Dyspraxia
Going on a first dinner date is nerve wracking enough but imagine doing this while being dyspraxic! Think of all the times you require coordination skills during such an event such as clicking glasses, using two utensils at a time, trying to eat soup with a spoon and keeping the soup on the spoon til it reaches hopefully your mouth. Then after eating, you need to use the washroom which means pulling out your chair while sitting on it, getting up and then putting chair back to the table all in one easy movement and then proceeding to walk effortlessly to the washroom. If only it were that simple for someone who has coordination issues! This simple feat can be quite horrifying and humiliating! And now you are expected to go dancing? UGH!
Dyspraxia is not often talked about like its cousin dyslexia because it doesn’t always affect learning. We often center ourselves on the task of writing, spelling, reading and math. Who cares if you can’t hit a ball with a bat? However, a dyspraxic or overly clumsy child faces humiliation. It is embarrassing to be the last picked for a team or if you get on a team, people getting mad at you because you missed the mark.
Rachel Barwell, a Davis Facilitator n New Zealand would certainly support the claim of embarrassment and humiliation. Often, on first glance, people saw her as being athletic as she stood tall above everyone, but they were soon disappointed to see the physique didn’t match the skill. She ended up sitting on the sidelines.
“People don’t see the strategy that is put into place in a dyspraxic’s mind,” says Rachel. She describes a business type luncheon as “a scramble, balancing a cup of tea with saucer and spoon, having a serious conversation while your shoulder handbag is constantly slipping “ a stressful enough activity, “but then to be offered a muffin on top of it, is a sheer juggling feat... and of course people like to talk with you once you just bit into some food”… a great story line for a Mr. Bean sketch, she says.
A dyspraxic child finds it harder than other kids to join in playground games and will often fidget more than other children. Some find it more difficult learning a new skill which others do automatically, for example, cutting a straight line with scissors, pasting cut outs without getting glue all over the place. Then there’s getting dressed, buttoning or zipping up clothing often makes them the last one out for recess. It’s embarrassing!
Of course there are a list of coping strategies (as there are in other areas of learning) for those embarrassed by their clumsiness. One major coping mechanism is avoidance. Children will avoid many sports activities. Adults may avoid getting in and out of a bathtub and choose showering instead or may choose to sit down to dress to avoid falling over. One thing that is common is the fatigue people with these issues face. The conscious effort to try and coordinate and strategize and navigate avoiding clumsy accidents is exhausting.
So if you are one of those who have been described as “accident prone” or never outgrew the “awkward stage” and want to do those things like catch a ball or walk alongside another without bumping into them, there is hope. Ron Davis, in his book The Gift of Learning says dyspraxia is most commonly associated with auditory deficit disorder and it affects 2 to 4 percent of the population. He refers to it as “a clumsy form of dyslexia.” He attributes this clumsiness to a person’s natural orientation being in a very unfavorable place.
Orientation Counseling, provided in all Davis Programs, provides a better option for those struggling with balance and coordination. About midpoint of the program a coordination exercise comes into play where a person uses their orientation tools, stands on one foot and catches koosh balls. This is a great accomplishment of those who are naturally clumsy to do this while maintaining balance and as the program moves forward, the more balanced the person becomes.
But does this really work? According to Rachel, “Absolutely!
When I am oriented (in my case, aligned), I make fewer mistakes in the physical realm - stumbles, bumps, dropped items, cuts, bruises, missed catches, fewer accidents.”
Sharon Roberts, Davis Facilitator, Ontario https://dyslexia.ca/
Rachel Barwell, Davis Facilitator, New Zealand https://masterdyslexia.co.nz/