• Accept any answer e.g. sign, gesture, vocalization, word or picture
• Always praise any attempt to use language even if it is just single words
• Reduce the number of questions you ask the child. Comment on things to provide a model of appropriate language
• Use yes/no questions or forced alternatives e.g. ‘Is it a cat or a dog?’ or closed questions i.e. that require a single word answer
• Allow extra time for the child to respond
• Don’t correct mistakes, model back the correct production e.g. when a child say ‘tat’ say ‘yes, there is a cat’
• When a child is unable to pronounce a word or a letter sound, ask them to demonstrate their knowledge by asking them to point to the target rather that say it e.g. ‘find me a ‘p’ or find me a picture that begins with a ‘t’ etc.

Strategies to help understanding

• Use the child’s name before giving instructions in order to gain their attention before speaking
• Speak slowly but with your usual intonation
• Keep instructions short and try not to use complicated sentences e.g. ’walk back to class’ is better than ‘I don’t want to see anybody running’
• Give the child time to process what you have said
• If the child does not respond, repeat the instruction and wait. If there is still no response try rephrasing it e.g. ‘play out now’ instead of ‘ It is time to go out now and play’
• Use gestures and pictures to support the language you are using
• Avoid sarcasm
• Be aware that a child with language difficulties will find non-literal language difficult
• Allow the child to observe others in activities before they take a turn so that they have opportunities to fully understand what is expected
• Keep checking that the child has understood and knows what to do

Kathleen Paintin





Useful websites; www.ican.org.uk including Talking point and Parent point

www.afasic.org.uk

Useful publications: Supporting Children with Speech and Language Difficulties by David Fulton ISBN 1-84312-225-1

About 12 years ago our son was given the diagnosis of semantic-pragmatic language disorder. This turned out to be related to Asperger’s Syndrome and meant that he had struggles with the meanings of words that referred to abstract concepts such as feelings, interpreted certain words and phrases too literally and found following the storyline of a film very difficult. When using language socially it was difficult for him to know when to take turns in conversation leading to interruptions. His conversation was deemed to be at least 50% non-relevant and very strongly biased towards his favourite themes such as mathematics. Coupled with this was a lack of awareness of others that he talked to and their interests.

In response to this we gave him conversation practice both at home and at the international school, as the school recognised the issues and were very co-operative. He was also given rules of conversation which he learned quickly, although their application is still an ongoing process! The school worked through the “Social Use of Language Programme” (SULP) twice and this helped considerably. These measures have made a positive difference and helped him through school and he is now in higher education – and still learning. In some ways the recognition of the problem and his own recognised need to do something about it have made him more sensitive to others than some without special educational needs. We are believers in supportive partnerships between the school & professionals on the one hand and parents on the other. Our own experience has shown what can be done with determination all round.


(Names withheld to maintain the privacy of the family concerned)
Although we have recommended a number of websites and books, we would maintain that the same advice for all special needs families holds good. If you, as parents or workers in a school or organisation suspect that there are special needs, then you should look for further advice and the only place to get a full diagnosis is from experts who are experienced in working with children with speech and language disorders. It would be very easy to read books and websites and fall into the “cyberchondria” trap – i.e. untrained diagnosis of major problems that aren’t there. The other extreme would be to deny or ignore problems and hope that they will just work out somehow in the end. Get the advice, and only get the diagnosis and recommended treatments and teaching strategies from experts who know what they are talking about.


Calvin* was 4 3/4 when he started at an international school. He had already been diagnosed dyspraxic and with a motor skills delay of eighteen months. He was seeing an occupational therapist for gross and fine motor work.

He was to be the youngest child in the whole school, but we were dissuaded from holding him back because he was already much taller than most of the other pupils. He is also very bright, so we were hesitant to insist that he wait another year before starting. The school was sympathetic about the issues Calvin faced with writing and playing physical games. He was sent to a special class twice a week to work on his fine motor skills, but we were warned by the OT and the school that his handwriting was unlikely to catch up with that of the other children. The school expected that he would have to use a keyboard full time by the age of ten.

The school was enormous, with five classes in each year. Calvin was quite isolated: he couldn't join in well with the playground games and found the stairs between classrooms exhausting to climb. He began to wet himself, whether from stress or as a side effect of his dyspraxia - dyspraxic children often find potty training hard.

After a year we transferred him to a Montessori school. The atmosphere was much more forgiving, but there were no special classes and his handwriting did not improve. For him, Montessori was not a good method, as he learns by hearing or reading, not by using his hands. He would concentrate so hard on making his hands move the manipulatives correctly, that he did not have any mental attention left to understand what the manipulative was intended to teach him.

After a year, we reduced his time at the Montessori school to 2 1/2 days a week. During this time he could enjoy the social interaction and the variety of lessons on offer. During the other 2 1/2 days, I taught him at home, concentrating on writing and maths. He was still attending occupational therapy twice a week so we were very busy. More and more, we started to resent the commute to school, when the time spent at home was so much more productive and enjoyable.

The following year, we moved away and decided to home school full time. This has been an enormous success: Calvin can move ahead in those topics where he is talented, and get extra help where he needs it. I can design lessons which work on his weak areas without overwhelming him with impossible demands. Although we moved away from our occupational therapist, Calvin now has a lot more time for general fitness. He runs, does push ups, sit ups and pull ups every day; once a week he plays tennis; twice a week he practises Tae kwon do. He is so much more at ease in his body - partly, I am sure, due to simple maturity, but his increased exercise regime has probably helped. He has made friends within the home schooling community, which is much more accepting of his talents and difficulties than was his original international school.

Calvin is now nine. His handwriting is legible - though not beautiful - and he writes fluently. He is still working on speed but will now happily produce fifteen page reports. Last year, his fine motor skills had come on so far that he was ready to start learning to write in Chinese. He found that he could do it well, and even enjoyed it. This is such a contrast to the tears we both shed when he was learning to write English. I am left wondering if we could have avoided a lot of anguish by home schooling him from the first and not expecting him to write English until he was more physically mature. From the evidence of his Chinese writing, he would have caught up very fast.

Our experience of dealing with dyspraxia in international schools was not terrible. There was a lot of understanding and good will. We did not find a good fit, however, until we were forced to consider home schooling. It was the best decision we ever made.

Laura – November 2006 (*given name changed & family name withheld to maintain privacy)