The 8th National Dyspraxia Conference - Paving the Way for Success

Check in, collect your badge, and enjoy tea or coffee while networking with fellow participants.

Join Dr Ellen Joan Ford as she kicks off our conference with powerful narratives from her military service and the Afghanistan evacuation. While the context may be different, the underlying mechanics are the same: a mission that required coordinating diverse stakeholders toward a single, shared purpose. Ellen will share how building a culture of Belonging, Autonomy, and Purpose can turn our unique backgrounds—whether as parents, teachers, medical practitioners, or those with a diagnosis—into a powerful high-performance collective. Prepare to be injected with hope, inspiration, and the enthusiasm needed to frame our journey of support for those with Dyspraxia.

Move beyond the stories and into a facilitated session designed to break down silos and encourage us to "join forces". In this interactive workshop, we will network with intent, valuing the diverse perspectives and experiences in the room to brainstorm how we can better support people with Dyspraxia in a meaningful and integrated way. You will leave this session with a framework for collective action, viewing the rest of the conference through a lens of how we can operate as an incredible, high-performing community together.

Professor Jill Zwicker will present results from her seminal studies examining brain changes following CO-OP (Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance) intervention in children with DCD. She will provide an overview of this treatment approach and share compelling findings for this intervention to become the standard of care for individuals with DCD.

Understanding dyspraxia/DCD is the first step towards creating environments where individuals can fully participate and reach their potential. This workshop provides an introduction to Developmental Dyspraxia / Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), exploring its impact on everyday activities, learning, organisation, and wellbeing. Drawing on current research, practical experience, and real-life perspectives, the session will highlight strengths-based approaches that help remove barriers and open opportunities for success. Participants will leave with a greater understanding of dyspraxia/DCD and a range of practical strategies to support confidence, independence, and meaningful participation across all stages of life.

Teenagers with dyspraxia bring unique strengths, perspectives and talents, yet the increasing demands of adolescence can sometimes make it difficult for these strengths to shine. This workshop takes a strengths-based approach to understanding dyspraxia during the teenage years. Rather than focusing solely on difficulties, we will explore how families, educators and professionals can create environments that enable young people to succeed, participate and build confidence in their abilities. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the everyday experiences of teenagers with dyspraxia and learn practical strategies to support independence, wellbeing, and meaningful participation. Topics will include managing school demands, developing executive functioning skills, supporting emotional wellbeing, understanding sensory needs and fostering positive social connections. The workshop aims to equip attendees with tools and ideas that help young people recognise their strengths, overcome barriers and thrive throughout adolescence and beyond.

In this workshop, Professor Jill Zwicker will outline the importance of diagnosis, describe how to assess and diagnose DCD, and share resources for families and health care providers to facilitate early identification and diagnosis.

In this workshop, we explore a practical, strengths-based approach that supports parents, educators, and therapists to understand children’s behaviour through a sensory processing and motor planning lens. Rather than asking, “How do we change the child?”, we focus on understanding what’s happening for the child and how we can make small, thoughtful changes to the environment, task, and our support to pave the way for success. Grounded in participation, belonging, and mana-enhancing practice, this approach combines curiosity with practical strategies to move beyond managing behaviour. Instead, we aim to create environments where children can participate, learn, connect, and thrive. You will come away with: • A deeper understanding of how hidden capacities—such as sensory processing and praxis—impact participation and behaviour • Insight into the importance of felt-safety, and how it shapes engagement, regulation, and learning • Practical ways to build a child’s sense of safety by increasing supportive signals (cues of safety) in everyday environments • The ability to apply a sensory processing, developmental, and trauma-informed lens to your thinking and practice • Simple, actionable strategies to “pave the way” and support meaningful participation

Writing is a core academic skill for learners to communicate their knowledge and ideas. Challenges with handwriting, however, can significantly impact a learners’ engagement, enjoyment, and achievement at school. Handwriting difficulties can be evident in DCD, but when do these challenges warrant further investigation? In this workshop, the process of SLD in written expression identification and diagnosis will be explored. This will be followed by a few key strategies which benefit those with DCD and/or SLD in written expression. The aim of this presentation is to give listeners a better understanding of the commonalities and differences of these two neurodevelopmental disorders. This presentation is suitable for whānau, educators, therapists and support staff.

Come and participate in the interactive workshop where you will learn how to implement this programme in your schools and homes. The ABC Programme is a ten minute a day in-school exercise programme compiled for teacher aides, teachers and adults to work with children (and adults) with dyspraxia/DCD, and children who display difficulties with attention, balance, coordination and fine and gross motor skills. The programme works equally as well when used at home by parents. Every step forward is celebrated, no matter how small! Wellbeing and self-confidence play an important role in everyday life, and supporting both is central to my work. Through my experience delivering the ABC Programme, I have seen that students with Dyspraxia / Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), as well as those experiencing difficulties with attention, balance and coordination, often face challenges with confidence and self-esteem. These difficulties can affect participation in physical activities, engagement in learning, and social inclusion. The ABC Programme was designed to focus on strengths, celebrate progress, and create positive movement experiences that build confidence, capability and enjoyment.

Dyspraxia affects many aspects of life and it is different for every individual. We often look at the condition from the outside, through the expression of the symptoms of dyspraxia. However, if we could view the experience from within dyspraxia outwards, what alternative ways can your mind come up with to manage dyspraxia in everyday life? What if you allowed your innate wisdom to guide and instruct you to develop your best way forward to move around and above dyspraxia? “What you see depends not only on what you look AT, but also on where you look FROM.” Therefore, whilst it is important to learn about Dyspraxia to understand it’s presentation of symptoms to help figure out which tools can be applied effectively and how best to support your child or person to navigate through life and to successfully integrate into society, would knowing how dyspraxia feels like change the way you relate with it? Would it make you a better parent, teacher, therapist or employer? During this short presentation, we are going to address several common challenges experienced by individuals with dyspraxia. We will • Address how the mind works and what can be done consciously and subconsciously. • Identify practical ways to overcome hurdles experienced • Understand the importance of changing perspective to shift confidence • Identify some strengths and weaknesses that can be worked around • Discuss ways to approach them to optimise social integration • Gain some insight of how to develop everyday skills

Children with Developmental Dyspraxia/DCD frequently experience feeding challenges that extend well beyond "picky eating." Difficulties with oral motor coordination, postural stability, sensory processing, motor planning, executive functioning, anxiety, and mealtime participation often interact to create complex feeding presentations that can significantly impact nutrition, family wellbeing, and quality of life. This presentation explores the relationship between DCD and paediatric feeding difficulties through a multidisciplinary lens. Participants will gain an understanding of how motor coordination, sensory processing, psychological factors, and nutrition influence feeding development and participation. Drawing on current evidence and extensive clinical experience, Rebecca will discuss practical assessment considerations, differentiate common feeding presentations including Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), and share evidence-based intervention strategies that clinicians can apply in practice. Attendees will leave with greater confidence in recognising feeding challenges in children with DCD and practical tools to support positive, family-centred mealtime outcomes.

Relax at the end of the first days session, connect with fellow delegates and speakers over a coffee or a cold drink.