Hog Blog 22 or Gills Post from Pricklington Palace.

Gills Hog blog number 22 or Tales from the Pricklington palace.

Dispelling myths.

I am still quite often confronted with certain issues whereby humans with the very best of intentions do further harm to an already ailing hedgehog.

For the record...
It is NOT alright to give hedgehogs cows milk and bread. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and they do not digest starch, so both at best will make them ill, at worst will kill them. Rescues use lactose free puppy milk. Goats milk is fine.



Please DO NOT keep a hedgehog believing you can care for it at home unless you have a microscope and a reasonable understanding of endoparasites. The most common ailments are intestinal parasites and unless you can look at a faecal specimen this cannot be diagnosed and the correct treatment given. I am always happy to return a hog to its finder when it is well but it is soul destroying trying to put right damage that could have been treated so much sooner.

IT is NOT alright to give hedgehog mealworms. They cause a terrible bone weakening and death.

Please DO NOT  go gathering slugs and snails for hedgehogs. These are the very things that host the parasites that kill hedgehogs. Meaty cat food or kitten biscuits are just fine.

Please DO NOT keep a European hedgehog as a pet. This is both cruel and absolutely illegal. They are wild animals. African pygmy hedgehogs are available to buy as pets (but are quite tricky to keep).

Please DO NOT  watch a hedgehog in your garden in daylight for days on ends. A hedgehog out in daylight is in trouble with one exception and that is an expectorant or lactating female. She will be gathering bedding or finding extra food and will be moving at speed and with purpose.
Baby hoglets out on their own in daylight are in trouble.

If you find a please  nest do NOT disturb it. Disturbance and certainly handling of hoglets will result in the mother killing her young. If you disturb a nest by accident do your best to repair it and walk away. The hog will only need it for a couple of weeks.

Please DO NOT worry about fleas. Not many hedgehogs have them and if they do they are species specific. They will not trouble you or your domestic pets.

Please DO NOT set fire to piles of leaves or logs before checking them out. They are favourite nesting places.

Please feel free to call your nearest rescue for help or advice  or contact the British hedgehog preservation society ( on  01584 890801) 

Hog blog number 21 or tales from Pricklington Palace.

A big shout out to my supporters.

Its a funny old time in the country and world, with so much disquiet it seems.
In my work at Pricklington Palace, I come across many fabulous people. My Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ has over 750 supporters and they really do me proud.

When I am short of supplies I publish a wish list and almost before I have finished it, items begin arriving. I recently needed to finance the amputation of a hogs hind leg and put out a call, and the funds came pouring in and  covered the cost of that surgery plus several subsequent vet bills. There are regular donors and occasional donors, and visitors with gifts of food and papers, every single donation is appreciated. Then there are those who keep me company on messenger through long nights or traumatic cases and the fosterers who step in when I have no space. 

The Palace has been visited by youngsters from a lifestyle team who have come along to learn more about what people can do to help these beleaguered small mammals and have then gone on to have awareness stands  at local shows.

Recently I received a card and a beautiful silver hedgehog pin to say thank you for helping to save three hoglets that they had brought to me from Leeds.

And then there is this shield, designed and made and donated to me by  Brenda and Terry Taylor just because they wanted to.

So amongst the madness and sadness, the strife, tumultuous politics, and general unrest, one thing running a rescue has taught me is to recognise and remember that there are many acts of quiet, unheralded human kindness going on all the time. 
Sometimes it would do us all good to hold on to that.

Rescue, rehabilitate, release. 

Gill Dixon runs Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handedly. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work. 

Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829

Fostering hedgehogs.

At certain times of the year rescues become overwhelmed by the numbers of hogs they admit. Many of these can be orphaned or abandoned hoglets who are treated and raised successfully but simply too small to release.This means that hutches meant for sick and injured hogs become full of well but small hogs and this is when fosterers are a huge  help to rescues.
Some need to be overwintered as they are simply too small to risk hibernation.

