Professional Development Course on Catering for Diversity in English Language Teaching ENG5315 The Characteristics of Di

1. Professional Development Course on Catering for Diversity in English Language TeachingENG5315The Characteristics of Diversity Session 5 Dyspraxia (Developmental Co-ordination Disorder) and dysgraphia Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 1

2. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

3. Dyspraxia Comes from the Greek word ‘praxis’, which means doing, acting or deed. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 3

4. What is dyspraxia? • ‘An impairment or immaturity in the organization of movement which leads to associated problems with language, perception and thought’ (The Dyspraxia Foundation, 1999) Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

5. What is dyspraxia? Developmental dyspraxia is a neurologically based disorder. It is a motor-planning difficulty that is present from birth. Children with dyspraxia do learn to walk, run and write but they often develop these skills - their motor milestones - later than the others. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 5

6. What is dyspraxia? Dyspraxic subjects will have poor understanding of the messages that their senses convey and will experience difficulty in relating those messages to appropriate actions. Physical activities are hard to learn and hard to remember (Brookes, 2007). They do have a problem with coordination which needs to be addressed early to maximize the chance of improvement. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 6

7. Three sub-components of movement Ideation Children who have difficulty with this aspect of movement preparation can often been seen as wandering around, or doing something aimlessly. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 7

8. Three sub-components of movement Motor planning Children who are poor planners know what they want to achieve, but have difficulty knowing how to bring their ideas to fruition. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 8

9. Three sub-components of movement Execution Carrying out the movement with all the movement ability requirements such as balance and control coming into play (Macintyre, 2001). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 9

10. What coordination difficulties do dyspraxic children have? Whole body coordination Involves the large muscle groups and affects gross motor skills. Hand-eye/Foot-eye coordination Fine motor control Requires the smaller groups of muscles to work in harmony. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 10

11. Types of dyspraxia Oral dyspraxia A child will not be able to reproduce mouth movement. Verbal dyspraxia A child will have difficulty in making sounds. Motor dyspraxia This prevents a child moving in a planned way. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 11

12. Causes of dyspraxia • Parts of the motor cortex in the brain do not develop properly. • This prevents messages from being transmitted efficiently to the body. • The brain sends out a message but it either never arrives or it staggers into the station after the moment has passed. • So dyspraxics have difficulty in planning movement to achieve a predetermined idea or purpose (Brookes, 2007). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

13. Causes of dyspraxia There may be an inherited tendency. If there is a history of dyspraxia on the mother’s side, there is a one in three chance of it being passed on. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 13

14. Who gets dyspraxia? The condition affects up to 4 per cent of the population. At least 70 per cent of those affected are male. Sufferers are generally of average or above average intelligence (Brookes, 2007). Children with dyspraxia look just the same as other children (‘hidden handicap’). There is often overlap with other syndrome. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 14

15. Symptoms of dyspraxia • Individual children have their own pattern of signs and symptoms, including: • Clumsy and awkward • Poor writing and drawing ability • Short attention span • Difficulty in carrying out instructions • Frequently falling and bumping into things • Poor posture and fatigue Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

16. Symptoms of dyspraxia Poor achievement can lead to low self-esteem and antisocial behaviour Problems involving undoing buttons or zips and tying laces Difficulty in producing coordinated action Poor sense of balance Difficulty in retaining more than one piece of information Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 16

17. Observable behaviours in children of primary school age Organizational difficulties Difficulty adapting to a structured school routine Continuing difficulties evident in PE Uncoordinated movements Slow at dressing Buttons fastened in the wrong holes Unable to tie shoe laces Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 17

18. Observable behaviours in children of primary school age Handwriting difficulties Excessive time required for completion of task Repetition and practice has little effect on the development of skills Copying skills are poor Drawings continue to be immature Difficulty remembering instructions Problems with concentration Difficulty remaining on task Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 18

19. Observable behaviours in children of primary school age Highly emotional Problems with social relationship Problems with peer relationships, often evident in the nursery environment persist throughout school Isolated within the classroom and in the playground Enjoys the security of relationships with adults (Portwood, 2000) Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 19

20. Observable behaviours in pupils of secondary school age Difficulties with social relationships Child presents as a loner who prefers his/her own company Difficulties in organization Unable to follow a timetable Highly emotional Difficulties with coordination persist Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 20

21. Observable behaviours in pupils of secondary school age Major difficulties experienced with work which must be committed to paper, handwriting is usually printed rather than cursive Poor short-term visual and auditory memory Copying from the board Taking dictated notes (Portwood, 2000) Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 21

