Dyspraxia any advice

[mumeeee]

Hi,
My dd has dyspraxia she is on stage 3 of the code of practice at primary school.
The primary school has been very helpful and supportive and she has progressed well.
She is going to senior school in Sept and I'm a bit worried how she will cope.
I am seeing the Senco at he senior school on Thursday. What sort of questions should I be asking?
The Senco at the primary school is trying to get her reviewed before she leaves to see if it would be helpful for her to be statmented.Does any one think this would be a good idea? In her last review it was decided she didn't need to be statmented as she was doing fine on stage 3 (I think it's now called action plus).

The best book on dyspraxia is Madelaine Portwood's "developmental dyspraxia". Normally it isn libraries- might be worth a browse.

Her main problem at secondary school might be with things like changing classrooms- and having to ensure she takes all her book- the organisational stuff. They may need to set up some sort of reminder system for her.

How's her hadwriting? Does she need to use a laptop? Other things to ask- are about sitting in class- some children need to be seated in a particular area of the classroom. If handwriting in difficult it might be worth asking about extra time in exams.

Ask whether they have any experience with dyspraxia- what sort of systems have they put in place.

Hopefully the school will be helpful! Good luck!

Thanks Jimjams,
Handwriting is difficult for her, it is a lot neater now and the teacher can usually read it. The most problems she has with writing is that she takes a lot longer then other children of her age and she tires easily.
She is doing her sats next week and will have extra time for thse also she is having a scribe for the scince and maths ones. She doesn't use a laptop at the moment but does do some work on computers at school.

I hope she settles in well-does she have good social skills? Are some of her primary school friends going up to the next school with her? That might help her a little.
If she has had an assessment by an educational psychologist then she would certainly be eligible to apply for extra time in public exams..usually 25% and also perhaps the use of a laptop. Touch typing courses are available for children and this would be a very useful skill for her to have. She might be likely to need extra reminders about organising her books, homework etc. Try using some little charts and lists on her desk at home to help her organise herself for the next day. How is her physical devevlopment? Would PE be difficult for her or does she have good coordination?
It might be helpful to have her statemented but it is a very long winded and sometimes painful process..it could result in funding for a support assistant though, but do you think she needs one?
Good luck with meeting the senco, you need to strike up a good working relationship to get the most out her education.
The staff need to be fully aware of the needs of a dyspraxic child-do they have any children with dyspraxia there at the moment- ask what they do for them.
the important thing is for her to feel happy and settled in her new school...that is the same for every child at the end of year 6- has she been to visit for a day? That could be helpful. Good luck with it all. My dd is only tiny but i can't help thinking about school as you might have guessed I am a senco myself!

oooh are you mouli- I might badger you ater for some advice.....

I am taking her to an open evening at the senior school tomorrow. Also she will be attending the school for three mornings in June. Some of her friends will be going to the school.
I have just spoken to the primary school senco and she is going to ask the ed phshcolagist for advice.
Her co-ordination is not good but is getting better all the time and she seems to manage PE alright. She is a very dertemined child and trys very hard to do things

An update on my dd. I met the Senco yesterday and was very impressed. she has real interest in all the children. All the teachers have a special needs handbook which includes details of dyspraxia.
The outcome of the meeting was that my dd will probably go into a mainstram class, with a bit of extra help. All her teachers will have a written report of her needs.
The senior and primary school Sencos will be getting together to make sure that my dd's needs are met.

For info on dyspraxia look up web page www.ddat.co.uk

It is well worth looking at