Dyspraxia v's Autism ,who decides?

[whatswrongnow]

Long one, sorry. My dd has a few issues and is sent here there and every where! A speech therapist who was assessing her said she may show signs of autism and sent a referral for an autism assessment. Teacher felt she had balance issues and sent for a OT assessment. The OT's did the assessment and called us in for the report. I was speed reading the report while they read it and saw no key words like dyspraixa or DCD and thought to myself, grand. OT finished reading and said by the way scores on last page indicate dyspraixa but we cant say she has it because she is on the waiting list for an autism assessment. We are sitting there going ,what but we just agreed to do the autism assessment because we were told turn nothing down(2 year waiting list for autism assessment). Talked with them and they said they would sent report to pediatric doc in local hospital. according to them you cant have autism and DCD ,One or the other. Any one heard of this or why can't the OT say that dd had Dyspraixa. Hosiptal say 6 month wait to see ped's doc !

[Ineedmorepatience]

There is a huge crossover between DCD and Asd so I can see why the OT's would want to hold off.

The main thing you need to do is to ensure that school are using strategies to support your Dd's needs. Having a dx is obviously useful but believe me it is not the be all and end all.

Give school a copy of the OT report it should have recommendations on it, if it hasnt go back to OT and ask them to make some.

Fwiw, I know one child who has both dx's. My own child has a primary Dx of Asd with sensory processing disorder, dyslexia, hypermobility tagged on.

The school still need very specific instructions on how to help her. Get a meeting with the senco, follow it up with an email about what you have discussed and start to create a paper trail.

Good luck

[Ineedmorepatience]

Sorry meant to say, while you are waiting try out some strategies used with children with either or both conditions and see what helps. We use lots of visual reminders for Dd3.

Also keep a diary of any issues day to day, what causes them (if you know), what impact they have on her and how you deal with them.
Dont be surprised if the paeds try to send you on a parenting course
Cos all these difficulties are caused by us crap parents dont you know
Stay strong

[2boysnamedR]

My son has a dx of Dcd. He has so many asd traits but I keep being told it's just the Dcd symptoms. I'm still pretty sure he has enought asd traits to have asd. I will never get that dx on the nhs, they just can't see there is more going on

My indi ep has flagged up lots of social and communication thigs, but nope, school don't see it

[whatswrongnow]

thank you for the reply's :-) . We were at the school with the OT and dd's teacher and resource teacher while they read the report. The teacher has already put some resources in place for her, but if they had a DCD DX they could give her 3 hrs of resouces

[Ineedmorepatience]

No support should be based on diagnosis whats as I said it should be based on need

[whatswrongnow]

thanks Ineed, i'm just happy the school is doing something. The OT'S have allready said they are signing off on her as there is nothing more they can do, due to cut backs! She came home happy today as she was taken out of class twice today for gross and fine motor skills exercise.

[Ineedmorepatience]

That is a start whats make sure they keep it up.

Sorry to hear that the OT's are discharging her though

[surfinDog]

They're spinning you a line...

My child has ASD in addition to Dyspraxia, ADHD and other conditions...

Most kids I know with special needs have a range of diagnosis, very rare in my experience to meet a child with just one diagnosis (as the co-morbidities are so common!)

I'd put in writing to them . "You said she meets the criteria for dcd, so why are you not diagnosing? "

Whether an ASD diagnosis comes along later or not is irrelevant. If, at this moment in time she meets criteria for DCD, that is what should be given.

Check out Dyspraxia foundation on web for good info and a great book is : Dyspraxia by Amanda Kirby.

[2boysnamedR]

I'm lucky my ds gets ongoing ot. He must be bad as my county don't normally see kids more than five times if ever. If you get a Dcd diagnosis it should be enough to keep them on all the books. Ds could in theroy see pead, ot and physio without waiting back at the bottom of the list. With Dcd / dyspraxia things can get worse, pain start up etc and you don't want to see your child unable to walk home from school while you wait six months to see physio. But maybe we just got lucky?

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

My DS has both DCD and AS, he was diagnosed with both by an NHS paediatrician without ever being seen by an OT. She diagnosed the DCD first and referred him to OT, then diagnosed the AS 6 months later. OT discharged him after 18 months though.

[Homerun]

Diagnosis of DCD depends on a set of criteria, one of which is that there isn't an underlying neurological condition which could be affecting movement. This means that a paediatrician usually signs the diagnosis off.
ASC and DCD do occur together but autism often can affect the motivation to perform motor tasks, so assessment needs to be really thorough to make sure that there is also a core motor coordination issue as well. Your OT is right to wait for the thorough ASC assessment - a dual diagnosis can then be given if warranted .

[zazzie]

We were told that although ds has many symptoms of DCD he wouldn't be considered for diagnosis because of the severity of his autism and because his motor skills although very delayed (functionally around 24 months when he is 8) are actually his biggest strength. He does have an OT programme provided through his school.

[Bowwowchikkawowwow]

Ds has a diagnosis of ASD, he has just had the MABC-2 and scored 1 percentile. I presume that at the next paed appointment they will diagnose DCD.

[whatswrongnow]

thanks for all the advice. We are in Ireland but i understand a bit better about the dcd v's autism now. She will see her peed's doc in march next year and we will go from there.

[Janey64]

Hi sorry to hear you are having the run around. My son has dx of Asperger's and Dyspraxia (and life threatening asthma!) so you can get both. Paed sounds like a good way to go.

When my ds was diagnosed the consultant told me to have a lot at the Asperger Foundation website. They have lots of information sheets and clearly state that dyspraxia occurs with frequently with hypermobility, co-ordination issues and speech and language. Have a look here www.aspergerfoundation.org.uk/info.htm .

The consultant also suggested I had a look at Tony Attwood's website and buy his book, so I did! I also went to a study day where he was speaking. When we went back to see the consultant, she was really pleased - she said most parents don't listen to her advice!

[Ineedmorepatience]

I have heard of a child today being given a dx of autism when he already has a DCD dx.

Dont know if that helps in anyway but it shows some proffs are dx'ing both.