11 year old son , delayed motor skills

[hannabanana]

Any idea of where to get help. He has always had a strange gait and I took him to the go a few years ago . He was referred to a paediatrican who said he had delay in fine and gross motor skills.
He is now 11 and really is struggling with sports at school .
He will be starting secondary I. September and I would like to find something that may help . Could a physio ? He swims and does scouts but not naturally active .
Thanks !

Gp

I'd say an occupational therapist would be an ideal place to start. Often you can self refer or school can refer.
What did they say about his gait? Did they give you advice or orthotics for shoes etc?

I'd revisit the GP and see what is available. You may have to pay private, a sports physio may be able to help but sometimes you need to visit a few professionals to find the right one for you.

Have they mentioned Dyspraxia? Have a look at the Dyspraxia Foundation website - it might be useful.

I was going to say dyspraxia too. DS1 was diagnosed a few months ago. But I noticed delay in coordination and general gross and fine motor skills since he was 1. We decided to get the assessment done privately and also see an OT privately as the wait would be very long through the gp. DS coped ok until recently were his inability to hold a pencil properly is really showing a significant impact in the work he produces compared to his peers. He's only in reception year.

The OT does lots of gross motor skills activities and lots of muscle strengthening work for his shoulders, arms and hands. Does your DS appear to struggle with coordinating his limbs? DS does as he cannot plan his motor coordination effectively, so things like star jumps and punching the air whilst counting in time are impossible for him. He always looks clumsy and awkward in his movements at any kind of sports activities.

Thanks , he has always been clumsy but I looked up on dyspraxia and there are a lot of bits that don’t sound like him. He was an early talker and reader and has never had problems with bike riding or delay in that way.
His hands righting is terrible though and all these things are worrying me in the transfer up.
As I said he was seen by a paediatrican a few years ago , the ot and physio saw him a couple of times but to be honest I thought things would improve but they seem to be more noticeable as he gets older. It breaks my heart to watch him run ..

Where did you get the assessment done ?
If you don’t mind me asking ?

We had similar. DD was diagnosed with hypermobility & very poor muscle tone (esp core) at age 10. Possible dyspraxia (but I don't think so).

GP >> paediatrician >> occupational therapist is the way to go.

Eyes may need testing too.

And flat feet too

My son has dyspraxia. It is not a condition where you have to have all the symptoms to tick the box. My son was a very early talker, walker and rode a bike no problems. He has problems with some gross motor skills, core strength, memory, organisation and his fine motor skills are not great. He uses a laptop or iPad for school work. He has trouble coordinating himself and can't copy from the board. He also struggles to sleep at times and tiredness makes all the symptoms worse. I would definitely seek support from your GP. Ask for a referral to a paediatrician or if that is a no go an Occupational Therapist. An OT won't be able to diagnose but they will help and also refer to the paediatrician. Dyspraxia has nothing to do with intelligence but it does impact on learning and everyday skills.

I have a boy who was diagnosed as dyspraxic at around 6, very academic but has struggled with fine motor skills, running and catching balls etc

He also has flat feet, and really struggled to learn to swim as he could not coordinate arm and leg movement.

For him the solution was to do lots of sport, like 2 hrs intense martial arts training a week (started age 6) and rugby (mainly tackling people )

Doing lots of sport, including ones he has no aptitude for (tennis, basketball) has really really helped him. He was very determined to be like other kids, so he spent hours on developing hand-eye. and practise has helped!

Especially the martial arts, with coordination, core strength and control.

Hope your boy gets the support he needs, see a GP/physio/dyspraxia assessment

What does he love to do?

Are you in London OP? We had the assessment done at a place in central London that came highly recommended by a gp friend who also used it for their child. Its daunting finding a private practice as there is quite a bit of distrust generally of non NHS assessments. Not sure if I'm allowed to name the practice but you are welcome to contact me for details.

I felt we had to get a move on with getting OT support rather than waiting around for paediatrician to diagnose etc as DS's condition was being overlooked at school and his fatigue from writing/drawing/colouring was being perceived as laziness. Once the report was forwarded to the school, his teacher has been more understanding.

My gp friend insisted we get the support first rather than waste time waiting. An experienced OT will be able to identify the key areas that a child needs support with just from observation and start the appropriate intervention.

Prior to your son starting his new school, is it possible to set up a meeting with the head of Year and SENCO to discuss the issues and see what provisions can be put in place for him? My first port of call was the school SENCO who did an informal observation/assessment and agreed he could do with OT support.

I know what you mean about watching them run and take part in sports. It is truly heartbreaking. DS is still not aware of his lack of coordination and in his mind he's doing what he thinks everyone else is doing I think by next year it will get noticed by him and his peers and I hope it doesn't knock his confidence.

I’ll second that it sounds like dyspraxia. Did your DS have any issues at birth such as prematurity etc?

Not all kids rock the boxes and not all things present as you'd stereotypically expect.

My ds sat at 5 maths and walked at 10. He was riding a bike without stabilisers at.

He has mild CP!!!

Why does my phone insist on changing words?

Tick
5 months
At 4

Thank you all for taking the time to answer me . I think the time to try and get some sort of help . WTF’s, yes we are in London are you able to let me know of the details ?
Peanut butter cups , unfortunately the things he loves to do generally involve a screen ! And scouts
Thanks again all .

We're using a practice on Devonshire Street but it dawned on me that this one is geared more towards younger children. We have sessions booked in tomorrow with the OT so I will ask if they know of and can recommend experienced OTs that work with older children. Let me get back to you OP as I would also need to look into this myself in time. I'll update tomorrow.

OP, the OT place we go to on devonshire street works with all ages up to mid/late teens. Have a chat to them and see what you think.