The Dyspraxia Foundation is committed to making the teaching and medical professions more aware of dyspraxia and to spread understanding of how those who have the condition can be helped.
Arran was officially diagnosed with dyspraxia finally in November 2011. The Dyspraxia Foundation have assisted us in building our knowledge of how to support Arran however this was post the hearing operation Arran endured at the age of 4 due to it being thought that he had a hearing impairment by his "then" pre-school (his school was changed soon after). Dyspraxia prevents messages to and from the brain being transmitted properly and therefore, I believe if the educational and medical professions are made more aware of the symptoms, this type of misdiagnoses could be avoided in future.
What this charity does is support lives in achieving their potential, 1 in 30 children will have dyspraxia. It is not one of the big charities in the British 10k which is the very reason we have chosen to support it. In 2011, the telephone support line had to be closed down due to lack of funds so this body of expertise really does need support to keep doing the work they do. It may not save lives but it has the ability to change them.
Arran finally had a full assessment in 2012 showing that his limitations were physical and therefore his restriction to learning and accessing the curriculum were/are as a direct result of this. Since then Arran has been on the rainbow road programme (a joint venture between specialist teachers from the cognition and learning team and the paediatric occupational therapy service). He is learning to touch type at the age of 6 and has excelled in his learning now that he is finding "his" way to learn and being supported 100% by his school.
Dyspraxic people typically have average or above average IQ scores, just like everybody else; their raw intelligence is not affected by the disability.
While dyspraxia causes significant difficulties for sufferers, it also has its positive aspects - many people with dyspraxia have extremely strong language skills, which accounts for the high number of famous authors who are now thought to have had dyspraxia. These include George Orwell, G.K. Chesterton and Emily Bronte. Modern-day celebrities who are dyspraxic include Richard Branson (owner of the 'Virgin' empire), David Bailey (photographer) and most importantly Arran's hero Daniel Radcliffe - better known as Harry Potter!
No child should sit in a corner. Please help us build awareness of this condition so others can be supported too.
Please sponsor our British London 10k run for The Dyspraxia Foundation who change these lives everyday.
Dyspraxia clumsy but clever: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3354324/Dyspraxia-clumsy-but-clever.html
