ABSTRACT
Children who have problems with motor skills are frequently regarded as clumsy or awkward at home. They are poorly co-ordinated when doing PE and playing games and when writing, drawing and using a keyboard. Motor skills develop over time and usually progressively. Initially the child learns through play. Kephart (1963) identified children who had difficulties with space, time, directionality and orientation and developed motor training exercise programmes to help them. Occupational therapists in the USA such as Ayres (1972) and Fisher et al. (1991) devised physical activities and exercises to implement their sensory integration theories which claimed that physical exercises can modify brain function. In the UK Portwood (1996) and Kirby (1999) developed checklists for the detection of difficulties as well as developmental activities for what is known as dyspraxia
• The implications of gross and fine motor difficulties • General principles and guidelines for teaching motor skills • Practical suggestions for developing and improving motor skills using a
multi-sensory approach • Why children need explicit teaching of handwriting skills and how to teach
them • Guidelines for a ‘whole-school’ handwriting policy document • Practical suggestions for classroom teachers and teaching assistants to
support dyslexic and dyspraxic pupils • Guidelines for assessment and the implementation of access arrangements
in National Curriculum tests • Guidelines for handwriting speed tests • The issues and implications of writing speed for individuals • Key findings from a DfES-funded project which established pupils’ responses
and needs in ‘dyslexia-friendly’ classrooms • Summary and conclusions
in the UK. Internationally it is usually known as developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD). According to the American Psychiatric Association (1994) definition, dyspraxia includes:
• delays in the development of motor co-ordination and unexpected on-going poor motor skills in relation to chronological age and cognitive ability
• impaired performance in life skills such as when eating and dressing, in academic skills such as handwriting and computing, and in physical activities, to a significant degree
• a lack of co-ordination not due to an identifiable medical condition arising from brain injury or congenital conditions
• difficulties not due to a primary learning disability resulting in mental retardation.
