The following are possible difficulties faced by students with dyspraxia. It is important to look for a pattern of difficulties.

The student may:

·        show considerable discrepancy between oral and written performance

·        have inconsistent patterns of work (‘good’ and ‘bad’ days/weeks)

·        have difficulty concentrating and ignoring distractions, such as noise

·        listen but not always understand - may take things literally

·        tire very easily

·        have difficulties with organisation, timekeeping and prioritising

·        have poor self-esteem and a tendency to become frustrated and opt out of tasks that are difficult

Memory

The student may:

·        forget books, assignments because of short-term memory problems

·        be slow at recalling information in stressful situations, such as exams

Reading

The student may:

·        misread familiar words, so affecting understanding

·        have to reread material several times to get meaning

·        lose their place or reread lines

Writing

The student will:

·        have serious difficulties with taking notes and copying from the board

·        have poorly formed handwriting that is slow, laboured and/or untidy and illegible.  This is likely to deteriorate when under pressure.

Assignments

The student may:

·        have difficulty in structuring essays material in a logical order

·        show an inability to express their thoughts in a written way

·        may go off track while trying to concentrate on writing

·        may have trouble being succinct or giving sufficient information

·        have difficulties using graphs and diagrams