They Are What You Feed Them: How Food Can Improve Your Child’s Behaviour, Mood and Learning. Dr Richardson Alex
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of dyslexia, but this argument can be rather circular: We learn many of our advanced ‘phonological skills’ through learning to read—so any poor readers, including adults who are illiterate for social or cultural reasons, tend to find these tasks difficult.
When it comes to strengths, many dyslexic individuals show unusual talent in business, the visual arts and/or the sciences. A number of top financiers and outstanding business ‘visionaries’ are dyslexic4—and other professions with an over-representation of dyslexic adults include the arts, architecture, engineering, physical sciences and information technology. People with this profile are far less well suited to repetitive clerical or administrative jobs, but—provided they can avoid being judged too harshly on their spelling and punctuation—there’s no reason why dyslexic individuals can’t succeed in any occupation they may choose. One in 20 children is severely affected by dyslexia, and a further one in 20 has mild to moderate difficulties of the same kind—although the frequency in boys is slightly higher.
Common Indicators of Dyslexia
Difficulties in reading and spelling that are relatively specific, and which interfere with academic achievement or daily living skills5
Directional confusion (such as difficulty telling left from right)
Poor working memory (especially for information that carries no obvious meaning in itself—like telephone numbers, or anything learned ‘by rote’)
Particular difficulties in segmenting words into their individual sounds, or building up words from their component sounds, when writing or speaking
May have early delays or difficulties learning spoken language
Difficulties with ordering and sequencing information
‘Intuitive’, holistic style of problem-solving, using lateral or divergent thinking rather than following a linear, step-by-step strategy
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia (or Developmental Coordination Disorder) is just as common as dyslexia, and again boys are more susceptible than girls. Praxis means ‘doing’, and the most obvious difficulties are usually in motor coordination, affecting either fine motor skills (like holding a pen), or gross (big) movements like running or throwing. Muscle tone may be poor, resulting in ‘floppy’ movement, or joints may be unusually flexible and ‘bendy’, leading to other kinds of postural and movement difficulties. As in dyslexia, left-right confusions are common—with particular difficulties coordinating actions between left and right sides of the body (‘crossing the midline’). Thus, complex tasks that involve using both hands together (tying shoelaces, or doing up buttons) can prove frustratingly difficult to learn.
Not all dyspraxic children are overtly clumsy, though. The younger child may compensate for his unsteadiness by using excessive muscle tension, so the problems may go undetected. Later, when he tries to run, jump or dance, or to throw and catch a ball, his lack of coordination becomes apparent. Difficulty or failure in these areas can lead to anxiety or embarrassment, and more tension. He may therefore dislike and avoid team sports and games (or dancing, where he may epitomize the saying about having two left feet!). Dyspraxic difficulties apply more fundamentally to the planning and carrying out of any complex, sequenced actions. Organization and time-keeping are usually poor, and if he’s dyspraxic your child may be slow to start and finish tasks. He may be able to do one thing properly at a time, but can easily get distracted and try to do too many things at once, so none gets finished.
As with dyslexia, this syndrome is independent of general ability, and strengths often include good reasoning and creative problem-solving skills, including lateral and holistic thinking. Verbal abilities are usually superior to non-verbal abilities, with particular weaknesses in visuo-spatial and attentional processing. Spelling and copying from a board, as well as handwriting, are usually areas of difficulty, although reading itself may or may not be a problem.
‘Our son was always a cause for concern amongst his teachers. We cut additives like tartrazine from his diet, and that helped a lot, so he was no longer hyperactive. The other problems remained, though.
In the end, the new Special Needs teacher suggested he might have dyspraxia, which proved to be the case. Yes, it’s a label, but now that everyone understands, we have put strategies in place that will help him.
One of those strategies is changing his diet to follow the principles you outline. It’s early days yet, but I’m convinced we’re already seeing a difference.’ – Jan and Andrew
Because his verbal abilities may be very good, the discrepancy between these and his written work (particularly when under timed pressure) can lead others to think your dyspraxic child is just being lazy or careless, even when he’s trying very hard indeed. When time is not limited, his work may be outstanding, which can add to that impression. No surprises that he may be susceptible to stress and frustration, often appearing irritable and moody as a result. With respect to attention, ‘sensory overload’ (too much happening at once) is often a problem for the dyspraxic child—but once absorbed in something, he may have an unusual capacity to maintain his concentration, provided that the environment offers few distractions. While naming no names at all, I will say that in my experience dyspraxic tendencies are perhaps over-represented within academia, because in highly able individuals, dyspraxia often manifests as the ‘absent-minded professor’ syndrome!
Common Indicators of Dyspraxia or Developmental Coordination Disorder
Motor coordination skills substantially below the level expected from age, education and abilities in other areas6
Delays in achieving motor milestones such as crawling, sitting and walking
Difficulties with activities such as running, throwing and catching, tying laces, and handwriting (often using undue muscle tension in the efforts to compensate for poor coordination)
Coordination difficulties interfere with academic achievement or daily living. Attentional and organizational difficulties may compound these problems.
‘Intuitive’, holistic style of problem-solving, using lateral or divergent thinking rather than following a linear, step-by-step strategy
Verbal abilities usually superior to non-verbal abilities
Moving away from the core defining features, many dyspraxic children seem oversensitive to touch (complaining about ‘scratchy’ labels in clothes, or the fabric itself)—but like some children on the autistic spectrum, they may respond well to gentle physical pressure (liking tight hugs, and heavy bedclothes, for example). There are often general health issues, too, especially with respect to allergies or poor digestion—although these can affect many other children, too, of course.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
For their age, ADHD children are severely inattentive, or hyperactive and impulsive, or both. These difficulties must also be persistent over time and in different situations, and causing serious problems both at home and at school. If your child has ADHD, he probably has some other problems, too. ‘Conduct disorder’ and ‘oppositional defiant disorder’ (breaking rules and having problems with those in authority) are the most common ones, but anxiety, depression or other mood disorders are also linked with ADHD at both the individual and the family level, as are specific learning difficulties like dyslexia and dyspraxia. On the positive side, the energy of ADHD can be very productive when this is suitably channelled—and a willingness to take risks is part of most truly creative achievements in any domain.
Common Indicators of ADHD