Here at Pricklington Palace I have a network of lovely people who foster healthy hogs under my supervision and they feed, water, weigh and clean the hogs out to ensure that they are kept in a comfortable and clean environment. The hogs are then returned to me for release or are released with the fosterers if the environment is suitable.

What do you need and what is expected of you?

• A love of hedgehogs/wildlife.
• A suitable environment. The more space the better, but a rabbit hutch ot large plastic box can be enough. This should be placed in a quiet, sheltered spot and the hedgehog be submitted to as little disturbance as possible. Hogs are good climbers and diggers so the environment should be resistant to their escape attempts.
• 
• To monitor the hog I ask that they are weighed regularly (timings can vary) so you will need the facilities to do this. Any changes of behaviour, loss of appetite or changes in the appearance or consistency of droppings are reported to me ASAP.
• 
• You do need to check the hog daily.
• The hog may be with you for a few weeks to a few months so be sure to ask as many questions as you want to before committing.
• You will need newspapers and suitable bedding (Torn or shredded paper and/or dust free hay). Hogs like to create a nest which is warm, safe and private and so they need bedding to do this.
• The hog should have access to clean drinking water and kitten biscuits at all times. Wet food can be added at night when the risk of fly infestation has reduced. You will need at least a couple of shallow heavy bottomed bowls.
• They should not be introduced to family pets or shown to every visitor that comes to the house. Hedgehogs are shy, nocturnal mammals, hard wired to be wild and they do not enjoy being handled or stroked. 
• You should be able to recognise flystrike, ticks and fleas and this should be reported to the rescue without delay.
• Hogs should not be fed anything but meaty cat food, or hedgehog food, biscuits and semi moist hedgehog food. Occasional banana and scrambled egg (without milk) can be offered.
• Hedgehogs should not be out and about in the day. If they are I would like to know.
• You should always wear gloves when handling hedgehogs. they carry a number of zoonotic conditions (conditions that can be passed to humans)., and you must wash your hands thoroughly after attending to them, using a nailbrush.
• You should not offer to be a fosterer if you are in any way immunosuppressed, pregnant or vulnerable.
• Children should not attend to hedgehogs unsupervised but it is a great opportunity to educate them to be the carers of the future.
• The environment will need to be warm or a heat pad offered in winter months if the hog is too small to hibernate.

It is not just a matter of feeding and cleaning, these hogs need to be moitored. A loss of appetite, weight loss or unusual faeces can be signs of a serious problem and time is of the essence.

Offering a secure garden.

From time to time hedgehogs are admitted that are discovered to be blind, may have had  a limb amputated or have scarred lungs or other disabilities which makes it impossible to be returned to the wild. These can still live a good life in a suitable garden. Such gardens have to be absolutely  secure. If there is a way of escaping the hogs will find it.

Gardens should  

• Be Pond free. (Some ponds may be acceptable but these must have suitable escape ramps).
• Be as large as possible.
• Be Free of dogs.
• Not be constantly in use, so busy family gardens may not be the best.
• Have a mixture of foliage and some long grass or wild areas for the hog to forage in.
• A shallow bowl of water must be available at all times.
• A suitable hedgehog house should be available.
• The hedgehog should be allowed to live as wild a life as possible but monitored to ensure it is safe and well.
• They need support feeding every day of the year so if you go away you will need to make arrangements for someone to do that for you.

All the above information is for guidance only and is not meant to be prescriptive. Some hedgehogs are better in smaller gardens and some may need more monitoring than others depending on their condition/circumstances. I would urge potential fosterers to read up a little or attend a talk to learn a bit about how hedgehogs choose to live and replicate that as far as is possible. They are not pets, they do not want or need lots of interaction. They are lovely and often quite comical to watch and it is very satisfying to know that you are helping one (or more) survive. I am always available to ask questions, or offer advice and if your circumstances change the hog can be returned to me. Fostered hedgehogs should never be moved on without my permission.

Foster carers are very much appreciated (even if i forget to tell them that often enough). By taking a healthy hog you make room for a sick one to be admitted .

Hog blog 19 Raising Awareness

Hog blog 19

Tales from the Palace.

Raising awareness.

