Brief outline of the disability
Dyspraxia is one the second most common difficulty affecting students that you are likely to come across in higher education. Dyspraxia is defined as problems with motor skills and co-ordination. Dyspraxic students are likely to have been labelled in childhood as clumsy. Dyspraxia is a problem with the body's system of motion that interferes with a person's ability to make a controlled or coordinated physical response in a given situation. This may include very poor fine motor skills such as handwriting and very poor gross motor skills such as throwing and catching. This can cause obvious problems for a musician.
A student with dyspraxia may also show some typical dyslexic difficulties such as poor short term memory retention. Problems with organisation are also a common feature of dypraxia.
Nationwide Statistics on Dyspraxia
The Dyspraxia Foundation believe one in 30 children have some degree of dypraxic difficulty and 2% of the adult population. Males are four times more likely to be dyspraxic that females.
How it will commonly manifest itself
- Someone with dyspraxia may appear to be intelligent but may not be able to carry out the motor skills expected for their age and ability.
- Someone with dyspraxia will respond well to oral information.
- Someone with dyspraxia is more likely to have messy handwriting.
- Short-term memory is often a problem and a tendency to loose and forget things is common.
- Poor concentration.
- Difficulties in performing more than one task at a time.
Students with dyspraxia who arrive at the college are likely to have had an assessment at school or in a previous institution. At the assessment the student is asked to perform a number of tasks to ascertain whether they are dyspraxic and be interviewed to see how their difficulties affect their day-to-day life. The assessment report will indicate those areas of the student’s performance, which are markedly at variance with their general I.Q., and the student use of memory and motor skills accordingly to this the Educational Psychologist then makes recommendations regarding their educational needs. If a student believes they may have dypraxia, Student Services can arrange an assessment. It is also worth noting that dyspraxic students who arrive at the College have probably learnt compensatory strategies and may be coping very well with their difficulties, to such an extent they may even go unnoticed, for quite a while.
Potential academic issues
- Allow tape recorders to be used by dyspraxic students.
- Give out reading lists and course outlines in advance so the student has time to become acquainted with material.
- For those with severe dyspraxia, it would be a good idea to give them any information such as lesson plans in advance on disc so they can plan ahead.
- Material written on the board should be read aloud.
- Material should be multi-sensory and interactive where possible.
- Printing materials [word or music] on pastel colour paper can be useful for more proficient reading/sight-reading through reducing the glare of black-and-white. Buff coloured paper is often recommended.
Potential performance [including sight-reading]
- Allow students time to familiarise themselves with sheet music in advance of a performance. Dyspraxic students often have problems with the tracking of the eye that can lead to problems with sight reading.
- Special arrangements for assessments [increased time, for example] are operated through the Registry.
- Ensure instructions are clearly and concisely given. Dyspraxic students may have difficulties turning instructions into actions.
- A lack of manual dexterity and poor muscle memory can cause problems especially when learning new pieces.
Potential issues of social interaction and communication
Depending on how the student has previously been treated they may have low self-esteem, this may occur due to frustration with motor skills and memory not reflecting intellectual intention and also due to the negative reaction of others towards their condition.
Medication
Some type of physiotherapy that focuses on balance and co-ordination can be a help and fatty acids like omega 3 and 6 have also improved dyspraxic difficulties.
Emergency medical situations
N/A