• CHAPTER ANNOTATION

1. INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING DISABILITIES
2. DEFINING LEARNING DISABILITIES
3. CLASSIFICATION OF LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
4. PREVALENCE AND ETIOLOGY OF LEARNING DISABILITIES
5. ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING DISABILITIES
6. READING DIFFICULTIES
7. WRITTEN LANGUAGE DEFICITS
8. MATH UNDERACHIEVEMENT
9. MOTOR COORDINATION DEFICITS
10. ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
11. SOURCES AND LITERATURE

9. MOTOR COORDINATION DEFICITS

Problems with Motor Coordination (Dyspraxia) are an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. For students with dyspraxia gross motor skills (related to balance and co-ordination) and fine motor skills (relating to manipulation of objects) are hard to learn and difficult to retain and generalise. These problems might also influence writing abilities and pronunciation. Dyspraxia often overlaps with other learning difficulties, behaviour difficulties or ADD/ADHD.

A pre-school childwith dyspraxia appears clumsy, has problems walking up and down stairs, dressing, running, jumping, or catching a ball although its peers can do so. Social abilities such as proper behaviour, keeping friendship are impaired as well. School-age childis poorly organised, has problems following instructions and short attention span.

In general, people with dyspraxia have difficulties with:

• planning one’s movement,
• co-ordination of body parts,
• manual, practical work, handwriting, poor pencil grip
• memory,
• hand-eye coordination,
• ability to organize self and belongings,
• sensitivity to touch (possible),
• loud noises or constant noises like the ticking of a clock or someone tapping a pencil,
• scratchy, rough, tight or heavy clothing (may be irritating).

Educational Approaches

From the list of difficulties above it is apparent that dyspraxia affects every child’s activity. Teachers should praise every effort and thus build a child’s self-esteem and never compare the child’s results with its peers. Students with dyspraxia have problems copying from the blackboard and memorizing. Therefore, allow the students extra time: teach in small bursts, allowing opportunity's to rest, if necessary. It is also necessary to check understanding regularly. One-to-one teaching is the most effective way of instruction.

In everyday life it is helpful to have a stable daily routine and to have keys and purse on a long chain clipped to clothing. Concerning clothing the following advice might be useful: tops without tight neck-holes, trousers with elasticated waist and marked front side, shirt collars one size larger (easier to fasten), no tight and uncomfortable clothes. Eating is another issue, for children it might be practical to use flexible straw with a drink, not to fill cups too full, sit down to eat, use damp towel under plates to stop them moving.

Education Placement Alternatives

There is a continuum of placement possibilities to address varied needs of students with learning difficulties. When a team of professionals decides about the best placement alternative of a child with LD is must ensure that the least restrictive environment has been chosen. The following issues have to be considered:

• the severity of disability,
• necessary services,
• student’s ability to fit into the particular educational setting,
• student’s social and academic skills.

Majority of students with LD spend at least a part of their education in general education class. Special education and related services are provided individually by class teachersduring education (for mild form of LD) or by special education teachers either in the classroom or outside in resource room, in the form of individual care or dyslectic clubs. Another possibility is so called corrective care group. These groups are led by a special education teacher and take place during students´ regular education hours. Students with LD study in a separate group, usually within one subject and then come back to their class. Ways of teaching and special methods are consulted with counselling centres. In the Czech Republic there is also a “travelling teacher”, a special educator from a counselling centre who regularly comes to a primary school. They provide individual corrective care to children with LD during and after their school day.

A counselling centre providing care to children educated in regular classrooms organizes individual and group care. Group care is usually organized directly in the centres in the form of education and stimulation groups are organized. In contrast to corrective groups at school, the work in these groups focuses on problematic areas such as visual or auditory perception, etc. Parents are a part of these groups as well.

Resource rooms can be found in mainstream primary schools. It is a specially staffed and equipped room. These classrooms serve students with LD who have part-time instruction in general education class. Resource rooms offer special care provided by special education teacher on a regular scheduled basis. Students spend a part of the education here and the remainder in their regular class. The focus is usually put on instruction in the academic and/or social skill areas in which the students need the most help. Separate classes within regular schooloffer education to students with LD who do not profit from general education setting. These classes have lower number of students and offer highly individualized and supervised instruction. Corrective care is an integral part of the whole education. A student can be admitted to separate class on the basis of recommendation from a counselling centre and with approval of the school’s headmaster and the student’s parents.

One step further is separate school, special education facilities established for students with LD. These schools provide special education care thoughout the whole education.

The least frequent option is residential facility or hospital settings. This education placement is for students with severe LD with extremely severe behavioural manifestations requiring also medical treatment.