I would just like to say thank you to Steve out ICT genius who put that video clip on for me. I would also like to explain I had just been suffering from larengitus the day before and do not smoke 80 woodbine ciggerettes a day, allthough I have a deep voice, I am told. The Clip is about Jason who I had watched since Nursery. He had gross motor difficulties (fell over sat down) but as he was a big lad we waited. He started showing signs of learnin/behavior difficulties in reception and was in my special group for children who needed support but made no progress. By year one this was becoming a concern and he attended the programme. As I am 5′ 1″ It was a struggle but I even had to lift him to hop as he had a real weak side and had real problems with co-ordination and especially listening. As all the children on the programme are like this at the beginning I was used to it. Over a year he achieved everything and he could balance brilliantly. He progressed in class and came out of my class and works at the same level as his peers with no support. His behavior is impecable, as are his manners, and he is a gorgeous little boy. It wasn’t a case of leaving him because of imaturities because if left I would have supported him for years as his behavior and learning would have become worse and he would have been given a label. I know that the programme helped him and yes! I was bursting with pride when his Dad told me what he had achieved,the same as his parents, but I do that with every child.

The most important qualification I have, is many years of experience working with children, as many teaching assistants do. We are childcare apprentices. The only thing is our apprenticeship is ever lasting. Teachers are there to teach, and we are there to support them, by observing what’s going on around them in class. We are the eyes in the back of their heads. As an old TA I hate how the goverment want to have teachers with degree’s fast tracking and being able to teach in 6 month’s. My idea is TA’s should be paid more and cover for them. That way they would have experienced apprentices who know the children in that class, the work and behaviour would be consistant. But then Iv’e only worked in a school for over 20 years, what would I know. If people are impressed with paperwork, I have in fact numerous certificates for attending course after course on Autism/Aspergers, ADHD,dyslexia, learning/ behaviour problems, First aid, team teach (restraining) and NVQ’s for childcare. All of which are in a beautiful black leather portfolio and proudley positioned at work, marked “CV”. This impressive show of A4 magnificence means nothing to me, it is to prove that I went on a course and listened to experts and was certified. The real apprenticeship was the years at a time I supported children with autism/aspergers, cerebral palsey, dyslexia, ADHD (before and after ritalin) epilepsey, learning and behaviour difficulties. It’s the chair chuckers, the obssessive, the emotional, the frustration, the child on a 5 minute behaviour chart, projectile vomitting, accidents in pants, and the scissors whizzing past your ears, just to mention a few highlights of my long career that isn’t ever logged onto a certificate.What I hate is that you have young girls who get the same certificate as you when old birds like me have had years of experience. But if life was just that simple!…………..

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I was not born to be brave, compassionate, caring, tolerant and patient, I was given the opportunity to learn these qualities through life, and by looking after children. Over the years through a need to support children with special needs, I have endeavoured to support children to reach their full potential.

Within School I have held workshops to enable staff in schools to start their own screening and exercise programmes. One of the most important times at these meetings was when staff talked and shared experiences and knowledge.

This website will give you the opportunity to ask questions. If I don’t know the answer someone else may help me and I will find out for you. Many parents feel isolated as they feel they are the only ones experiencing difficulties.

Many books and websites give you information and definitions about Dyspraxia. You can attend centers at a price, and if you have the finance to be able to do this, that is fine. But many Parents are vulnerable and emotional because of a child’s special needs. They should never be put in a position of financial burden and guilt that they couldn’t afford this option.

I read recently that in Europe they have just 1% dyspraxia in children. They start school at 6-7 years old when motor skills are developed. Our children start at 3 years old and are expected to follow the national curriculam. Childrens motor skills have not had a chance to develop yet they are expecting to learn when their brain isn’t ready. Since starting my programme in the mainstream school I work in I have witnessed the most dramatic change in our special needs register. I used to watch children that were put on at school action (making parents aware there is a problem) moving up and up untill every resource had been exausted. Children would eventually be diagnosed with Dyspraxia by occupational therapists. They were told “good luck”(most of the time) and advised to read books about Dyspraxia as they didn’t have the funding to support them. At the point of diagnosis ( at around 7 years old) their child could have low self esteem, learning/behavior difficulties, gross/fine, balance, perceptual, speech/language difficulties and social problems imbedded into them and be there for years causing problems. Through early intervention I screen children in Nursry/reception who are showing difficulties and “Guess what!” they all have under - developed motor skills. In reception they start the programme and over a year we strengthen the motors which in turn corrects and develops the brain and children start learning at the same pace as their peers. We no longer have big gaps in learning, dyslexia, autism/aspergers, ADHD, learning/behaviour difficulties like we used to. I call them all “late developers” The only children we have with difficulties are ones that didnt have MSD or have come from other schools and didn’t have the programme to correct them.  Then we have to support them like we used to in the past. All the children on the programme started off with tracking difficulties and I realised that if their bodies were never balanced then they never learnt that first basic skill of fixating a moving object. A school nurse checks for focus not Fixating, fusion, fields and flexibility that are esential in learning (especially reading and writing) and taking in information. Out of 130 children 3 have gone on to have light therapy to correct this fault which had never been picked up if they hadn’t accessed the programme and it was highlighted. Six children who attended speech therapy had never had their motor skills checked and all had significant weaknesses. Once they had been on the programme they progressed significantly with their speech. Once their bodies were balanced high motor activity in some children dissappeared where as they would have been investigated for ADHD. Once processing increased Autism/aspergers wasn’t investigated further. And once Dyspraxia was illiminated Dyslexia dissappeared.

I have given talks recently to a support group who thought I was saying that there was no such thing as Dyslexia, but there is. I screen children who have under -develped motor skills and this stops them from learning. You have two sides of the brain, one side see’s individual (think of individual letters) A B T . The other side works with that side to make it into a whole (word) BAT. Because the body wasn’t balanced and children had a weak side and the brain wasn’t working together. Once  children got past the CVC stage and into year 1 in which they had to start blending  two sounds together and this is when they couldn’t progress.  They would have started years of struggling and usually thought to be dyslexic because of this learning difficulty.  I know, because I have in supported hundreds of children with (what I thought) was dyslexia. Since I started the programme I dont see it. Children’s bodies are now strengthened and balanced which in turn does the same to the brain and this difficulty is corrected before damage can be caused and children can now learn. There is Dyslexia but we get it from children from other schools or MSD wasnt the root cause. I shouldn’t say Dyspraxia, this is the label you get when an expert eventually diagnoses you. Our school never gets to the label stage anymore.

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