Did you know that I am available to give talks to raise awareness of the plight of hedgehogs and how we can help them?

Indeed in May I have spoken at a gardening club, twice at York University, once to staff in  a business and given a whole school assembly at Eastrington School.

I am always really heartened by people's interest in hedgehogs, who I believe have a special place in many people's hearts.

The children at Eastrington School were so full of enthusiasm and excitement when i went to speak to them. One hundred little faces listening intently and bursting to ask questions. ...

Miss, miss, miss......

'How do the babies get out of their mummy's tummy when they are so prickly?'

'Are baby hedgehogs furry?'

'How do hedgehogs wee?'

'How long do hedgehogs live?'

'Would a hedgehog like it on my trampoline?'

'How can I make a hedgehog house?'

One Mum very kindly took the trouble to message me to tell me her son was absolutely brimming with excitement after the session and all the children were tasked with ensuring there was a gap in the garden fence for the hedgehogs to get through.

I left feeling that an interest was sparked and in those little heads were the seeds of change for these little spikey friends of ours. 

If you would like to learn more about these creatures and how you can help them, please get in touch.

Rescue, rehabilitate, release.

Gill Dixon runs Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handily. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work. Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829

Hog blog 18
Tales from the Palace.

The news is full of the doom and gloom of our destruction of habitat and the loss of so many beautiful species and as populations increase we will inevitably  experience increased conflict between ourselves and the creatures that share our land.

I have been watching the new development in Howden and wonder how many hedgehogs (and other wild creatures) have been displaced as the land is excavated for the building work. The development is on what was such beautiful and undisturbed land.
Unlike most mammals hedgehogs do not have a fight or flight reflex. When faced with danger they simply curl into a tight ball, and so many will have perished, at the time when they should be raising families. Much as I understand that housing is necessary it makes me sad that there is no opportunity or requirement for builders to consider the needs of this important and helpful little mammal.

Did you know that hedgehogs are currently being lost from the parks and gardens of Britain at a rate of around 5% per year. That’s the same rate as tigers are being lost globally. They are listed as a priority species and some wildlife organisations have them categorised as critically endangered and yet they are afforded very little protection in reality.

It would seem to me that our only indigenous spiky mammal, which we know for certain were firmly established in Britain by the middle Pleistocene period about 2 million years ago have earned their place on our shores, and yet we are rapidly forcing them towards extinction.

I am not a hedgehog nutter, I love all wildlife and care deeply about our countryside and its biodiversity. However I can and do rehabilitate hedgehogs, and feel lucky to be able to do that, but I am asking you, the people of Howden to please make our town hedgehog friendly. Create those hedgehog highways that these mammals so desperately need to source adequate food, leave out a shallow bowl of water and some cat biscuits and share your intentions with your neighbours. You can find out more information here about becoming a hedgehog champion https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/

How sad it will be when we will only see hedgehogs in books and the tales of Beatrix Potter. Only we can stop that happening.

Rescue, rehabilitate, release.

Gill Dixon runs Pricklingon Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handedly. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work . Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829

Hog blog number 17.

Hog blog 17
Tales from the Palace.

I am writing this on May 6th, the beginning of hedgehog awareness week https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/hedgehog-awareness-week-2019/. I have been out dropping leaflets through doors, am giving a whole school assembly and am speaking at York University later in the month . I am also lucky enough to have been invited to Hook Gardening club to talk to the keen gardeners and to have a stall at the open garden event there on May 26th. I like to think I am doing my bit! It is always a privilege to talk to children who are so interested and who will shape the future survival (or extinction) of our only spiky mammal.


We can all help to save Hedgehogs.

In a census carried out in the 1950's there were an estimated 30 million hedgehogs in England. In 1995 the number had dropped to 1.5 million. It seems at the current rate of decline we will lose this wonderful little character from our hedgerows. Much of the decline is due to various forms of human intervention but there are a few really easy thing that we, as individuals can do to really make a difference.

The first one is to create hedgehog highways.

