When my son was nine years old we received a letter from his school, the letter informed us that our child's behavior had been unacceptable on more than one occasion in one lesson in particular. The lesson in question was a craft class that was being taught by a member of learning support.

Of course we did the only thing a concerned parent could do we made an appointment to see our son's teacher. During the meeting the teacher read from a series of notes compiled by the teaching assistant. Your son can't be bothered to cut out simple shapes he would rather act the clown in class disrupting the other members of the class. He also refused to do needlework saying it was only for girls.

Our son who was just a typical young boy at home apparently could not behave himself for a few minutes in school. For a full year we persevered with behaviour charts never once questioning the opinions of the teaching staff at our son's school.

I still feel today that we let down our son after all we are in the education business and we should have known. Well this was ten years ago and Dyspraxia today is still very difficult to diagnose. Children today are sometimes just classified as naughty underachievers when in fact they suffer from a serious learning disability.

Our sons Dyspraxia was finally diagnosed by an educational therapist after a young teacher who had received special training regarding learning disabilities became suspicious of the pattern of our sons behaviour. The therapist would later explain to us that our son would act the clown in class to deflect the attention away from the fact that he could barely hold a pair of scissors correctly. My son felt ashamed by the fact that he couldn't cut shapes out like the other children and the only things he could stick the sowing needle in was his fingers.

I began to read articles and books about Dyspraxia, learning that it wasn't life threatening and that it could be overcome. There is no cure for Dyspraxia but the earlier a child is diagnosed and treated the better the chance that the Dyspraxia will not cause the child any significant problems in the future.

How can I tell if my child as Dyspraxia?

Diagnosing Dyspraxia is notoriously difficult as it can overlap with other learning disabilities but listed below are a few points that maybe should have indicated to me that our child suffered from Dyspraxia.

Around 70% of people with Dyspraxia are male.

Stand opposite your child about 3 meters apart and gently throw a ball towards them if they continually drop the ball then this may be an indicator.

Watch your child brush their teeth if they struggle then this could be another indicator. My child still struggles with brushing his teeth.

Draw a very basic shape and using safety scissors ask your child to cut out the shape. If they find it almost impossible to get anywhere near the outline of the shape this could be another indicator.

Can your child not decide which hand to use. Looking back I personally feel this was the main indicator that my son had Dyspraxia. He could never decide which hand to use.

Has your child got poor concentration? Do they not stick to one or two tasks? My son was like a whirlwind running around the house never concentrating on one thing for more than a few seconds.

Is your child disruptive in class, always acting the fool? This can be a coping mechanism; they try to deflect attention away from their lack of ability to carry out a task. My son always had problems in craft class and maths.

If you think you child as Dyspraxia consult an educational therapist as soon as possible. In the UK this is a free service that can be accessed through your child's school or his GP.