Things like catching a ball, following instructions and tying shoelaces are difficult for those with dyspraxia. Photo: 123rf
An advocate for children with dyspraxia says more needs to be done to increase access to diagnostic pathways and funding in New Zealand.
They say the developmental disorder is poorly understood, and it means children are missing out on much-needed support.
Also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (and not to be confused with dyslexia), dyspraxia is a neurological condition affecting the brain's messages to the rest of the body, and impairing hand-eye coordination and both fine and gross motor skills.
Things like catching a ball, following instructions, tying shoelaces, even holding a pen are more difficult.
While it's a lifelong condition, and it's different for every person who has it, children struggle the most, often as a result of being pigeonholed into a learning system that doesn't meet their needs.
"Often the kids tend to hold it together while they're at school. They manage themselves because they want to be successful, they want to be part of the environment, they want to be good. They hold themselves together, they cope, they cope, they cope ... and then they get home and have a massive meltdown," Dyspraxia Support Group CEO Jacqui Scott said.
Many children also fly under the radar, due to difficulties getting diagnosed. Scott says there is no real diagnostic pathway in Aotearoa, and access to education support is often a postcode lottery.
"There's not a lot put into teachers in terms of the training, unless they have a specific interest in it. And then often, personally, I feel that a lot of the professional development and things that happen, it becomes a tick-box exercise," she said.
Scott has spent fifteen years trying to improve understanding and support for children with dyspraxia. She said it had often felt like banging her head against a brick wall.
"If we don't talk about it, we're doing them quite a disservice, because we're not allowing them to understand how they operate, how their brain works, how the sensory system works, and how that all integrates together to be the person that they are. And if we can do that, we're gonna get a generation that is much better equipped to advocate for themselves."
Around 2 percent of the roll at Berhampore School in Wellington has been diagnosed with dyspraxia, but principal Mark Potter knows the actual number will be much higher.
"Anything that becomes difficult for someone for learning can create anxiety, and anxiety creates pressure on a child. So what we look for is 'is there anywhere a child is experiencing challenges in those areas?' And then we'll adapt the tasks to make sure they aren't being overwhelmed by what they're being asked to do," he said.
Berhampore School has become renowned for the support it provides pupils with learning disabilities. But Potter said it was not easy for every school to be so inclusive, because the system itself wasn't.
"The whole system has been built around a certain kind of mindset and thought, and our education system has been around supporting an average privileged few. And children with disabilities don't fit into there. Now that mindset is changing. It means we need now to change our actions and our activities that will actually do that," he said.
The government promised it was working on it, with a Higher Needs education review recently reporting back.
Associate education minister Jan Tinetti said, while diagnosis sits within health, education can play its part in helping teachers understand their students' needs, and help them get a diagnosis, and support.
"Which I will admit, isn't easy at the moment. But with the Higher Needs Review, that's part of the work we're looking at, as well as how we can make diagnosis more accessible for young people. So the interaction between the health and the education system is critical," she said.
"[It was] always a big frustration for me as a teacher that the two sat quite separate from each other. But as a minister now, I want to see the two come a lot more closely together."
Tinetti, herself a former principal, said the understanding around dyspraxia and other neurodiversities was a lot better than it used to be, but acknowledged there was more to do.
"So we need to fundamentally change our approach to one that puts the learner at the centre. Rather than thinking of the learner at the end of the process, we need to start at the beginning of the process. So that's right from the moment that a teacher hits their training," she said.
The findings from the Higher Needs Review were announced back in November. Tinetti made the announcement at Berhampore School.
Mark Potter said the Higher Needs Review would need significant investment if it was going to meet children's needs.
"I have waited a long time for the right things to be said from governments for things such as dyspraxia and other learning difficulties in our schools, so at least that's happening now. So I'm optimistic and positive that at least now we have that out in the public arena there is the opportunity to invest properly."
Funding decisions from the review will be outlined in a business case, expected by June this year.
