Developmental Dyspraxia - Case Study Example

Dyspraxia in Early Age Developmental dyspraxia refers to a condition when children develop abnormal habits in their behavior despite having no neurological disease as such. They are found to have difficulty in learning skills and developing habits that are supposed to be inculcated in early childhood like, speaking clearly, eating with spoon, doing up buttons etc. The most complex finding in the study of dyspraxia is that, unlike reflexes, the movements under dyspraxia are under conscious control of an individual, and therefore considered ‘skilled’ movements. This kind of behavioral disorder has been diagnosed to be resulting from the activity of cerebral cortex, which bars the normal process of acquiring desired direction, planning and execution of purposeful actions in the presence of normal reflexive response, power and coordination of a child. According to Miller (1986), “dyspraxia is ‘a disorder of higher cortical mental process involved in the planning and execution of actions’ and ‘the disorder in dyspraxia lies (in cognitive psychological terms) in the disruption to underlying processes’” (Miller, 1986, p. 4). But dyspraxia is not only a developmental symptom—‘part of a child’s make-up’ but it can be developed at any stage of life ‘as the result of brain illness or injury’ (Boon, 2001, p. 8) Since dyspraxia is not a neurological imbalance or dysfunction but developed through the working of cerebral cortex, cognitive behavioral intervention is of more help than medication. The most frequently heard disorders include losing things, messy eating, slow at works, inability to dress properly, making grinning gestures, inappropriate movement of limbs etc. In such a situation the daily activities of those children should be properly monitored so that they are enabled to modify their disorder with the desired model of behaviors. This behavioral disorder is not something that cannot be overcome. In fact, researchers have suggested that “children do not grow ‘out of’ dyspraxia’ but they ‘learn to accommodate their difficulties and there is evidence that early intervention can have beneficial results” (Dixon and Addy, 2004, p.10). Children suffering from dyspraxia experience low self-respect, have problems in making friends and become subject to bullying (Anything Is Possible!, 2010). The key method to deal with the problem is to introduce inclusive learning system, which is supported by two chief elements—motivation and acceptance in the school environment or in home, since we are concerned with dyspraxia in children. One of the main problems in dealing with dyspraxia is that recently the number of children suffering from dyspraxia is being seen in the mainstream schools but they are not given die attention as parents are reluctant to acknowledge their children’s Special Education Needs (SEN). The reason might be their fear and reservations owing to their social status (Dixon and Addy, 2004, p.10). Moreover in the school environment, the assumption that in a mainstream school only ‘normal’ children are being taught, proves to be a hindrance in giving proper attention to those requiring special care. So the treatment of dyspraxia in an inclusive system involves a change in the perception of teachers and parents as well. First of all the binary division between normal and abnormal behaviors should no longer be carried out and so-called ‘abnormality’ must be evaluated within a broader context that emotional health as well as the familial care and affection that plays a crucial role in early childhood in the development of a child. Secondly, teachers and other professionals must be aware of their own prejudices and worldviews that are not consistent with those they are giving treatment to. This can help in making the inclusive treatment program more effective (Dixon and Addy, 2004, p.57). A child with Dyspraxia should be given the care in a family that other normal children are given. Discrimination can aggravate the condition because family to a child is equivalent to a society to an adult. In addition to these, the children should be encouraged to develop group identity rather than punishing them individually in a way that makes them feel isolated and ‘picked up’. Other inclusive strategies to facilitate the process of teaching and education include an understanding of the children’s special and differentiated needs that overlapping difficulties exhibit. Teachers and parents should explain the ‘source and implications of these difficulties’ (Maclntyre and Deponio, 2003, p.2). These writes also propose that teachers are to ‘consider children as individuals rather than attempting to match them to existing sets of indicators’ (Maclntyre and Deponio, 2003). Castree believes that rather than discriminating students depending on their behavioral pattern, they should teach in a way ‘that will be effective for the child with dyspraxia as well as all the other children in their class’ (Castree, 2005, p.55) The Code of Practice in is a document that was published in UK in 1995 aimed to give advice to the local educational authorities and schools about their