Dyspraxia

[nappyaddict]

I have been looking at the list of symptoms for Dyspraxia which seems to overlap with Autism which DS was diagnosed with when he was 3.6 He is 5.0 now.

DS has the following:

High levels of excitability (makes lots of noises, flaps arms, marches, goes on tip toes)
Easily distressed and prone to temper tantrums
Sometimes bumps into things, doesn't pay attention or look where he is going
Difficulty pedalling, jumping, awkward way of walking and running, using cutlery without help
Spills lots of food if eats indepenently
No sense of danger - touches kettle, fire, oven, chip pan, runs out of shops, goes into the road
Avoidance of constructional toys like jigsaws, shape sorters, building blocks
Poor fine motor skills - difficulty holding pencil and using scissors
Immature drawing and copying skills
Lack of imaginiative play - just starting to do role play with transport toys (one of his "things")
Isolation an rejection with NT peers of the same age. They don't "get" eachother or interact well unless the other child is quite a lot older, at the same stage developmentally (and therefore younger or also SN) or knows him well and understands he is different. DS loves the company of adults. Never asks to play with other children.
Language difficulties
Sensory problems with noise, minimally wet clothes, certain clothes, kisses.
Poor listening skills. Only follows simple verbal instructions. Struggles with more than one instruction at a time, is slow to respond to more complicated instructions and has problems understanding.
Limited concentration - tasks often left unfinished
Was very slow to feed from birth and slow to gain weight. We think he may have had silent reflux which he was medicated for.
Sat at 9/10 months, commando crawled at 11/12 months, crawled properly a few months later, walked at 20/21 months.
Difficulties in PE with balance and coordination.
Unable to dress himself but can now fully undress if there are no buttons.

One thing it mentions in the list of symptoms is limited creative play. What do they mean by this? He enjoys scribbling, using a paint brush, stickers, play dough etc but doesn't really do anything recognisable with them or try to.

What extra support would DS get from a dyspraxia diagnosis that he doesn't already access with Autism? Would he be likely to get regular OT or physio cos they discharged him from that which I wasn't really happy about because although he has made huge improvements as you can tell physically he is no where near where a NT 5 year old should be or even a 2 or 3 year old with a lot of things.

[nappyaddict]

Oh I think he also has low muscle tone and he dribbles a lot. Not sure if that ties in with Dyspraxia or not?

[Ben10isthespawnofthedevil]

That does sound like my DS who is 6 and has got a dyspraxia dx and is waiting for ASD assessment. We are going through private OT though as NHS OT said that there was nothign wrong with him. Others on here might have more helpful experiences for you of the OT/Physio provision that they have.

I understand creative play to be playing with a block and pretending it is a car type stuff. DS did none of this. He plays all games still as he has seen them on television or the rules (whichever rules he has decided on that day )

What it should get you is things for the classroom such as writing slope, wobble cushion or wedge, pencils with grips, long loop scissors, movement breaks etc. However this should all be available to your DS without a DX, just based on need - this of course is school dependent though.

[IndigoBell]

NappyAddict - he'd get less support with a dx of dyspraxia, then with a dx of ASD.

ASD / ADHD / Dyspraxia and Dsylexia are all part of the same thing. Really don't worry about the dx. Instead decide what you're going to do to treat his problems.

There are so many therapies that treat all 4 of those conditions. I have found that everything that helped my DS's ASD/Dsypraxia has also helped my DD's dyslexia. And I've also found that none of the therapists cared what dx the kids had - they cared what symptoms they had.

[george11]

I would disagree that dyspraxia, ADD and ADHD are all part of the same thing. Dyspraxia can certainly overlap with autism and dyslexia but according to my son's consultant, apart from certain similar 'characteristics', ADD and ADHD are separate conditions.

[LizT123]

Nappyadict - it does sound a lot like dyspraxia.

I agree with the other posters that it's not the label which gets you the help that the child needs but the problems they have. No-one could care less if the label is dyspraxia, but if the child has poor gross and fine motor skills, sensory difficulties, oral dyspraxia which can lead to difficulties with speech, poor muscle tone, balance and co-ordination difficulties etc, you should be able to fight for OT support and physio. My DS has had both OT and physio on and off - he is now 12 and we are back seeing the physio (having moved from Devon to Shropshire which is so much better in terms of support for DS) and are still waiting to see the OT. You may not get much specific help - at the age of 6 DS was on 2 x 8 week OT sessions where parents dropped off children and returned 1.5 hours later after the kids had spent group time with the OTs, then a further 6 week session where parents were able to work with their children and the OTs - at least then we found out what was happening! Physio help (at age 3 and again now) has been by way of suggested exercises or activities to do with DS which will help with developing muscle tone, balance skills, eye/ball co-ordination etc. Very regular repetition of exercises or actions (eg throwing, catching) etc seems to help the dyspraxic brain to register the activity into the part of the brain which deals with "learned" activities rather than constantly having to use the part of the brain which deals with new learning activities to work out what to do.

Its important to get the school on your side and get them to help your child by breaking down instructions into short, manageable chunks so they don't lose track part way through, use visual aids to support understanding, give them extra time to get changed for PE etc rather than stress them by rushing them (yes it does take ages for a dyspraxic child to get dressed), and make sure that if balance is a problem that they are aware of this in terms of danger for your child in going up and down stairs or in crowded situations - or in PE.

My DS still finds it easiest to dress in clothes which have a distinct front and back so he gets them the right way round. Socks with coloured heels helps with organising how they go on. Shoes with velcro are essential. There are lots of ways of helping the child be more independent even when motor and organisational skills lag far behind the norm.