Most children dread the start of a new school term, but for children with dyspraxia, the return to the classroom can provoke overwhelming levels of fear and anxiety.
For India Carmody, 15, from Hertfordshire, the stress of trying to cope at school with undiagnosed dyspraxia caused her to suffer from severe migraines.
India’s mum Lucy, 46, explains: “It’s not the lessons that India struggles with, it’s the organization. It’s getting to her lessons with the right books, at the right time, in the right room and trying to remember the teacher’s name.
“The things that you and I take for granted can send her into a tailspin.
“India also suffers from stress-related chronic migraines and the effects are cumulative. She’d have two days off with a migraine because she’d been so stressed, and then she’d realize that she now had no idea what was going on in school, which is obviously stressful. It snowballed. Her attendance record last term was about 25%.”
It is estimated that there are one or two children affected by the developmental coordination disorder dyspraxia in every class of 30 children.
These children experience problems with their movement and coordination, which is why dyspraxia used to be known as ‘clumsy child syndrome’. They may, for instance, struggle to jump, catch, or balance, as well as have difficulty drawing and writing.
They may also experience additional problems with planning, organizing and carrying out movements in the right order. Dyspraxia can also affect articulation, speech, perception and thought.
In a recent survey by charity the Dyspraxia Foundation, 95% of parents and carers of teenagers with dyspraxia said their child feels anxious due to issues such as being late for lessons, forgetting appointments, losing books or equipment and poor presentation of their written work.
What’s more, 40% of teenagers with dyspraxia said they felt anxious ‘all of the time’.
India was diagnosed with dyspraxia when she was 12, but she had exhibited signs of the condition much earlier.
Lucy told Parent dish: “India’s always been very confident and engaging so we didn’t notice anything was wrong, because you don’t look at her and think oh she’s struggling.
“But my husband’s aunt is a pediatric physio and she noticed very early on that developmental milestones such as holding her neck up, sitting up and crawling were very delayed for India.
The worst thing for India was that she’s been born into a very sporty family and we simply couldn’t understand why she couldn’t run 800 meters with the rest of the school, and why she kept twisting her ankles when she was trampolining.
“Ballet classes were just hilarious, as she couldn’t follow instructions. But it was obviously really upsetting for a little girl that wants to be a princess.
“The awful thing at school is that you don’t get picked for teams and PE teachers just seem to be the worst, they’ll scream and shout if you can’t do something.”
India adds: “My coordination is pretty shocking. I can’t run… well I can, but I look like a duck! I’ve repeatedly fallen down stairs, I once got a nail through my hand and I’ve had various black eyes from tripping over.
“Also my organization is a big problem and I’ve got a lot of sensory problems. Certain lights and sounds are a big problem for me – busy streets can be quite overwhelming and scary.”
Before she was diagnosed, India and her mother didn’t know why she was struggling with simple tasks like getting her school bag organized.
“Before the diagnosis, India was horribly stressed by school,” says Lucy. “It was awful. She’d always be in despair and I’d have her teachers calling me saying she’s in floods of tears.
India was so frustrated because nobody understood what she was going through and how difficult she was finding things.
But since getting a diagnosis, things have turned around for India.
She’s had physiotherapy to help with her coordination and she’s much less stressed now. She and her teachers know why she finds certain things more difficult than other students.
“India’s gross motor skills and her fine motor skills improved immeasurably through the physio,” says Lucy. “She can throw and catch a ball, walk in a straight line, hop and jump on a trampoline – all things that she could never have done before.”
“But the thing that’s really made a difference has been that the people surrounding her now have a greater understanding of dyspraxia and no longer get frustrated and angry with her or think that she’s being ‘stupid’.
Criticizing or ridiculing a child does so much harm to their self-esteem. You have to learn to be very patient.
“I can’t say that I’ve always been very good at that,” Lucy adds. “But I’m getting much better at understanding India’s limitations and not expecting her to be able to respond quickly to requests.
“For example, with most children you can shout upstairs and ask them to come down with their school bag and any gym kit they need that day. But you can’t do that to somebody who can’t process more than one thing at a time.
“You have to go out of your way to go upstairs and work it through with them, by asking them what lessons they have that day and prompting them to check their calendar to work it out.”
India adds: “This year’s got a lot better. It use to frustrate me that I found some things more difficult than my friends, but now I know why that is and I can explain that to my friends. So I’m a lot less stressed.
“My close friends understand now and we can joke about it. I’ve had to learn not to take myself too seriously, which I tend to do. You have to try laughing at yourself when you stack it down a flight of stairs.”
As people become more aware of dyspraxia, I hope that teachers and other teenagers will understand that people like me are not being deliberately difficult, stupid or clumsy – we’re just a bit different and we need to tackle the tasks that others take for granted in a slightly different way.
If you are concerned that your child may have dyspraxia, talk to your GP, school nurse, school doctor or Special Needs Coordinator who can make referrals for assessments.
Article provided by Ellen Wallwork