any dyspraxic children do this? puzzled.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

DD very nearly 7 has a lot of 'odd' things going on which I am starting to realise are probably motor planning related but she is remarkably well coordinated and has good pencil grip, draws well (can't write neatly at all).

Today she had a wobbly tooth and I said to her to lie down with her head on my knee so I could have a look, she lay down with her feet on my knee. we joked about it, I assumed she was just not paying attention and thought it was a bit odd but it wasn't until a couple of hours later when she wanted me to look at the tooth again and she did exactly the same. She then corrected herself and burst into tears saying that she was trying to put her head on my knee but it didn't work and it was her feet instead.

I don't know what to do. Is this something dyspraxic children do or am I looking at the wrong condition, is it something else?

she has a specific word finding difficulty - good vocabulary but takes ages to remember the words, substitutes words with opposites etc like window/door, hand/finger, brother/sister. excellent phonological awareness until you get to 4 syllable words where it all goes wrong and things come out in the wrong order. says when she is reading that it is right in her head but comes out wrong, if she tries to sound out a new word (she is an advanced reader) then she sees the letters right but says the wrong sounds so th for t or t for th, sees a g but 'can't get it to come out in the word' and so on.

please help with ideas if you can.

[orangepudding]

Putting the body in the wrong position doesn't seem unusual for a dyspraxia. My son often does this, I usually have to physically help him if I want him in a certain position.

Has your DD seen a speech therapist?

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

thanks for replying. Yes we saw a SALT in the spring who diagnosed the word finding difficulty. she was concerned about DD's movements, sitting position etc and said we should see the physio too (this was all private not NHS) so we saw the physio. She did the ABC test and verbally seemed to be saying DD was hypermobile (which she is but noone will diagnose but I am too as are most of my family so I ignore that) and had lots of dyspraxic traits but the report doesn't seem to show this as much and she scored in normal ranges. Comments from the Physio were that whilst she is in normal ranges the WAY she does things is different, it takes her a while to rehearse the movement to be able to do it but she can do it in the end so therefore can't be diagnose from what I gather.

she saw an NHS SALT a week or so ago to rule out ASD and she was the one who mentioned motor planning to me when I mentioned my concerns.

It is a relief to see that your son is similar. I have been worrying about it so much. She didn't seem to have any problems when she was younger so I have been worrying about something degenerative but she is still learning things so I don't see how it can be. I just wonder if she is overloaded and her coping mechanisms are failing her.

I just really don't know what to do. I phoned the community paediatrician today in tears to ask if we can self refer back to him (saw him in January with regards to the school referral about possible ASD which I said all along she doesn't have and now the NHS SALT says the same as do all the professionals we have seen over the months) and he was very nice and suggested some things but we can't do anything until the ASD Paed makes a decision based on the SALT report that hasn't come through yet and the ASD Paed said she would cancel the next appointment if the NHS SALT was happy it wasn't social or higher language problems.

argh.

[billiejeanbob]

Alot of what you have said sounds very similiar to my dd - she has dyspraxia and dyslexia. the word finding difficulty is quite common with dyslexia. has your dd had any input from an EP?
I was very upset like you when I first became aware of dd's difficulties and I still have days where it hits me like a ton of bricks all over again. I used to drive myself crazy on google and looking at degenerative disorders etc. I think the symptoms of dyspraxia can overlap with a lot of other disorders so try not to worry yourself too much. remember the more we read and learn about various symptoms, the more we will notice. so although it might appear that your dd has lots of new symptoms it might be that they have always been there but you have only just noticed now that the symptoms are more apparent.
stay strong (((hugs)))

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

thank you. the word finding difficulty really scared me. My dad has Primary Progressive Aphasia which he developed around the time he turned 60, we have just had to put him into a home as it has become full blown alzheimers. I panicked she had something like that.

It is odd though I hadn't been told of any link to dyslexia or dyspraxia, I found it out on here by chance. It would make more sense though from what she says about it all being right in her head but then the sequencing or processing is going wrong.

You are probably right I might only be noticing the motor planning stuff since I spoke to the ASD SALT. I used to just think she wasn't trying. I feel bad I have shouted at her so many times for so many things that I now think she genuinely can't help. mealtimes - the mess, she uses her knife and fork well but somehow all the food goes on the floor. she has excellent pencil grip but her writing is bad, well I suppose it isn't bad but it isn't improving like you would expect after practicing. she can draw well, very detailed. sometimes exceptional but other times it is more that it is detailed but age appropriate if that makes sense.

I don't know. I think I can see all these symptoms of it but then because she isn't behind and can tie a bow they dismiss them.

[Ineedmorepatience]

I would recommend you find an OT, someof what you have said sounds like proprioception difficulties.