responsibilities regarding children with SEN. Five stages were devised to help in the development of special kids and the last stage of this intervention program included the issuing of a declaration of SEN (Vahid, Harwood and Brown, 1998, p. 126). In 2001, SEN and Disability Act was passed that ‘established the right for disabled students not to be discriminated against in education, training and any services provided wholly or mainly for students’ (The code of practice and statement of SEN [UK], n.d.). But the process if issuing this statement is very lengthy. First a written request is sent to the teacher either by parents or head teacher. Then a months-long period is taken in assessing the special needs and provisions that involve child’s parents, educational psychologist and medical officer. Next, a proposed statement is sent to the parents, who can ask for a summit to discuss the statement. Finally the local authority finalizes the statement concerning the parents’ view. It becomes clear from an understanding of this statement gaining process that the method is too costly and time-consuming to be effectively applied (The Stationary Office, 2006, p. 139). An analysis of difficulties for a ten week period can result in numerous recommendation and hence the inability to prioritize the difficulties for cure program and preparation of ‘overall statement of direction’ (Morrison and Moore, 1988, p. 68). Moreover, local educational authorities use ‘review process to recommend change without analysis’ (Morrison and Moore, 1988, p. 68). Consequently, there is nothing experimental in the recommendations for changes and the models already applied are withdrawn untested that can otherwise support or allow further insight into the proposed changes. Most important aspect in the education of a child with dyspraxia is to understand the needs of the child, which may not be typical of others. So the normative action will be to modify the pattern of education and family care so as to make them conductive in the development of the child into a normal adult. A process as complex as issuing a statement of SEN and incorporating modules for changes may not give the expected result. Certain other programs like, personal organization, games, better communications, extra tuition time and self-esteem increasing programs, which may or may not be included in the ‘Statement’, can be beneficial. A discussion on the importance of early identification of Dyslexia in Early Years Dyslexia, a constituent of dyspraxia, refers to disorder in learning activity, particularly to the impairment of the ability to recognize written words. As it is related to learning of a child, this disorder entails serious implication for the pupil’s academic performance and therefore the future in broader term. But to be more specific, early detection and intervention can help in lessening the impact in later life when intervention may not be of any help. Miles and Miles have observed “if dyslexic children are caught early less time is needed for catching up, , while in many cases they can be helped before frustration sets in” (Miles and Miles:1984, in Ott, 1997, p. 24). Ott also observes that according to certain researchers, if a patient of dyslexia is not given required support in early years, eight hours of treatment can be needed to make him improve the condition, which could otherwise be in few classroom sessions (Ott, 1997, p. 24). In addition to that a child feels himself ‘thick headed when he recognizes his failure to cope with the lesson that his fellows can do easily and as a consequence they gets frustrated. Instead they should be talked to about their difficulties so they do not inculcate their inferiority and shore up courage to overcome the problems that arise in their learning process. Early diagnosis also helps in taking away the blame of a child’s learning disorder ‘from the child, his parents and his teachers’ (Ott, 1997, p. 25). References Miller N (1986), Dyspraxia and its management, Taylor and Francis Boon, M (2001), Helping children with dyspraxia, Jessica Kingsley Publishers Dixon, G and L M Addy, (2004), Making inclusion work for children with dyspraxia: practical strategies for ..., Routledge MacIntyre, C. and P. Deponio, (2003), Identifying and supporting children with specific learning difficulties ..., Routledge Castree N (2005), Nature, Routledge The code of practice and statement of SEN (UK) (n.d), Dyslexia parents resource, available at: http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/statement.html (Accessed on August 27, 2010) Vahid B, Harwood S and S Brown (1998), Five hundred tips for working with children with special needs, London: Routledge The Stationery Office (2006), SEN: Oral and written evidence, The Stationery Office Publication Moore, J. and N. Morrison, (1988), Someone elses problem?: teacher development to meet SEN, London: Routledge Ott P (1997), How to detect and manage dyslexia: a reference and resource manual, Heinemann ‘Anything Is Possible!’ (2010), Dyspraxia Foundation, available at http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/ (accessed on August 28, 2010) . Read More