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rest of the class when they eventually succeed with a skill. This support andthe broad smile it evokes are very moving.

Poor balance is often caused through instability in the pelvic girdle, so weuse exercises and a trampette for strengthening, and then wobble boards,physio ball and beams to encourage a sense of balance. This is often a bigissue with dyspraxic pupils—who wants to be the only boy in the street notable to ride a bike?

Verbal and oral dyspraxia is dealt with by our excellent Speech Therapist,with whom all of the staff liaise. Staff who notice speech problems, articula-tion and/or problems in the processing of information/stimuli and the speedof response can recommend a referral to the therapist and she will see thepupil once a week, often setting a programme of work to do betweensessions. She also deals with the difficult problems of poor eating habits:messy, clumsy eaters (a source of conflict and tension at meal times), andthose who are fussy eaters owing to sensitivity in and around the mouth.

I am in a fortunate position at East Court; because I teach PE and games,art, drama and handwriting, I am able to gain a good all round view of ourpupils and can support those with dyspraxia from many different directions,as well as in their special sessions with me. One skill which I teach to all ofour pupils in drama lessons, but which I feel particularly benefits thedyspraxics, is relaxation. We start most drama lessons with relaxation, sothat pupils can calm down, release tensions and learn to feel good aboutthemselves.

One benefit that the staff have gained from learning more about dyspraxiathrough INSET days is an understanding of how a dyspraxic feels, hisproblems in trying to keep his body under control whilst trying to learn, andthe solutions to help him delivered in a whole school approach, not least ofwhich is the help shown by care staff. They encourage the isolated child tointegrate in the playground, getting special playground games which theycan achieve, understanding the problems of dressing for some children andgiving them helpful solutions. But most vital of all is the understanding thatit is not the child’s fault. Dyspraxia is not an excuse, but it is a reason.

Interventions for Pupils withDyspraxic DifficultiesPat Payton and Meg Winfield

In the context of the specialist school environment of Mark College, it hasbecome increasingly apparent over the last couple of years that manystatemented dyslexic pupils have comorbid ‘conditions’ referred to on their

statements, such as dyspraxia. Currently, 7% of the College’s population have

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dyspraxia as a term specifically mentioned on their statements, whilst a further32% have references to fine and gross motor co-ordination difficulties or majorhandwriting problems.

Identification begins with the references on a pupil’s statement. These can befairly vague, such as ‘He has difficulty with fine motor control skills and motorcoordination’ to the more specific: ‘. . . shows many signs of dyspraxia. Hepresents with postural control problems as well as praxis/motor planningproblems which affect his gross and fine motor skills’. However, there are otherpupils, without references to dyspraxia on their statements, who cause concernto staff. They tend to fit the definition published by the Dyspraxia Foundationin Information for Parents : ‘Dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of theorganization of movement. Associated with this, there may be problems oflanguage, perception and thought’.

These pupils may have difficulties with practical tasks in the science lab andDT and art environments, as well as the sports field. They may not fit thetraditional ‘clumsy’ pattern, but have slow processing speeds, markedly slowresponse times and poor organizational skills. Our experience is that pupils whohave been identified as having articulatory difficulties have mainly had theirproblems remediated before they reach the age of intake (11–13 years.). How-ever, motor development in general, does continue, for some, to be a problem.

The physical education (PE) programme of the school is designed to enhancethe skills of pupils of all abilities, not just the athletic. PE is organized toimprove movement and posture, whilst games sessions are more skills basedand aim to develop automaticity. This is done by breaking each skill into itscomponent actions, which are then specifically rehearsed until automaticity isreached. Only after this is done are games strategies introduced. There are veryspecific instructions in the use of space with clear directions. Teaching ispredominantly by demonstration, with a minimal reliance on aural instructions.All sessions recap previous skills, and the lessons are highly structured andbased on direct teaching methods. All activities are built up from a one to onebase, through two to two, on to small sides, and finally to full sides. This leadsto full-sided games in which pupils of all abilities take part. Specialist teamsessions take place as after school clubs, leading to success in inter-schoolmatches (Aughton, 1998).

All pupils, dyspraxic or not, have access to word processors. From Year 9, theuse of a voice recognition program and training are available to all those whorequest it. This technology is ‘dyspraxia friendly’, as it does not rely on eitherhandwriting or keyboard skills.

The English Workshop consists of daily sessions spanning a period of 3 weeksat a time, allowing for intensive work to take place. Work can include handwrit-ing training, keyboard skills and activities designed to enhance visual andauditory perception. Further remedial work takes place in lessons in the form ofcraft and art work, where specific skills are taught. It is not assumed thatchildren will learn such skills as cutting with scissors or ruling a line, throughany ‘osmotic’ process. Such skills are taught. The result of such direct teachingmethods, which underpin the development of a personal artistic ‘voice’, haveled to GCSE results way above national averages in Art (optional) at 91% A–C,and DT (compulsory) 91.3% A–C in 1999. All staff are aware of the needs ofdyspraxic pupils, as well as those of dyslexics, and modify their teaching andexpectations appropriately.

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Within the boarding environment, all pupils are encouraged to develop personalorganizational skills in a ‘safe’ structured framework, with an expectation that theywill take increased responsibility for themselves as they mature. This is achievedby a consistent reward system, whereby they are taught how to organize theirpersonal belongings, and are then marked on a daily basis accordingly. If full marksare achieved by the end of the week, then children are rewarded with a late eveningvideo session. Dyspraxic pupils are helped to achieve at the same standard asothers.

Other interventions have included the use of the Alexander Technique for theseverest of dyspraxic pupils. This has shown improvements in kinaestheticawareness, appreciation of personal space and, therefore, improved social skills,as well as better handwriting (Lyons, Payton and Winfield, 1999).

Currently, a club is being run for a small group of pupils based on theintervention programme formulated by Madeline Portwood (Chairperson of theEducation Committee of the Dyspraxia Foundation). This includes ‘fun’ activitiesto enhance both fine and gross motor control, and motor planning. These activitiesare specifically designed to meet the needs of the individual child. An examplemight be the ‘Smartie Run’ to improve balance, encourage stretching and developmotor planning skills. Bowls, each containing different coloured sweets, are placedat various heights around the room. The child runs from bowl to bowl in sequence,picking up a sweet and replacing it with one collected from a previous bowl. Thisis a timed activity, with the child verbalizing his actions and attempting to collectas many sweets as possible in a given time.

The club is run on a daily basis, after school, with the children working in pairsfor 10–15 minutes at a time. It is too early to comment on the success of thisintervention.

Although dyspraxic children have always been with us, the formal identificationof such difficulties is a fairly recent phenomenon. In an ideal world, theoccupational therapy service would provide for the needs of the dyspraxic child.However, such services are scarce and we feel that it is incumbent upon the schoolto provide what it can to meet the needs of such children.

References

Aughton, T. (1998) Dyslexia and physical education. The Dyslexia Handbook 1998.

Lyons, C., Payton, P. and Winfield, M. (1999) A study of the possible benefits of theAlexander Technique for children exhibiting comorbidity of dyslexia/dyspraxia. DyslexiaReview, 11(2, Autumn).

Dyslexia and DevelopmentalVerbal DyspraxiaMarion McCormick

This article looks at the overlap between dyslexia and verbal dyspraxia.Clinical manifestations are initially described, followed by an examina-tion of the overlap.

Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dyslexia 6: 202–214 (2000)