There is no cure for dyspraxia, there are ways teachers can help dyspraxic learners so they are able to manage much better throughout life. Educators are expected to be psychologists, physicians, and psychiatrists.

We don’t just have to teach children, but we have to know what is going on in their heads.

Very rarely will we ever have a day in the classroom that is only about educating kids.

Most likely, we are solving problems and issues on top of teaching the class.

It really is amazing that this type of responsibility can fall on one person in charge of a class of 30 kids. When parents come to us about their child, they often relay information they have attained from a physician when dealing with a specific problem.

Even if we do not have any experience with this problem, and might possibly have trouble even pronouncing the name for it, we are expected to make changes to our lessons on the fly to differentiate for particular students.

The teaching profession requires multitasking beyond belief. A Funny Thing Happened to Me One Morning at School I can still recall the day very well.

A parent arrived in my classroom five minutes before school was to start.

She was asking for accommodations for her son.

She said he was just diagnosed with dyspraxia and would need a bit of extra attention in the class.

This was the first time I had ever heard of dyspraxia in my life. I may have a Masters degree in Reading and Literacy, but I have a PhD in Google.

I immediately set out on learning as much about dyspraxia as I could through doing online searches for hours.

I found out that dyspraxia learner is often referred to as the “clumsy child syndrome”.

Not a fortunate term for a disorder.

While dyspraxia does not affect intelligence, it can have the person struggling with speech, clumsy movement, learning to read and write, trouble with following instructions, and have terrible organizational skills.

However, this could relate to about 20 percent of all my students. Focus on One Thing at a Time As teachers, we often give out a string of instructions for students to follow.

If you know you have students that have trouble following instructions, break them down into one at a time.

Or better yet, create a list of instructions on the board so they can have a constant reminder on what they need to do. Repeat Often Most students have trouble remembering or following orders, dyspraxic learners even more so.

It would be wise to repeat things early and often to drill it into their minds. Praise the Students What might be a minor accomplishment for regular kids could be a huge accomplishment for those suffering from dyspraxia.

Giving them a little bit of extra praise will inspire them more down the road. Work with Them One on One It can be difficult to work with a child one on one in a classroom of 30 kids, but dyspraxic learners could definitely use some private tutoring.

By having their teacher sitting directly across from them, it helps them maintain better focus and you can help guide them through the work easier. Maintain Your Patience It can be easy to lose patience with a class.

Every teacher probably has a few meltdowns each school year.

Some teachers may even have a few meltdowns every week.

It is important to maintain your patience with dyspraxic learners.

They are not driving you crazy on purpose.

It is a true disorder that they were probably born with.

They didn’t choose to have it, so be kind when dealing with those that have it. Assign Helpers and Mentors for the Dyspraxic Learners Teachers do not have enough time in the day to hold each child’s hand and lead them through everything that they need to do.

Because of this, a good move would be to assign certain helpers and mentors to assist with the dyspraxic learners.

Choose a kid that is a very good organizer to help them with cleaning and organizing their desk.

Find a child that has great handwriting and have them work with the child in an effort to improve their physical writing skills.

Kids will often pick on other kids that are different.

However, if they are tutoring them to become better at something, there is much less of a chance of anyone making fun of the dyspraxic learners.