Dyspraxia or something else?

[Moggy72]

Hi there - I have twin DS that are 5 years old and currently in reception. One of my DS has worried me for a while now. But it is a slight niggling feeling that he is not completely wired the right way. The teacher has asked that he be evaluated by an OT. He is very loving and affectionate to me and my DH. He makes eye contact and plays with his twin DS. However he doesn't socially interact that well with other kids in class. He has diction issues and is already having speech therapy. He is left handed and has an unnatural pencil grip. He is also quite immature and quite sensitive. He is probably 2 years ahead in his reading and maths ability. He seems to have a bit of an odd perception of time i.e. not a proper recognition of last week versus yesterday. His teacher also says he sometimes struggles to follow instructions. Is this likely to be dyspraxia or something else ?

[Moggy72]

Bumping

[ancientbuchanan]

Not an expert but worth keeping a record of your niggles to discuss with the O T. How far does he rely on his DS to compensate for him? ( eg in speech, following instruction etc)

[Moggy72]

Ancientbuchanan thanks for your post. He doesn't really rely on his brother for speech or instructions. His speech is just less intelligible. Regarding instructions - to be honest my DH and I don't notice anything. It is the school that brought it up. As I said he is high performing in some areas - making it difficult to put my finger on what is wrong.

[blankgaze]

A spiky profile is an indicator that you need to start investigating. It's common for anyone on the spectrum to have results in the 80-ish and above centiles in some areas alongside below 10s in others. Making eye contact and showing empathy are nowadays seen as common traits within the spectrum.

You've mentioned speech delay, above average reading and maths, possible social interaction difficulties and school have flagged sometimes struggling to follow instructions (which is a processing issue) so just for those things I'd advise you start the ball rolling to get his needs assessed. You are very lucky that school have noticed, so many don't bother and insist kids are 'fine' when parents know they are not.

The particular label doesn't matter as much as his needs being met.