Difficulties with taking lecture notes• Planning essays v. difficult • Fails to answer the Q• Tutors comment on poor explanations in
essays, rambling sentences & lack of clarity of arguments
Joe- is this Dyspraxia? Or…..Is he just a poor student with ……• Inappropriate strategies for his
academic work• A tendency to procrastinate• Studying the wrong subject• Not very able• etc.
Joe-Is it dyspraxia?• Rule out neurological conditions that cause the
same difficulties e.g. cerebral palsy and minor neurological dysfunction
• Not just slow or untidy handwriting• Need to perform a full Educational Assessment
of reading, writing, spelling, general intellectual ability
• Developmental history – ask a parent (?)• Morrisby Manual Dexterity Test (1998) – test of
coordination• Dyspraxia questionnaire
Joe- Results- literacy & IQ
• Above average at reading & spelling
• Slow handwriting for all tasks
• Superior verbal ability & average to low average performance ability
Joe- Fine Motor Coordination• Difficulties with learning to tie shoelaces &
catch and throw• Help with handwriting at school• School reports – frequent comments on poor
presentation of work• Very slow at practical work and poor final
products• The last to get dressed after PE• Poor performance on the Morrisby (1%)
Joe- Gross Motor Coordination & Balance
• Trips over frequently
• Difficulties with bike riding
• Could not learn roller skating etc.
• Drops and breaks things
• Bumps into things
Joe- Multitasking
• Learning to drive really difficult
• Can only cook one pot at a time
• Can not write and listen in lectures
Joe- Organisation and Time Management
• Tidy enough but takes inordinate time and quickly becomes messy
• Runs out of essential food etc.
• Misses appointments
• Loses things
Joe- Spatial and temporal difficulties
• Can not judge how long things will take
• Difficult to get timing right when driving
• Gets lost easily and confuses left and right
• Time flows unevenly
Speech and Language• Word finding difficulties
Joe: Enough evidence for dyspraxia1) Difficulties with fine and gross motor coordination2) Plus other difficulties
Case study- Liz
• Liz – 31 year old 1st year undergraduate
• Came for pre-exam support
• Punctual for appointment
• History of being best student in class
• Always failed exams
• Competent mother of two sons
• Thinking A to E
Case Study - George
• 29 year– doing second first degree
• First degree Geography -3rd class degree
• Appalling time management
• Went into army
• Learnt coordination
• Poor writing skills
Definition?
NB: Not everyone with dyspraxia has all these difficulties
• Existing definitions are often too unspecific or too precise
• We need something that is helpful with a student population.
• One way to achieve this is to work backwards from the known difficulties
Difficulties associated with Dyspraxia
In addition to fine motor control and gross motor control
• Automatisation • Sequencing movements and information• Sense of time
Additional concomitant difficulties• Self confidence and self esteem