We have become such tidy gardeners and we put up walls and fences to protect our privacy with no thought for hedgehogs who may travel up to 2 miles overnight in search of ground dwelling invertebrates. A small CD size hole cut into a fence bottom or an absent brick size space in a wall will solve this issue and allow them to hunt. You can even get hedgehog friendly gravel boards from companies such as  Kebur or Jacksons.

The second thing is a shallow bowl of water.
Just something you would stand a plant pot in is fine. Hedgehogs drink a lot and access to a shallow bowl of water can be a life saver.

How about a feeding station?
This means that you can feed hedgehogs without filling up all of the neighbourhood cats.It doesn't need to be anything flash or expensive. Indeed I use a flagstone perched on flat house bricks (hedgehogs can squeeze under). You can use a plastic box...

You can find other ideas here:-
https://thehedgehog.co.uk/feeding-hedgehogs/how-to-stop-cats-dogs-and-foxes-stealing-the-hedgehogs-food/
It's lovely to see them visit.

Avoid those weedkillers!
If it had 'small mammal killers' on the label perhaps people would use them less. They kill hedgehogs slowly and horribly and are totally unnecessary. It just takes a few years to reach a natural balance and hedgehogs eat so many of the invertebrates that cause gardeners real headaches.

So we can all do our bit to save this iconic species, and these are just a few simple ideas.

Recue, rehabilitate, release.

Gill Dixon runs Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handily. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work. Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829

Hog blog 16 - Croda is doing a great thing.

Gills hog blog number 16.

Tales from the palace

Thank you to Croda.

Many of you will be familiar with the beautiful global headquarters of Croda International PLC, which can be seen as you drive through Cowick. 

A stunning building fronted by beautifully manicured lawns offering an impressive welcome to visitors. The Hall actually stands in some 125 acres and what you can't see are the huge, unspoilt deciduous woodlands, ponds and scrub land behind the hall .

I was contacted by their UK sales manager recently who told me that the company are very keen to enhance biodiversity and were particularly keen to attract and support hedgehogs which are now very much endangered. He informed me that Croda is a local but multinational company with a strong environmental, and sustainability, ethos.  I accepted their offer of a walk around to see what they have done so far.

I met with the Estate Manager, Sarah Saxelby and was taken on a lovely tour of huge areas of unspoilt and untended land, full of fallen trees, leaves, shallow ponds and woods. Basically a  hedgehog paradise, which already supports a wonderful variety of flora and fauna. 

The Company's biodiversity team had already been in contact with the RSPB and a wildflower expert, amongst others and lots of feeding stations have been erected, along with extensive tree planting and natural wood chip walkways for staff members to enjoy. All areas of wilderness (some of which are fragmented from the main wilderness area) are connected by corridors of long grass, which is perfect for small mammals like hedgehogs to roam in their search for ground level invertebrates. Even better hedgehogs have been seen in the grounds which alleviated the fears I had re suitability.

 

I  was invited to give a presentation to staff who were keen to know what do if they find a sick hedgehog.  Staff members have already volunteered to patrol the grounds to look for potential hazards and to support feed the hedgehogs in times of hardship.

The first two hogs were released at the end of March and I beleive they will  have a wonderful life there. It will be the first of many releases I hope and the beginning of a wonderful wildlife partnership.

How lovely that a local Company has shown concern and pledged to do something meaningful and important to protect our native wildlife.

Hats off to Croda.

Rescue, Rehabilitate, Release.

Gill Dixon runs Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handedly. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work. Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829

Hog blog 15. Love is in the air (or Spine Dates).

Gills hog blog 

Tales from the palace

Love is in the Air.

Spring really is in the air it seems and nature is busy. Hedgehogs are rousing from hibernation and at this time they really benefit from some food (meaty cat food or cat biscuits) to help them to build up the fat reserves they have lost during hibernation. Also a shallow dish of water as they are very thirsty when they first wake.

Hedgehogs do not mate in their first year of life but from year two they will do so  each year producing litters which should be  in late Spring and Autumn . Currently they seem to breed through out the year. 

