Topics
Click below to go straight to a topic.
Dyslexia, Dyspraxia & Overlapping Learning Difficulties
Share me
email this talk to a friend | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
Comment on this Talk
Amy on 12/01/2010
Interesting talk. I think there is definitlely a dyslexia dyspraxia link and I'm sure that dyslexia dyspraxia tendencies often go together.
About this talk: Amanda Kirby describes the co-occurrence of learning difficulties (also known as comorbidity) and how dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD overlap. She discusses the importance of the whole child approach when assessing if your child has any learning issues.
About the speaker: Amanda Kirby is Medical Director of the Dyscovery Centre in Cardiff. She is a leading expert in dyspraxia (DCD) and related conditions with several best-selling books on the subject.
Talk Topics - ADHD - Dyslexia - Dyspraxia
Further information about this Talk
The Dyscovery Centre:
For more information and guidance about dyspraxia and other learning difficulties please visit the Dyscovery Centre's dedicated parent information site: parent+. For information regarding the Dyscovery Centre's upcoming holiday courses please see the pdf at the bottom of this page. The Dyscovery Centre assesses, supports and provides guidance to children, families and adults who have dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, behavioural problems and language difficulties.
Further Reading:
Amanda Kirby's recently published books include the following (please click on them to buy from Amazon):
100 Ideas for Supporting Pupils with Dyspraxia and DCD
Mapping SEN: Routes Through Identification to Intervention
Dyspraxia: Developmental Co-ordination Disorder
Key points covered in this talk:
- Overlapping developmental disorders: It is very common for dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders and specific language impairments to occur at the same time. This is often known as co-occurrence or comorbidity of learning difficulties. Your child may have a mixture of learning difficulties which overlap. It is therefore important to consider the whole child when assessing difficulties. The primary symptom may be the diagnosis your child first gets rather than diagnosing all the problems.
- What parents can do to help: If there is co-occurrence or comorbidity (such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD) then it is crucial to ensure that your child feels supported, has good self-esteem, and to seek out and harness strengths. Also it is important to find ways round difficulties through changing the environment your child is in and focusing on strengths to ensure they are in situations where they can feel comfortable.
Download Podcast
Download PDFs
What to Watch Next
What is Dyslexia?: In this talk Jane Emerson provides an introduction to dyslexia. She gives an insightful view as to the causes, symptoms and effects of dyslexia.
What is Dyspraxia (DCD)?: Professor Amanda Kirby, a leading expert on dyspraxia gives a talk on 'What is dyspraxia / developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD)?'. She describes the symptoms and ways that parents can help their children with dyspraxia.
What Causes Dyslexia?: Professor John Stein outlines the causes of dyslexia. He describes the genetic background to dyslexia and how nutrition and the immune system contribute to auditory and visual attention difficulties.
What is ADHD?: Fintan O'Regan gives an introduction into ADHD. He considers the symptoms of ADHD, types of ADHD, causes of ADHD, diagnosis of ADHD and implications of ADHD.