Teacher mentioned Developmental coordination Disorder (DCD), I'm not sure!

[Wallace]

Ds2 is 5.5 and still doesn't have a proper pencil grip. She also says he struggles with joining cubes together (good at lego at home btw). He isn't the best at buttons etc, but can do them with perseverance.

However his gross motor skills are great:

Amazing balance - has been riding a bike without stabilisers since he was 2
Swimming since he turned 3
Can climb trees like a demon
Good at football, shinty etc

I think he has been concentrating on his gross motor skills and his fine motor skills need to catch up. I also think he can be a bit lazy - why bother with buttons when someone will help...

Anyone know anything about DCD? Is it the same as Dyspraxia?

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Yes pretty much, DCD is the Americanised terminology for Dyspraxia. It could affect the fine motor skills more so than gross and other symptoms may become more apparent as he gets older and appears disorganised, fidgetting and getting distracted easily, has difficulty remembering what to do and keeping on task and produces messy or limited amount of work . No harm in having him assessed by an OT if that is what is being suggested , if only to eliminate it or get into the system early.

Thanks. She mentioned DCD because dh asked about ADHD. She said she didn't think so but if there was anything she would think DCD, but stressed that she is not qualified to diagnose etc.

The disorganised, fidgety, distracted describes him perfectly. I have to remind him every time to wash his hands after going to the toilet. Until recently I had to remind him all the time that when washing hands you have to get them wet before the soap. Is it that sort of thing?

Wallace my ds2 (5y) has just been diagnosed with dyspraxia and I sometimes have to remind him to go to the toilet before washing his hands - he walks in, sees the sink, remembers that's a good thing to do and forgets he needs a wee first. I had totally forgotten about it until I read your post - I must make a note of it on his paperwork.

As for your ds, your school or your GP can refer him to OT or community paed to have a look at him - that's a good place to start.

Sounds very similar to my ds. His reception teacher was concerned about his fidgeting, inability to sit still at carpet time, poor pencil control. He was referred to OT by school. Like your child, my ds rode a bike without stabilisers early and could climb anything. It was a shock to learn, at 1st OT appointment, that he couldn't stand on 1 leg and balance. OT suggested dcd / dyspraxia but pediatrician had to diagnose it. Ds is now 7 years & doing much better with writing after doing a lot of exercises with him to strengthen core stability. He is still a fidget & has terrible organisation skills. Re swimming, my ds always swims underwater as its easier for him than trying to keep his head above the water.

Does he get dressed in the right order or does he need a lot of reminding of what goes on when? I taught a dyspraxic boy a few years ago and that was a task he found very tricky, even in Y3 (obviously he had a lot of other issues but that one that is probably more relevant to your ds because of his age - some of the organisational issues don't become apparent until they're older simply because they aren't tasks they would do at 5yo).

Thanks for all the replies. I will see if he can stand on one leg! He often will forget pants even when they are laid out in front of him.

He also gets into a bit of a mess sometimes when wiping his bottom.

Things like sending him upstairs to brsuh his teeth, and he comes back down and has forgotten to do them. I guessing that is fairly standard 5 year old stuff!

He can stand on one leg, and hop.

I think I will go in and have a proper conversation with the teacher, see what sshe says.

LargeLatte - what else does your ds do/not do?

From your description, I wondered about hypermobility in his hands/finger joints. This would potentially make holding a pencil/lego/doing up buttons more difficult. Both my kids have this, and both have had delays in this area.

He's obviously got good balance and gross motor skills so a good basis to start developing fine motor skills from. Totally agree with you that boys can be much less interested in developing certain skills!

How about using knife and fork, sitting properly at table or in cinema, moving just the wrist to write, doing exercises which cross the midline (ie. opposite hand/foot, using alternate hands for an activity such as stacking blocks), hand/eye coordination, using pincer grip to pick up smaller objects and does he have hand dominance. Any sensitivity to noise, sound or texture ?

Wallace the teacher won't be an expert in this and won't be able to diagnose anything. I think if you have genuine concerns about your son's development, pop him to your GP and ask for a referral to a developmental paeadiatrician. What you can chat to the teacher about is what they are doing to help your son in the classroom. You don't need a diagnosis to get help in the classroom (assuming you are in the UK ??) Good luck!

Dh and I are both hypermobile in different bits and pieces, as is ds1 so that could be it.

Knife and fork - is a bit awkward looking when doing it.
Sitting at table - ok for a short while after being reminded.
Cinema - fine, he enters a coma-like state!
He isn't sensitive to noise/light ect but if he is in a very busy environment with lots of over excitement he goes loopy. Lots of shouting running around ect (normal 5 year old boy stuff!) Gets a manic stare and feels rigid when you try to hug him, calm him down etc

Good advice MadameSin, I will do exactly that - I think it would also help to find out what she thinks his problems are

Sorry Wallace, only just seen your question for me. Am multi tasking with tea time and on bloody iPad. Will reply on laptop in few mins when dh gets back and takes over zoo keeper duties.

Right - well ds could not stand on one leg or hop. He frequently falls over when he walks, ricochets off door frames. His teacher has decscribed him on a referal questionnaire as 'unable to access much of the curriculum' due to his fine and gross motor skill dificulties.

There is no way ds could use a knife and a fork - he has just mastered the fork. He frequently falls of his chair when sitting at the table, even if he doesn't apprear to be messing around. He is sensitive to some frequencies of sound. I would not even dream of sending him upstairs to do his teeth - there is no way he would remember that he needs to use toothpaste, or be able to use the appropriate amount.

But I guess like most things there must be a spectrum of difficulties, and its worth a chat with the teacher, as if you do decide to get it looked into, having info from the teacher about how it is affecting your ds's education should help you access the help you need.

Also take a look at CPOC, and retained reflexes - we are waiting for an appointment from our local Visual and Multi Sensory Training Clinic as we think this will really benefit ds.

Thanks, I will let you know when I have spoken to the teacher. We yhave the doorframe thing too, he is always in such a hurry. Falls off chairs too, but that gene runs in my family...

Can he stand on one leg with his eyes shut?

DCD is dyspraxia its the same , my dd is 14 , she was diagnosed at 6 , she had no perception of space would walk into things or drop things off the work top becuase she mis judged ,
there is many different traits to the condition and if the teacher has concerns please have them followed up as he could really struggle in the future ,
dd is obviously in high school now and she is thriving and being helped with exams through a scribe and they are talking about letting her do her main exams next year on a laptop , as her writing isnt the best ,

the disorganisation is the main concern i think , my dd is scatty and needs short instruction for her to be able to do certain tasks or she gets confused then distracted ,