If you have a feeding station (of course you do) you will hear lots of huffing and puffing and snorting as the males circle the females in an effort to attract their attention. This can be quite a protracted event and other males may be alerted and join in. Males head butt or ram each other and even occasionally fight. As you can imagine it's a tricky business for the male but a receptive female will lay her spines flat and adopt a specific position in order to avoid injury to the male. Mating's though, are often unsuccessful.

Once mating is over the male leaves and takes no part in rearing the young. 

Pregnancy last four and a half weeks and a litter of hoglets averages between four and five. Their lives are precarious and only two or three of these will make it to weaning from Mum at four to five weeks old . They will go out foraging with Mum from about three weeks of age and after about ten days of this activity (learning the ropes so to speak) they will wander off on their own. 

Please take care in your gardens at this time of year. Don't disturb potential nest sites  (under sheds, piles of leaves, old pallets) but if you do please call your nearest rescue for advice.   Help our prickly friends with some supplementary food (but NEVER cows milk).

Never touch hoglets or move them, as the mother will in all likelihood kill her young.

Gill Dixon runs Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handedly. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work. Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829

Hog blog number 14 Herbert the Hun.

Gills hog blog number 14.
Tales from the palace

The tale of Herbert (the Hun).

Herbert was brought to the palace one lunchtime having been found outside at a smallholding in Barmby on the Marsh. The finder was very concerned for him and on admission he looked thin but was rather alert and friendly (healthy hedgehogs should curl into a tight ball with the slightest provocation). Herbert was inquisitive and keen to look around and seemed completely calm and looked at me looking at him. The finder commented on his lovely demeanor but this was a poorly hog. This overt 'friendliness' is often a sign of liver fluke which causes a hog to be very active and rather 'sociable'. I have often been told how cute a hedgehog is when it displays these behaviours but in fact the activity is caused by pain. Liver fluke is deadly and once an egg is passed into the bile ducts there is no coming back for the animal. It is diagnosed by close examination of a faecal specimen under a microscope.

Herbert was settled onto a heat pad, offered food and water (he was not dehydrated so it was safe to offer food) and left to get used to his surroundings, and hopefully produce a specimen of poo.

A faecal sample revealed the dreaded fluke and a significant amount of roundworm eggs, both of which required treatment with different (rather toxic ) medications. I decided to treat the fluke first because it is the most deadly and treated the round worm the following morning.
Then I heard the cough!!! Lungworm has a very recognisable cough, rather like that heard in a chap who smokes 30 woodbine a day. I hadn't seen any lungworm larvae though and so I checked a further two samples..... there was the wiggly tell tale larvae and another treatment was required. Poor Herbert, no wonder he was feeling rough!
Lung worms have to be killed and then they are coughed up (rather gruesome) and the hog often requires antibiotic cover to remove the risk of secondary bacterial infection. Herbert started coughing as the drugs began their work. The medication is said to sting and I figure this is true as directly after the first dose Herbert sunk his teeth into my thumb in protest.
After that he began to hiss and spit as soon as I entered the palace in a rather 'keep away from me' fashion.
Unfortunately the treatments are not one offs and he had to receive a course of each (Lungworm requires six injections in total over two weeks).

I have never known an 'attack hog' before but Herbert turned into one. I put my hand into his hutch and he charged at it hissing loudly and jumping madly in an effort to scare me off. People don't often realise that hedgehogs can make a real noise when they feel under threat and I got the full works.

I soon learned that leather gauntlets were a reasonable precaution and the treatments were duly finished and Herbert ate well and gained weight and was deemed 'cured'.

When he was 930 grams in weight and cough free I decided that it was time to set him free. His hutch was at floor level and so it seemed easy to simply open the cage door and leave him to make a bid for freedom  when he was ready.
The following morning I returned to the hutch to clean it out ready for a new admission, but  there was Herbert curled up in his blankets fast asleep and snoring loudly.
The following night the hubster decided to put a camera up to ensure that he actually crossed the threshold of the door and indeed Herbert toddled out, explored a little, made for the cat hole in the door and ventured out four times for periods of up to an hour, and returned to his hutch at dawn. This continued, Herbert sometimes stays out foraging and exploring around the farm yard for up to three hours at a time, pops back for a snack and returns to his warm bed for the day.
I remember writing a blog (Number 10) which asked whether hedgehogs were intelligent or not and the answer seemed to be a resounding 'No'. Well herbert The Hun may not be intelligent but he definitely knows when he is onto a good thing.
It says something when my husband and I ask each other of an evening 'Have you let the hedgehog out' ???!!!!

