Dyspraxia?

[BlackInk]

I have a lovely and brilliant almost-9-year-old son who has a collection of characteristics. He's doing really well academically, but starting to get into trouble at school for being disorganised. Is this just within the range of normal or could these things be something we should be concerned about? Even if he does have some level of dyspraxia or DCD, is there any real benefit in finding out?

This is him:

Very poor balance / vertigo
(Can't/won't learn to ride a bike, struggles to walk along a low wall, clings on going up stairs)
Clumsy
Inflexible
Slightly shambling walking / running gait
Handwriting and drawing struggles
Struggles with cutlery
Struggles with sport / PE
(But can catch a ball well and has found a niche by always being the goalie in football games at school)
Seems unfit / tires easily
Struggles to recognise people out of context
Terrible personal organisation
(ALWAYS loosing and forgetting things, needs constant reminders for tasks he does every day)
Trouble recognising when he needs to go to the toilet

But having said all this, he's a fab little boy. His reading is amazing, he loves maths, science and history and he can recite huge chunks from the Lord of the Rings books and songs. Is he just a naturally clumsy, head-in-the-clouds, non-sporty type, or do we need to find him some help?

School have only ever expressed concern with his handwriting, although his current teacher (he's a very young year 4) seems to be getting frustrated with him. He's currently being kept in at lunchtimes and has to sit out swimming lessons til the end of term because he's lost his PE trainers (2nd pair this school year). He's also lost his maths book, goggles and a jumper this week...). She refused to let him have a drink of water from the cups by the tap in the classroom because he's forgotten his water bottle.

I'm usually pretty much hands-off with school and have never spoken to any of his teachers outside of parents evenings, but he gets very upset at being told off in school and I feel sorry for him.

Sorry, looooong post!

How does he do with fastening/unfastening things like buttons, laces? And turning clothes from inside out to the right way round and vice versa? Does he often wear things back to front?

How is he with things like jigsaw puzzles?

I ask as these are all things my similar age DS does and I have long suspected dyspraxia too. He has been assessed for dyslexia and it was ruled out.

Oh god, it's my DS1 (7) too (also never liked slides or swings when young - I have a hilarious picture of when he was 4, and DS1 was about 8 months, both sat in the baby swings at the park- DS2 has a massive grin, loving it, DS1 is hunched over, white-knuckled and terrified!)

We didn't really realise anything was different until DS2 was about 3 and we realised how he just picked stuff up that we'd had to carefully teach DS1, and a teacher at school was bullying him for his handwriting.

We had him assessed by an Occupational Therapist, who came back with no to everything but Dyspraxia (and the associated low muscle tone etc). He started going to OT once a week for an hour and it really helped - 50% writing skills, 50% general balance and strength work. His new schoolteacher also listened and worked with us.

For other things, I just don't sweat it - he has velcro shoes/elastic laces, elastic waist trousers etc (OT helped him with buttons, but he doesn't really need to wear shirts), I help him out with cutting food or pouring drinks, we get him in routines to limit how much stuff he forgets (one year he'd lost 3 coats at school, they were found in a spare locker - but the lost property box is a very familiar place for me!), I hold his hand on escalators, we got him a school bag that was just a tote, so he didn't have to zip things up or carefully put things in, and just generally give him a break around the things he finds difficult if they don't really matter.

We just talk about how everyone has some things they find easy and some things they find hard to keep his confidence up, and we do just a few minutes of writing every day, just to keep his hands strong. A poster here also recommended wrist weights which we're going to try (As soon as I have a chance to make some)

Missing out on the swimming is the worst thing - general fitness, strength training is really important for dyspraxic kids - both to regulate their muscle control, and because low muscle tone is often a symptom.

Can you at least get him diagnosed, then go into talk to the school about what accommodations can be made (eg. DS1's teacher just gently reminded him to go to the bathroom at playtime, they all do go noodle before concentrating on work to burn the top of his energy etc.)

WellTidy He was a bit slow getting to grips with dressing himself, buttons etc. but he's ok with that now. He can't tie laces though and often put clothes on inside out or back to front. He's come home from school wearing a friend's shoes on more than one occasion and not noticed until I pointed it out!

He's pretty good with Lego though, which doesn't seem to add up.

Jigsaws have never really interested him, although he tends to avoid anything he finds difficult.

DisturblinglyOrangeScrambleEgg Thank you. DS hates slides and swings too - anything where he isn't in control of how he moves. He also hates enclosed spaces and jetties / piers etc. He had a huge panic attack inside one of those inflatable water walking balls!
I think I will make the first move towards getting him assessed if I can. But what you say about giving him a break around the things he struggles with is so true.

This is all very familiar to me Black. DS avoids anything he finds difficult too. he won't entertain playing a video game, for example, because I think he knows he would find the eye to hand co-ordination difficult. He also finds skipping hard. He can play football decently, he loves that, and he has improved loads through practice.

He is also decent at lego though, and that doesn't fit the dyspraxia mould. He can follow instructions on how to make something from a set and make something imaginatively.

Black with adults, at least, hypermobility can result in seeming inflexibility, as the brain and body tries to compensate for the overly lax joints by keeping muscles stiff. This can be very tiring. Not too sure if that goes for children, too. You could google the Beighton test and try it?

black my son is a Lego fiend - he could complete really complex sets when he was 5. I think when he is focused on a specific task like Lego building he is OK it when he isn't totally concentrating on a task that the clumsy emerges.

My dd has a number of similar issues and she has sensory processing issues. An OT would be able to give you advice on all the things others have suggested as well as sensory stuff. My dd was referred through school after they realised she didn't behave quite like the other kids in her class!