Developing Community and Connectedness for Dyspraxia Week 2023
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Dyspraxia, otherwise known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a common neurodifference affecting movement and coordination in children, young people, and adults. Dyspraxic individuals may experience challenges with time management, planning, following directions (either spatial or related to tasks), tasks requiring coordination and gross motor skills and tasks requiring fine motor skills such as typing or handwriting.
Some strengths of dyspraxic individuals can include:
However, despite often having strong relationship building skills, many dyspraxic individuals still experience loneliness and isolation throughout school and in their working lives. For this reason, the focus of Dyspraxia Week 2023 (taking place 9th - 15th October), is ‘Community and Connectedness – the experience of dyspraxic people and parents/carers.’
The purpose of this theme is to help improve understanding around dyspraxia and to identify actions that can promote a greater sense of community and belonging.
Experiences of Dyspraxic Individuals in Education and the Workplace
In 2018, the Dyspraxia Foundation carried out a survey exploring parents’ perceptions of the emotional support needs of people with dyspraxia.
Some of the findings showed that:
43% described their child as lonely
67% worried that their child was socially isolated
55% reported described their teenager as ‘frequently’ or ‘nearly always’ anxious
It was also reported that coordination challenges, such as with handwriting or sports / physical activities, and differences in processing when learning new tasks or routines, could lead to bullying from fellow students. Some dyspraxic teenagers were excluded by peers while other individuals withdrew from social situations in order to protect themselves.
We can also see this isolation and discrimination spilling out of education and into the workplace. The Birbeck University of London ‘Neurodiversity at Work 2023’ report found that:
65% of neurodivergent respondents were worried about stigma and discrimination from management
55% of neurodivergent respondents were worried about stigma and discrimination from colleagues
In addition to this, two of the biggest challenges reported by neurodivergent individuals were looking after themselves mentally (77.6%) and asking for help when they needed it (69.5%).
Due to some of the challenges that dyspraxic individuals may face, there may be reluctance to reveal a diagnosis to colleagues or managers.
In 2022, Lexxic ran a poll asking those with dyspraxia ‘How comfortable would you be in asking your employer for support with Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder/DCD) in the workplace?’ and received these results:
What can we do to make a positive difference?
An important first step is changing how we communicate about dyspraxia and neurodiversity more widely. It is important to advocate about the value and strengths that dyspraxia can bring in school and in the workplace, as well as sharing what support and adjustments are available to help dyspraxic individuals work in a way that suits them.
A helpful way of doing this could be to share lived experience stories of dyspraxic individuals implementing their own workplace preferences and thriving in your school or workplace.
Taking these steps can help to change the narrative around dyspraxia and help to reduce discrimination.
As well as communicating your commitment to inclusivity and the value dyspraxic individuals bring, it is important to have the adjustment processes in place to back this up.
Consider these questions:
Have you created an adjustment process?
Is there room for flexible ways of working in your school or workplace?
Is there a procedure for asking people what their learning or workplace preferences are?
Once you have these in place, there are plenty of other small changes you can make that can make a world of a difference to a dyspraxic individual’s life at school or in the workplace, for example:
Supporting with learning new processes via demonstrations, step by step guides, or visual maps (e.g., flow charts and mind maps)
Supporting with organisation by breaking larger tasks into smaller chunks and setting deadlines for the tasks in the sequence
Highlighting the skills and strengths they are bringing to school or the workplace
Encouraging them to use dictation software to reduce the need for typing or handwriting. This can reduce anxiety and enable them to spend more time focusing on the things they are best at.
These steps can help to create the psychological safety needed to reduce isolation and help individuals feel more included.
For more information on how to foster neuro-inclusivity and psychological safety within your organisation or educational environment, click the button below to get in touch with Lexxic today.
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