Gill Dixon runs Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handedly. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work. Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829

For the love of Liberty

This is something of a different blog for me, but an important one.
On Sunday I had one of those 'meant to be' moments. Let me explain....
I have for sometime wanted to sponsor a child who was living in abject poverty in Africa (or wherever), but the many searches I have made have never really assured me that any money I donated really will help a particular child. Many areas of Africa for example are rife with corruption and fraud and exploitation and I did not want to fuel that in anyway.

Last year a friend told me of three children she was supporting via a community project in Uganda. She receives regular school reports and letters and made contact with the lady who runs the project via social media and felt very happy that it was what it purported to be. Even better, last week she and her husband shut up their house and flew out to this remote area in Uganda to visit the place themselves and meet the children that they are supporting and to see how best they can help this desperate community..

Two days into their visit they happened upon Liberty, who was curled up on a mat on the hard mud floor which is the place she has slept every night since being a baby. Her mother is mentally ill, her father is absent and her Grandmother does her best to look after them both.

Liberty is four years old. She has to walk for three kilometres to fetch filthy water from a well which is the only source of water in the area. There are no toilets or sanitation. She desperately needed a sponsor .

I contacted Doreen Kanyunyuzi, who is the lady who runs the community project often just to help people simply get the basics they need for survival. I asked how I could sponsor Liberty and what the cost would be.

I was aghast to find out that for £200 I can sponsor her education for a whole year, buy her uniform and shoes for the year and so importantly get her a mattress to sleep on. £4 a week could potentially give this little soul a path out of the poverty that the lottery of life of life threw her way. I didn't hesitate......

Within 12 hours the money was safely in Doreen's hand and my friend went along with her to tell the family the news. 

hey sobbed.

Sunday was the first anniversary of my Mums death. She is a woman who I miss immeasurably every single day and a woman who loved children and believed very strongly in kindness. She would have thoroughly approved of Liberty and I am so pleased, really thrilled to be able to do this in Mums memory.

If anyone reading this is moved to find out more or would like to help this project in any way (it does not have to be the commitment of sponsorship) please contact me for further information.

 If you are on Facebook you will find the project here 

https://www.facebook.com/www.careforthem.org/

The man with tape on his face. (verbal dyspraxia and its impact)

My eldest sons speech was completely lost on everyone but me until he was nearly seven years old. I remember as a very small child in a montessori classroom a teacher was unable to understand him. She got down to his level and apologised and asked him to repeat what he said but again she was lost. On the third time of asking she shook her head and looked pleadingly at him and this little soul took her in his arms and hugged her, as if to say 'its' Ok, don't feel bad'. I knew right then and there that I was mum to an exceptional human being. I was right, but much of his brilliance is lost on those who do not appreciate the complexity of the difficulties he is living with. One of those difficulties is with speech and language.

Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD) is a contentious diagnosis but it is recognised as a condition and it is worth talking about. It is sometimes referred to as childhood apraxia of speech.

2.5 million people in the UK have speech, language or communication needs (SLCN) but DVD is a relatively  rare condition and it refers to difficulties in making and coordinating the precise movements (articulatory) required in the production of clear speech (P. Williams)  Children with DVD find it challenging to make speech sounds correctly and to join sounds together in words and sentences.

Oral dyspraxia on the other hand refers to the challenges in co coordinating the movements of the vocal tract (larynx, lips, tongue, palate), when not producing speech. Children with oral dyspraxia have challenges carrying out oral motor tasks such as blowing and licking. It would seem logical to think that if a child has verbal dyspraxia they must have oral dyspraxia too, but research suggests otherwise. Some children have both but not all. 

