Page 58 - SEN114 September/October 2021

Dyspraxia
Miriam’s story
Cathy Parvin recounts the story of a brave young girl who wanted others to understand her dyspraxia.
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My mind was still very much on the previous caller when our helpline rang again.
“Hello I am the SENDCo at a primary school and I was wondering if you can help us? A year 5 pupil has asked me if she can do a peer awareness assembly about dyspraxia. She feels the children in her class don’t understand her dyspraxia, and this is making friendships difficult for her.”
The SENDCo went on to confide that, although she was keen to support her with this she was not feeling confident in her own understanding of dyspraxia. She had approached the local authority but they did not feel equipped to help either.
My heart went out to this little girl but I was also extremely worried. As a mother of a child who experienced horrendous bullying at school due to her dyspraxia, I was deeply concerned that, far from helping her with friendships, this could expose her to bullying and ridicule. I suggested we all meet up; the pupil, her mum and class teacher, the SENDCo and myself to discuss this further.
I was impressed with Miriam from the start - her insight and desire to build understanding and empathy amongst her peers, her courage in wanting to tackle this head on. She described some of the daily struggles she faced – difficulties with her hand writing, doing up her coat, using a knife and fork and other fiddly things. The other children, she explained, just didn’t understand why these everyday tasks were so difficult for her. PE lessons could be particularly challenging and although she didn’t have a visible disability, she was attending the local Riding for the Disabled Association centre weekly to help with her core stability, muscle tone and balance. The other girls didn’t understand why she could go and they couldn’t.
Miriam left the meeting to return to class giving me the opportunity to express my concern about the potential for making the situation worse. The SENDCo assured me the other children were not likely to be unkind and that she would
“Children in her class don’t understand her dyspraxia”
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