WHAT-WHY-HOW-IF
WHAT: What is the subject or area that you intend to Research? What is the precise question that you will be addressing?
The area I will be researching is Dyspraxia and Developmental
Coordination Disorders (DCD), Dyspraxia is a common disorder that affects movement and coordination.
The question I am addressing is: “How can arts and crafts help the DCD community to improve cognition and learning; social, emotional, and mental health difficulties; sensory and/or physical needs.” in this research I want to study and develop which craft activities could strengthen the main difficulties manifested as problems with motor coordination, organization, academic and social struggles.
WHY: Why will this research be of value to you and the world?
Studying at the university I had the life changing opportunity of been diagnosed with Dyspraxia at 38 years old, these diagnoses explained a lifetime of struggles and limitations. I was surprised that even considering myself an avid reader of developmental diseases, Dyspraxia never came to my knowledge. After my initial research it was clear that dyspraxia and DCD need more understanding and
awareness, according to ‘Movement Matters’ a UK organization formed early in 2011 that represents the major national groups concerned with children and adults with coordination difficulties: “Compared to the other developmental disorders, DCD remains poorly understood by many healthcare end educational professionals, awareness of the condition and its consequences is low and parents, teachers and practitioners are generally unsupported, and it is crucial to develop greater awareness of, and insight into the nature, cause and consequences of this disorder ”
HOW: How will you accomplish your project in practical terms? what will be your methodology, management strategy, and schedule?
I will be working with the dyspraxic community and ‘Dyspraxia UK’ to implement a series of questioners to first, find out what type of crafts the community usually is comfortable doing and what types they struggle in executing. Secondly after finding which area of arts and crafts the DCD community finds more hesitation to be accomplished and from the results develop the activities that would help improve the coordination and other areas of adversity. Together with psychologists, occupational therapists and neuroscientists I will research ways to understand the challenges that people with DCD may encounter in their processing interpretation and responses to sensory stimulation in their movements, and together create craft activities to improve, treat and diagnose the condition.
IF: What are the positive implications and potential if you achieve this mastery? How will this position you (and your stockholders) at the end of the course?
With my initial research, I could establish the need to further develop creative activities that would help improve, educate and understand how the DCD brain works and communicate. If I master this question, it would be incredibly helpful to the DCD community to find ways to work alongside occupational therapists to develop and create a task-oriented approach to do things that they struggled with.