It may exist on its own or be diagnosed in conjunction with motor dyspraxia (and other possible co existing conditions).

Speech and language difficulties per se are the most common form of difficulty seen in schools, perhaps because we easily recognise when a child's speech is not developing as expected. In an ideal world it will diagnosed early and appropriate and intensive intervention will offer the chance of very meaningful improvement. Sadly though these difficulties are often met with a 'lets review in six months' approach and these are extremely important months in language development and subsequently in the acquisition of literacy.
If a child is lucky enough they will receive the appropriate help but then people think it has been corrected totally and forever. The truth is that as with motor dyspraxia this is a lifelong disability. Individuals just learn to cope with it better and adopt strategies to overcome the difficulties they experience.
My own son was not one of the lucky ones, therapy was a very rare resource and his therapeutic input came rather too late. He didn't learn to read until he was 16 years old!
It did allow humour though. We watched the 'terrible vision' and he jumped on the 'bouncealine'. His words were often so much more appropriate that those in the dictionary. I can remember at his school (which was for children with speech, language and communication disorders) being sincerely welcomed to the 'Harvest Testicle' service! 

In reality most people with dyspraxia (with or without a diagnosis of DVD) can have language issues because they process information more slowly than most other people and when they have a thought or idea, their memory issues mean that they have to get the idea out NOW often causing them to interrupt others or to speak  hurriedly and with an ever increasing volume. This is not intentional, just a manifestation of the difficulty being experienced.

It may be difficult for the individual to keep up with a conversation at speed, or to change topics rapidly. It may be that spoken language is reasonable (my son can talk the hind legs off a donkey), but receptive language is impaired meaning that the individual is not really understanding what it is being said to them. This can make them look like they are lacking in intelligence because it takes them so long to 'get' things. They are in fact not lacking in intelligence at all, just differently wired.

Observing my own son recently I watched him as he tried to follow and contribute to a conversation being held by people he knew and was comfortable with. When he interjected he stuttered and stumbled in his efforts to compose a meaningful sentence, and the other contributors often finished his sentences or tried to second guess his contribution rather than giving him the time to be part of the conversation. Eventually he fell silent, lost his place in the conversation and returned to playing a game on his tablet, and his isolation. He was excluded by people who had no idea that they had excluded him.
Joe once said to me It is no good just explaining something. I have to feel the words. A wonderful explanation of how it is for him.

I watch him as he says 'eh?' to everything that is said to him and whilst I completely understand that it is his way of giving himself a little more time to process things, even I find it irritating at times to constantly repeat everything I say.

He also indulges in a lot of verbal rehearsal, planning and mouthing what he hopes to say next. This means that he is no longer really listening to what is being said to him, and that he looks rather eccentric as he madly mouths away to himself as he is walking down the street or in a crowded room. He is also unable to enjoy free writing as he cannot get the words together to both make a meaningful sentence AND write them down. He adores the theatre (and comes alive on stage) but learning lines is ridiculously difficult for him.

I often consider that if I sometimes am irritated, the person who knows him better than I have a right to and who absolutely 'gets' dyspraxia/DCD and what it means to those who are living with it, how must it seem to others, those that are newly acquainted. What it usually means is that he rarely indulges in conversations with people of the same age as him as he tends to gravitate to those who are older and less demanding or much younger who have less expectations of him, or others with difficulties., and that condenses his world. Developmental verbal dyspraxia cannot be seen but is very disabling in the fast paced world in which we live. I guess a reasonable analogy for those without it is to drop them off in a foreign country where no one speaks their language and ask them to navigate their way through the day. It is tough, frustrating, embarrassing and oh so lonely.

Joe tells me that it is like living with tape on your face. It is for the rest of us to peel away that tape and give him and others like him their voice.

What we might do to help?

• Give more time. Allow people to answer in an unrushed way. Perhaps use a bean bag or someone's wallet for the person who is speaking to hold until they have finished. Then pass it on.
• Encourage them to be honest. 'Please give me more time to listen and answer, I have a speech difficulty'
• Talk to them about something familiar or that they enjoy so they can feel comfortable.
• Help them to organise and plan their responses.
• Be compassionate.
• Include them.
• Use facial cues, visual prompts or body language to express yourself.
• Business cards with essential information will save the person having to remember and verbalise routine data.
• Be informed and help to raise awareness.

