Focusing
on Dyspraxia: Reading and Writing (Part 1)
Over the last year I have posted a
number of blog articles about my journey from childhood to my official
diagnosis of Dyspraxia at the age of eighteen. Over this year I will be
focusing more closely on certain areas which Dyspraxia can cause difficulties;
the first being reading and writing.
Children with Dyspraxia, and in
some adult cases, may have problems with reading and writing including
spelling, comprehension and handwriting. According to the Dyspraxia Foundation
limited concentration and poor listening skills, and literal use of language
may have an effect on reading and spelling ability. A child may be able to read
well but not understand some of the concepts in the language. The child may also
be reluctant to read aloud because of articulation difficulties or because they
lack self-confidence.
It may be surprisingly to learn,
because now I study English Literature and Creative Writing at University of
Hertfordshire, but throughout my childhood I found reading and writing incredibly
challenging. One of my nemeses was and still is handwriting, one of the many
areas which Dyspraxia often presents itself in. My handwriting was relatively
poor in the sense that my letters were often very big and I could not write in
between the lines. During handwriting lessons I would often have to ask the
teacher for help. When it came to comprehension tasks I found it hard to string
sentences together aloud and on the page. Nevertheless as time progressed I was
showing signs of having a good imagination and I occasionally wrote stories
about ghosts and haunted houses, but these stories were rarely completed.
I will never forget the few weeks
leading up to my Year Six SATs. My mum and I were in the kitchen trying to find
words I could learn to put into my writing in order to impress my teachers. One
word in particular I remember learning was ‘sumptuous’. Amazingly the writing
exercise we had in our tests was about food, so I remember trying to put this
word in my descriptive exercise. Naturally I spelt the sumptuous as ‘sumptous’,
sorry Mum. In the end I achieved a Level Four in English. When looking back on
this I am happy considering the challenges which Dyspraxia often presents with
handwriting, comprehension and spelling.
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This is actually one of my better
pieces of handwriting in 2005 when I was eleven years old…Copyright
© 2015- Jake
Borrett. All rights reserved.
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I personally recommend Pilkey and
Simon’s series of books as they were my first stepping stones into enjoying
literature. This interest was shown in Year Three when we were asked to write
to our favourite author. I wrote to Francesca Simon. No one got a response
except me. I am very grateful for the
reply and if you ever come across this blog post, thank you.
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Francesca Simon’s kind message:
‘Hi Jake!
I am glad to know I have a number
one fan! The new one is called “Horrid Henry and The Bogey Babysitter” and it
is coming out in July. Keep reading!
Francesca Simon’
Copyright
© 2015- Jake Borrett and Francesca Simon. All rights reserved.
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Those with Dyspraxia often have an
increased difficulty with areas connected to reading and writing. I still find
reading and writing tough in areas despite studying English Literature and
Creative at degree level. However every bit of encouragement you can give can
help with self-confidence and make us more willing to learn. I will be looking
at this encouragement in the second part of ‘Focusing on Dyspraxia: Reading and
Writing’. Until then thank you for the great support you wonderful people.