My Dd3 does have Asd, she also has sensory processing disorder and hypermobility. The SPD effects the way she moves, her balance and in fact most parts of her life.

She also struggles with writing and cutlery. She is currently doing a program of sensory intergration therapy which is hopefully going to help.

Good luck

[statementtotheedge]

I also need to help my 7 year old DS with dyspraxia to position his body
I agree with the previous poster that him seeing an OT has been really helpful. There was a huge wait to see them. I eventually complained to our local MP and he was seen much sooner. He has had a course of therapy in school from NHS OT too, with another planned in September.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

thank you - yes she does have some proprioception issues. I can see I am really going to have to push all of this to get anywhere aren't I. Noone seem to want to look into it at all.

[billiejeanbob]

Unfortunately in my area the OT services are useless. They assessed my dd noted that her scores reflected a coordination disorder and discharged her! We had her assessed independently and the assessment was worth the money x10. The OT explained all of her sensory issues and suddenly alot of her behaviour seemed to make sense and finally I felt like I understood my dd.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

She had her ABC test done privately with a physio but whilst she told me verbally lots of things which were issues the report didn't include them so it looks like she is fine when actually lots of observations all added together and then added to her word finding problem, her reading issues (well output, it is right in her head but comes out in wrong order) etc would, to me, indicate a problem. They are closed now until Sep so I think I am going to have to speak to them and see what they say. The centre has physios, OTs, SALTS and others and they already have her history etc so perhaps they will revisit it with all the info together and come up with something?

[Ineedmorepatience]

The OT that Dd3 has received on the NHS has not been anything like as good as what she gets privately.

The NHS OT's are lovely and they have helped her but even they say that they do not have the resources to offer sensory intergration therapy.

It is a shame but thats the way it is in most areas, I use some of Dd3's DLA to pay for her therapy.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

sounds like OT is the way to go.

I got her NHS SALT report through today which they have copied to the school SENCo as well as the Ed Psych (who we have had no contact with so hopefully that might help raise some questions), I also dropped in a letter to the community paediatrician stating my concerns that noone is looking into her motor planning issues and so on. Nothing to lose by asking again for someone to consider her. I stated that given all of this is suddenly all showing up more obviously would imply her coping strategies are failing as she is becoming overloaded so I want it looked into before she crashes completely. He is a very nice man and has a good reputation with other parents so I am hopeful.

One of my friends is an OT (nowhere near us sadly) and she has made the same comment that there just isn't any resource for children really.

[orangepudding]

It is so hard to get an OT appointment. We saw a private OT who performed the ABC test, DS is on the 2nd percentile. According to my GP he isn't ' bad' enough to need OT treatment or need an to see a Pead. After lots of begging he agreed to refer him to a pead but said the referral would be rejected. It wasn't rejected and he has an appointment next week. It's so hard to get appointments even if you have solid proof of a problem.

[2boysnamedR]

Sounds like a dyspraxic thing to me. When my ds had his ears vacuumed he lay on the bed. The doctor did one side and then wanted to the other side. The doctor wanted to walk around the bed. Cue ds getting his head at the foot of the bed, lay on his tummy etc. we could get him to understand he just needed to not move as the doctor could move. It's good not too make a big deal and laugh it off ( but not laughing at them). I just correct him gently and hope his body awareness improves in time. I don't think addressing it there and then works my my ds as he's already confused by then

[2boysnamedR]

My son does gymnastics and dance in theartre club. It's good for motor planning and core strength without them even knowing, or course it's not easy watching as at almost seven poor ds can't hop or jump but he loves gym, and at dance can do things he can't do outside the dance hall

[elliejjtiny]

I have dyspraxia and I would have got head and feet muddled up when I was younger. Even now I struggle when DS4's physio is teaching me new exercises to do with him. I get words wrong too.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

sorry I should have been clearer about the ASD. basically noone thought she had ASD except the old SENCO but having started the process with the referral we saw the community paed. he had a couple of minor concerns because she is oversensitive, justice driven and he was concerned she didn't 'get' metaphors at just turned 6. so he said the other paed should see her. she didn't seem very concerned at all, especially after seeing the school's questionnaire and ours and the fact that once her word finding difficulty had been diagnosed she was less stressed and oversensitive so the paed just wanted to get the SALT to rule out a social communication problem or a higher language problem. the paed told me that if these were ruled out then she would cancel our next appointment with her as there was no need for anything further therefore the SALT saying that she didn't have either of these has ruled out ASD. Sorry - it made sense to me but obviously I didn't give you the details.

We were given some exercises to do for body awareness but she doesn't seem to have a problem with any of them, it is just so strange. I don't understand how she can sometimes be SO bright and really quite well coordinated and other times she can become confused easily and be very clumsy.