For further information please see...

www.ican.org.uk/help
www.talkingpoint.org.uk
www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
Supporting children http://blog.optimus-education.com/supporting-sen-pupils-speech-and-language-difficulties-classroom-strategies-teachers-and-assistants
www.afasic.co.uk
Apps for speech and language can be found at  https://www.afasic.org.uk/resources/apps-for-speech-and-language/


Ref. Williams P. Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (Dyspraxia Foundation Information sheet).

Barbed wire and barbie dolls. Neurodiversity and sensory overload.

People with ASD, dyspraxia and other hidden disabilities often have quite intense sensory systems. It may be that they feel more dynamically, smell  with greater intensity, taste assiduously,hear more keenly and see more brightly. It may be that they require some form of sensory input to calm themselves. For my son as a child it was blue tac and barbie dolls. He played with the hair tirelessly in times of need and required blue tac to squeeze in order to fall asleep.

mijo brands.

When he was at school he embarked on the ALERT (how does your engine run) programme and learned what he found energised him and what calmed him in times of over stimulation or distress. He was lucky to be somewhere with a full time Occupational Therapist who made it her business to explore this with each student. They were then each furnished with a bum back in which things such as therapy putty, stress balls, a small packet of raisins etc could be placed and used as needed and they were each given a code word which enabled them to leave a class and go outside to calm themselves as required. Such simple strategies which were absolutely lifesaving for him but also allowed for the smooth running of classrooms. People who fidget, bite their nails, twiddle with objects may be under aroused and those that avoid or run from situations may be over aroused.  Some may find light touch physically painful (like severe sunburn), or deep touch unbearable. Some may find haircuts and teeth brushing extremely distressing.We all have different thresholds of tolerance and these can change over time.

Sensory needs do not go away as people grow older. Some may diminish in intensity, some may be reduced by exposure and some may always impact the day and the individual needs to be able to access what helps them when they become distressed. They may stim *, wear headphones. use a stress ball, listen to music, push against a wall, chew gum. There are hundreds of different strategies which may assist different individuals. 

Sensory overload, is distressing and uncomfortable and anxiety provoking and is best avoided if at all [possible and it is for others to allow people to practice behaviours (within the parameters of acceptability) to enable that individual to remain calm and productive.

It is for parents to recognise the stressors, balloons popping at a party can be terrifying for some children, the many colourful displays that are in abundance in primary classrooms can be over stimulating and distracting, certain fabrics may feel like sandpaper against the skin, walking barefoot on some surfaces may be physically painful, looking someone in the eye may be extremely difficult, having different foodstuffs presented on one plate may induce nausea or the pungent smell of different food stuffs or different competing perfumes in the same small space simply overwhelming. A busy office may just be too much to bear whereas a quite corner in the same office may allow someone to be calm and productive.

There are things we can do to help. There are cushions for chairs,deep pressure lap blankets, twiddle pens, stress balls, movement, additional opportunity for breaks, study or work booths,  swivel chairs, big ball seats (which improve proprioceptive** and vestibular input#.) The list is endless.

We need to let people explore different textures, positions and environments, so that they can learn their limits and be in control of how to balance them. In a classroom situation this to me is a basic kindness as well as necessary for learning. In an office or work place it is about allowing a person to be comfortable, productive and valued. Something that is important to each of us and something that is surely every persons right. So if you see a child wearing head phones, or coloured glasses, or an adult rocking or chewing or who refuses to enter the works canteen, they are not weird, they are simply individuals who have learned that some things are intolerable and have discovered a way to make them less so. The rest of us need to listen, to accept and to allow for those very reasonable adjustments which make the school or work day something that can be looked forward to rather than dreaded.

*Stimming is a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner. It is thought to give comforting/pleasurable feedback.
** Proprioception perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body.
# Vestibular The body's system of balance