ABSTRACT
Let’s think now about children we know who do not cope very well with the activities of daily living at home and curriculum activities at nursery or school so that we can try to identify what is amiss. Do they perhaps
move in an ungainly, uncoordinated way?• appear reluctant to try new movement activities?• bump into things because they have misjudged the space between them?• get tired and irritable easily?• not hear when asked to do something?• begin a task then forget what comes next?• have no sense of time or urgency?• fi nd it diffi cult to pay attention and concentrate?• have diffi culty speaking clearly?• fi nd it diffi cult to track a moving object?•
And do they fi nd it diffi cult, even impossible to
manage fi ddly things like buttons?• let someone be near them for a hug?• join in games especially if there are ‘rules’?• make two hands work together at the midline of the body?• sit or stand still and wait for a moment?•
Some children with movement diffi culties have several of these symptoms, others just one or two – and the degree of diffi culty varies as well. This fi rst level of diagnosis is useful because the effects need careful consideration. Why, for example, are many children with dyspraxia tetchy and irritable? Is it because they realise that other people are tired of them dropping things? Or is it because they have to concentrate so hard to hold their balance, on top of working out what to do next? Or are they frustrated and unhappy, even rebellious because no one seems to understand their diffi culties? Certainly Liam in his outburst above is venting his frustration and
deciding he won’t cooperate any more. This kind of refl ection allows carers to empathise with the children and understand their perspective, for these children do not intend or want to cause the upsets which occur so often in their day.