22. Assessment of dyspraxia It is the parents of the child who usually carry out the most effective initial diagnosis. A weak sucking reflex is often an early indicator. The child may be late in learning to sit, stand or walk. As far as crawling is concerned, some dyspraxic children never manage it at all (Brookes, 2007). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 22

23. Assessment of dyspraxia Continuous assessment and recording of encountered difficulties in different situations is essential before specialist help is requested (Macintyre, 2001). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 23

24. Assessment and diagnosis of dyspraxia The basic criterion is motor coordination that is significantly below the level expected, based on age and intelligence. The Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is most commonly employed (by registered Educational Psychologists only). It contains a range of tests to measure verbal or performance ability. The results are combined to give a final IQ. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 24

25. Assessment and diagnosis of dyspraxia The WISC doesn’t confirm dyspraxia. It is part of the picture. Particularly useful are observations on the child’s behaviour during play. Has poor posture been noted? Are there any difficulties in eye-hand coordination? The children’s ability to stand still or on one leg or to throw and catch a large soft ball might be assessed (Brookes, 2007). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 25

26. Assessment and diagnosis of dyspraxia The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC) Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 26

27. Dysgraphia Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

28. What is dysgraphia? • ‘A difficulty in automatically remembering and mastering the sequence of muscle motor movements needed in writing letters or numbers’ (Richards, 1998, p. 13). • This difficulty then interferes with the automatic use of other skills for written expression. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

29. What is dysgraphia? • Dysgraphia is primarily a processing problem, i.e., an impairment in a process of writing rather than merely a poor product or end result. • It is a difficulty which is out of harmony with the person’s intelligence or regular teaching instruction. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

30. What is dysgraphia? • Neurologically based • May exist in varying degrees, ranging from mild to moderate • It can be diagnosed and overcome if appropriate remedial strategies are conscientiously carried out. * It is important to note that remedial programs generally work more efficiently with younger students because the inefficient habits and patterns are less ingrained. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

31. What is dysgraphia? • Dysgraphia seldom exists in isolation or without other symptoms of learning problems. It is most commonly related to learning problems within the sphere of written language and is frequently associated with dyslexia (Richards, 1998). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

32. Three types of dysgraphia • Dyslexic dysgraphia • Spontaneous written text is illegible • Oral spelling is poor • Drawing and copying of written text are relatively normal Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

33. Three types of dysgraphia • Motor dysgraphia • Both spontaneously written and copied text may be illegible • Oral spelling is normal • Drawing is usually problematic Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

34. Three types of dysgraphia • Spatial dysgraphia • People display illegible writing, whether spontaneously produced or prepared • Oral spelling is normal • Drawing is very problematic (LDAO, n.d.). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

35. Symptoms of dysgraphia • Odd wrist, body and paper positions • Excessive erasures • Mixture of upper- and lowercase letters • Mixture of printed and cursive letters • Inconsistent letter formations • Irregular letter sizes and shapes • Misuse of line and margin • Poor organization on the page • Inefficient speed in copying • General illegibility (Richards, 1998) Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

36. Major cause of the problem of inconsistencies • Weak motor memory The process of writing letters or numbers requires a sequential motor memory to remember the correct sequence of movements needed to form letters (Richards, 1998). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

37. Identifying the dysgraphic student • Identify clusters of symptoms. Look for a pattern. • Observe the student’s performance when copying and also when performing spontaneous writing. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

38. Identifying the dysgraphic student • Motor difficulties The inability to carry out a sequential motor movement in order to perform a motor task is often observed in students who display general clumsiness. • Pencil grip Observe for consistency of grip usage and check the pressure on pencil (should not be too light or too heavy) (Richards, 1998). Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

39. References Brookes, G. (2007). Dyspraxia (2nd ed.). London; New York: Continuum. Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO). (n.d.). Dysgraphia: The handwriting learning disability. Retrieved January 18, 2009, from http://www.ldao.ca/aboutLDs/article_full.php?id=020 Macintyre, C. (2001). Dyspraxia 5 - 11: A practical guide. London: David Fulton Publishers. Portwood, M. (2000). Understanding developmental dyspraxia: A textbook for students and professionals. London: David Fulton Publishers. Richards, R. G. (1998). The writing dilemma: Understanding dysgraphia. Riverside, CA: Richards Educational Therapy Center, inc. Prepared by Ruby Yang, Department of English, The Hong Kong Institute of Education 39