All About Dyspraxia: A Practical Guide for Primary Teachers

Kim Griffin is a paediatric occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience supporting children, their families and teachers. She is the founder of GriffinOT and the author of Success with Sensory Supports. Her current research focus is supporting student self-regulation in mainstream schools.

• Foreword xiiPART 1INTRODUCING DYSPRAXIA 11 Introduction 3Defining ‘dyspraxia’ 4Formal diagnosis 7How DCD is diagnosed 8Possible causes 9Prevalence 9Long term – adulthood 102 Ideation 123 Planning 144 Doing 175 Co-occurring conditions 196 Impact on mental health and behaviour 227 Recognising strengths 25PART 2TEACHING DYSPRAXIC CHILDREN: PRACTICAL STRATEGIES 278 Reframing behaviour 29Choice and avoidance 29Inattention or difficulty with planning 30Looking at past behaviour 319 Teaching new skills 3310 Generalisation 3811 Sensory needs 41Sensitive responses 41Slower responses 43Sensory seeking 4412 Organisation skills 46Classroom set-up 46Belongings 47Task set-up 48Telling the time 48Start of the year transition 4913 Transitions throughout the day 5114 Play and unstructured time 5315 Early years classrooms (reception and nursery) 5516 Fine motor skills 59Early skills 59Essential fine motor skills for school 60General fine motor skills 61Making things harder for older learners 6217 Handwriting skills 63Pre-writing 63Transcription 64Composition 6618 PE 6919 Creative subjects 73Supporting ideation 73Supporting planning 74Supporting doing 75Safety with tools 7520 Homework 7721 Technology and assistive tools 7922 Transition to secondary school 8323 Self-care skills 86General tips 87When things change 87Liaison with home 8824 Partnering with parents 90Initial support for parents 91Implementing support 94Extracurricular activity ideas 96Further resources 97References 100Index 104

“All About Dyspraxia is an essential and timely resource for educators. With waiting lists growing, this book meets an urgent need for practical, accessible guidance. Its strength lies in expertly dismantling misconceptions and moving ‘beyond clumsiness’ to illuminate the true physical and behavioural signs of dyspraxia. The insightful sections on concurrent conditions and myth-busting are invaluable for accurate recognition and intervention. Most importantly, this book provides teachers with the actionable strategies we need while championing the crucial partnership with parents. This is a must-have guide that will undoubtedly transform classroom support for children.”- Sarah Watkins, associate lecturer, University of Worcester, UK, and author of Outdoor Play for Healthy Little Minds and 99 Eco-Activities for Your Primary School“All About Dyspraxia provides myth-busting advocacy of dyspraxia/DCD. It expands knowledge and understanding of dyspraxia/DCD beyond a simple assumption of clumsiness and co-ordination difficulties, integrating the stages of ideation, planning and doing into all activities. The book is well structured with a clear, insightful and accessible writing style and it contains an excellent array of practical strategies for teachers including subject specific suggestions for supported action. It is a great resource with practical application.”- Judith Carter, educational psychologist, author and director of Willow Tree Learning"When you've got limited time to read up on things, but you know you've just got to do something to help that child in your class, what you need is a quick go-to resource that tells you the important things you need to know but also gives you really practical strategies to help. This book does both. You feel reassured it's been written by someone who knows what they're talking about when it comes to dyspraxia and who also has insight into the demands of teaching. This book is a great addition to your inclusive toolkit.'- Pippa McLean, former teacher and SENCO, author of The Pocket Diary of a SENCO and Could Do Better