Dyspraxia

[debs40]

Hi

I have been posting about my son and his sensory issues.

I saw my GP today and she has referred him to a developmental paediatrician. She has mentioned possible dyspraxia.

Has anyone any experience of this?

thanks

[paranoid2]

My DT2 , 7 has dyspraxic and ADHD traits and is under a paed at the moment. His fine motor skills are ok but he is a bit behind on his gross motor skills. I think his balance is his biggest problem although he can ride a bike , hop etc. He is not very coordinated and is not good at football. However great at swimming. The range of symptoms is large and like lots of children he has some but not all traits. Dt2 also has a problem with loud noise (i believe sensory issues often go along with dyspraxia) . He went through a really bad patch before xmas where he seemed to anticpate every noise and was more scared that it was going to happen rather than the actual noise itself. He has improved since xmas and his teacher has noticed an improvement too. I was quite concerned for a while as it was having an impact on what we could and couldnt do . He didnt want to go to where he had his last birthday party as the music was too loud, yet it hadnt bothered him 6 months ago. I remember your posts about the sensory issues but I dont recall you saying that your Ds has motor skills issues and I think these are essential for a diagnosis of dyspraxia.

[debs40]

Hi

Thanks for responding. The doctor explored this with me and there were some things like he can't push the pedals on a bike and has difficulty dressing and can't coordinate to swim etc.

She thought it was worth exploring but agreed it might be something else or nothing ... i.e. just him!

[Widemouthfrog]

Hi Debs,

I'm glad your GP has taken your concerns seriously and hopefully you will not wait too long to see the paediatrician.

You have taken the first step. Hope you get some answers that help you move forward.

[troutpout]

Hi yes
ds (11) has aspergers,dyspraxia and hypermobile joints.
Fine motor skills aren't so bad...balance is poor. He has an unstable pelvis..and a tremor in his right arm. Writing isn't too bad. Organisational skills are appalling.

Cannot catch a ball to save his life

He does exercises once a day atm to improve all of these things

Has huge sensory problems...very sesitive which we have always put down to the aspergers tbh...although there seems to be a lot of overlap

[coppertop]

Ds1's official dx is ASD but he has pretty much all the signs of dyspraxia too.

He has difficulties with fine motor skills and has had a lot of help at school to help with this. He was in Yr2 before he could write more than a word or two without his hands hurting.

He also has problems with gross motor skills and tends to be very clumsy. He's still a long way from being able to pedal a bike, even one with stabilisers. (He's 8).

He has a lot of sensory issues but, as Troutpout says, there can be a lot of overlap there so I don't know whether this is purely due to the ASD or if the dyspraxic elements also play a part.

[mumgoingcrazy]

Debs, the Out of sync child and Out of sync child has fun are fantastic books and cover all of SPD and Dyspraxia as they are so closely linked. Once I read these everything became clear about DD2's condition.

[leamac]

My 9 year old son has DCD which is very similar

He has real problems with both fine and gross motor skills, he can't ride a bike, play football or any other sport, he finds it difficult to cross his midline, he struggles in school and hates loud noises, his hand writing is in a class of its own

he is however the most popular, well liked boy in his school and takes it all in his stride.

Don't worry all kind find their own way in life, and we're all good at something

leanne

[claw3]

Dyspraxia is a subtype of Sensory Processing Disorder. I dont have any experience of Dyspraxia itself, but my son has Modulation Disorder which is also a subtype of SPD, so i have come across it quite a bit.

As far as im aware the best person to deal with sensory issues is an OT who is trained in sensory issues.

All the Community Paediatricians that my ds has seen over the years didnt have a clue about sensory issues, nor did my GP, you are lucky to have a GP who recognises sensory issues, mine just me my ds would grow out of it!

I have a few websites bookmarked for SPD, which would definately mention Dyspraxia, let me know if needed.

[usnkidz]

my dd1 (6) was referred to senco at school prior to christmas and she waiting to be seen. Teacher thinks she has dyspraxia, didnt really know what it was but ive searched the internet and I have discovered she a lot of the symtoms poor handwritting, cannot use knife n fork, does not like loud sounds especially alarms, the list is getting longer!.So im not sure whats going to happen.

[claw3]

USN - i know the feeling about the list getting longer. I just saw my son as a bit 'quirky' until he was dxed.

Im just trying to prepare a document on his behaviour etc for the school, ive never had to do anything like this before. Its amazing how much slots into place once you are given a name and start to read about the disorder. I didnt realise just how many problems he had until i started to write it all down!

[rach345]

i was told my ds had dysprasic tendancies, he just learnt to ride a bike without stablilizers this past summer. His writing is not very good, attention span is not good. Takes ages to get him going repeating myself over and over again to finish a task. His reading is very good. Not good at gross motor skills and some fine motor skills. He has a TA at school, and uses a timer because he sometimes takes the whole lesson to write the date.

[LIZS]

ds has this - can affect motor skills, spatial awareness, proprioception (how he sense his body and controls movement), concentration, sequencing and memory. However you should be aware it is very common in some degree - 1:20 kids , mostly boys - and having it recognised (as opposed to being labelled lazy, slow, unsporty, dreamy) is a positive thing. OT can help a lot.

[debs40]

Thanks to you all for these posts. They are really helpful.

Claw3 do let me have details of the websites when you have a moment!

We tried 9 pairs of shoes on at Russell and Bromley yesterday!! Still trying to get a pair that 'feel right'....

[claw3]

Hi ya Debs - My ds has only been recently dxed, so im no expert, ive been reading like it is going out of fashion!

I found this website good www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/step-by-step-guide-for-spd-parents.html

Also the book The Out of Sync child was interesting reading.

As i said im still learning myself, but if i can help in anyway im only to pleased too