i think my ds has apraxia - how can i get a diagnosis? he just turned 2....

[lilQuidditchKel]

Hi

I've been reading about apraxia and really think my son may have this problem.

He just turned 2. I am afraid if I go to my NHS GP she won't take me seriously as he's a bit young to make a diagnosis; but I've heard that an early diagnosis can help a child a lot with this problem.

Has anyone had any success in getting this diagnosis for a young child? If so, did you go privately?

Thanks so much...

Do you really mean apraxia? This is the definition I found (see below)- you mean complete loss of function??

"Dyspraxia has been used to describe difficulty with certain complex voluntary actions and complete loss of function is known as apraxia."

Individuals who are clumsy, whose handwriting is significantly impaired, or who exhibit other major weaknesses in motor and coordination skills are now generally diagnosed as having developmental coordination disorder - DCD (also called dyspraxia, and previously and inappropriately known as clumsiness syndrome).

Try posting in the special needs section?

Thanks Gagarin. I think it's Dsypraxia actually. Sorry I'm still new to this .
I have posted in SN, thanks, and got some good advice.

That's good!

They're the experts

Hi My son has verbal apraxia, he wasn't diagnosed till almost 5. I think you might have trouble finding a speech therapist to diagnose at such a young age. It is common for children to be delayed up till three. Many children don't speak at two but catch up by three. I wouldn't worry yet. I know it can be stressful though. My older daughter only said about 5 words at two but by the time she turned three she was easier to understand than most children her age.

Apraxia of speech is (I think) the same thing as Development Verbal Dysraxia. Apraxia is a term more used in north america, and DVD is used here in the UK. This is a pdf file that explains the condition, but it is not diagnosed until a child is a bit older:

www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/downloads/Developmental_Verbal_Dyspraxia.pdf

The symptoms of dyspraxia are completely normal in a just turned two year old, they are still developing so if you look at the symptoms of dyspraxia they will obviously relate to your child.
Two year old (and three and four year old) children do fall over a lot it's very normal.
Please don't worry.