Dyspraxia advice

[trunkybun]

Hi to all!
I've been lurking on this site for a while now, and have found some of the general advice regarding SN incredibly helpful. I just wondered I could pick your collective brains regarding what is really (I suppose) a fairly trivial ongoing problem with my DS who is 5 and been diagnosed with Dyspraxia? How can I improve his awareness of the mess he makes of himself when eating? it seems that whatever he is eating manages to find its way all over his face, sleeves, hands, arms and anything else in the general vicinity?! he is then completely unaware that he looks like he has been involved in an extremely enthusiastic food fight and will happily go back to class or roll around on the furniture (thus transfering said foodstuffs all over the house) I feel that I am constantly nagging him at the moment and worry that when he is at school the other kids will just laugh at him

[Saker]

Hi
Not sure I have any great suggestions but wanted to sympathise.
My Ds2 is also 5 and has quite bad motor problems although no dyspraxia diagnosis. His eating is also appallingly messy - he eats mostly with his fingers (even things like soup, he will try to scoop up) and is always covered in food meaning I spend meals jumping up and down with a facecloth. With dyspraxia, children have a general lack of body awareness so probably can't feel the food all over their faces. (An OT would probably suggest games in front of the mirror making faces, licking honey off lips etc to try and get them to know their face a bit better?)

In terms of school, my Ds2 goes to a special needs unit so they are tolerant of his problems - however to make life easier for the dinner ladies, he has packed lunch and I try to put in the least messy options - e.g. sandwiches, banana, cold sausage, grapes etc not yoghurt, chocolate. I also put a damp flannel in so they can wipe his face - could you teach your Ds to wipe his face as a matter of course after lunch - even stick one of those sticky mirror things onto the inside of his lunchbox lid so he can check what he looks like?

[trunkybun]

Hi there
Thanks for your response and suggestions, the mirror is a great idea but I worry then about drawing attention to his difficulties, he goes to a mainstream school and I feel he is starting to become aware that he has a few problems that the others don't have!, but I think I will put wet wipes in as he cannot even eat a banana without smearing it around his mouth, and you're right he is completely oblivious to the feel of it on his skin. He has an OT appointment in July, so it will be interesting to see if they do the mirror thing. It would be good if they could also find a way of getting him to keep his trousers pulled up, again he is completely unaware he spends half the day mooning to the whole school (something I wish I could do half the time!!)

[Saker]

Yes, I know what you mean, Ds2 can also make a banana cover a wide area. It is difficult with school, have you had a word with the teachers - could a kind dinner lady be asked to keep an eye on him when he's leaving the dinner hall? With the mirror, I wonder about a sticky tile sort of mirror which could be made to look almost like it is part of the lunchbox, but it is hard, you don't want him to feel strange.

What sort of trousers has he got - you can get ones with adjustable waists that don't fall down so easily or quite often I put Ds2 in a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms which are more comfortable. Again it is different for Ds2 because he has lots of other problems also so is in the unit and also doesn't really worry about what other children think. Plus his school is very tolerant and SN orientated in general, because of having the unit.

Have you looked at the Dyscovery Centre website - they may have some useful information or you could try posting on their board for ideas from other parents.

[trunkybun]

Hi there
Yes he wears the adjustable trousers, but finds it difficult to pull them up properly if they are adjusted tightly enough so that they don't fall down (he is tall but slim, so trousers that are long enough for him are often too big in the waist!) have tried stitching a band of thick elastic to the top, and also stitching the grippy stuff that you get at the top of 'hold ups' but with limited success he too just doesn't care what others think at the moment, the other day he walked out into the school corridor completely naked because he had taken in the wrong bag to change for swimming!! he couldn't understand why the other kids thought it was funny

[Saker]

Oh bless him! Is his school supportive - I think the best thing would to try and establish some help for him at school - nothing major but his teacher and other staff ought to be able to keep an eye on him - many younger children may need some help with dressing, personal hygiene etc.

[trunkybun]

Hi
Yes the school is supportive, and to be honest, if it weren't for them he probably wouldn't even have a diagnosis. We always knew he had his 'little ways' but were never unduly worried about them. He is a great little guy, and we would never change a thing about him, he has us in stitches every day, and makes us look at stuff differently all the time.
Without being nosy, what kind of school does your DS attend? are there many advantages with attending a 'specialist' school as opposed to a mainstream school, I apologise if I am being insensitive, I am just very aware that some times my DS has good days when I wonder why I worry at all, and then others when he seems very impaired and I cannot see how he will ever keep up with his peers!!how has your DS benefitted with his current school?
Also, thanks very much for your kind advice

[Saker]

No problems, I don't mind you asking at all. Ds2 has a lot of different problems not just dyspraxia. He has sensory integration problems, autism like traits, and big speech and language difficulties. His motor skills are very very behind - we were celebrating him managing to take off one shoe yesterday and he's 5! So he could never manage in mainstream without 1:1 the whole time. He is currently in a unit called an assessment unit attached to a mainstream school. There are 10 kids and three or four members of staff plus extra dinner time support. The advantages are that he feels part of a class and included rather than been stuck in the corner with a 1:1. He gets specialist teaching suited to his level. He has learning diffuiculties so would be well behind a mainstream class. He also has access to speech and language therapy and after much hassling, OT. Hopefully he will get a place in a full special school when his time finishes at the assessment unit. If you feel your son needs more support you could consider applying for a statement.

[Saker]

Also I'm not sure my advice has been much use, but wanted you to know I sympathised. Sometimes I get so sick of wiping food off Ds2! It's the small things that get you down! But he too is lovely and has us laughing every day with the things he comes out with.

[sphil]

Trunkybun - my DS1 is nearly six and I could have written your post! I always put kitchen roll in his lunch box and, like Saker, avoid the more obviously messy things. Since he moved schools (two weeks ago) he's been coming home with his face and clothes much cleaner - so either he's getting better or they have more sensitive supervision ( I suspect the latter, as although it's a m/s school, they have a Language Unit on site and a special school next door, so are very clued up about SN). I don't know what to do about the trouser problem though - DS comes out of school every day with his Spiderman pants on show. In retrospect, I wish I'd bought him less colourful underwear . He can pull his trousers up, but seems to find it impossible to hook his thumbs under and unroll the waistband.

He doesn't have a dx yet but we are having a meeting with the school in a fortnight to discuss whether we should pursue it. I think dyspraxia is likely, but he also has some Aspergers traits.

There's a thread on the Education board (titled 'Dreamer of dreams..") where a number of mums post whose children have dyspraxia or dyspraxic like traits. I've found it a mine of info - especially as some mums of older children post there, so can look back and give wise advice!

[trunkybun]

Thanks Sphil for your response, it's nice to know I'm not alone!! DS also has spiderman and power ranger underwear which I always use as it's difficult even for him to get them on the wrong way round!! he also finds it hard to untuck the waistband, and when he is told to pull his trousers up (about 20 times a day) he will always put his hands inside his pants and pull them up instead, so still has 3-4" underpants on show Saker thanks too for your advice, I have thought about a statement, but will wait and see how he goes with extra support from the school (who have been quite good)they are waiting for the O.T's report to see where to go from here.
Take care All

[sphil]

Oh God the hands inside the pants! We have that too!!!

The other day DS1 got himself dressed when no-one was in the room and had put his white polo shirt on OVER his sweatshirt. Mind you, he was watching Mystic Power Rangers on TV at the time