Dreamer of dreams,born out of my due time, Why should I strive to set the crooked straight. Wm Morris

[indignatio]

Hopefully the link from the other thread will work

My stats

ds is 4.5 - summer born
In reception class

Has issues with:-
Easy distractability (school work and practical tasks)
Concentration problems when not totally engaged by something (95% of the time)
Fidgeting
Getting "lost" in the middle of a complicated sentence/explaination.
Bossy manner
Isolation at school
Poor eye contact
Repetition of sentences until he hears the acknowledgement
No herding instinct

On the positive
Very loving boy
Exceptional reader for his age
Good at maths
Lots of "home" friends
If gripped by something, can concentrate on it for ages


dx:
teacher initially thought he might have dyspraxia - no longer thinks so.
I consider that he has more add traits, but would not go so far as to say he has add.
SENCO to informally assess him next week and then meeting to be arranged with parents, teacher and senco shortly thereafter.


Not sure what else I should put in.

[castlesintheair]

Hi Sphil, have this on watch and remember to check occasionally. Congrats on the dx for DS1. I'm not sure how much the (private) OT is helping now. Sometimes I feel like I am just pouring endless amounts of money down the drain DS still has a strange pencil grip and sadly, his school don't support our attempts to change it, as the NHS OT who visited him at school said you can't change it after 7 years and the school are going with that .

My other bug-bear (sorry) is that because he has a statement (which he doesn't really need but the school do) he has been put in the bottom set for maths, despite being 'gifted' so the LSA can support all the strugglers. Hence, he is bored and self-esteem gone a bit AWOL academically. Again. Grrr!

Having said that, he's got a good (male) teacher who is really inspiring him and he's very happy. I'd love to hear how all the other dreamers are getting on.

[sphil]

Can't claim any credit I'm afraid - I think it was Bink who started the very first 'dreamers' thread. But it is a great title isn't it?

[VulpusinaWilfsuit]

No idea about the rest of the thread. But just had to post to congratulate you on the marvellous thread title.

[sphil]

Update after ages - don't know if anyone still looks at this. DS1 is now 8 and was diagnosed with dyspraxia a month ago. We're just about to have a private appointment with an OT. School being a bit more proactive this year - partly the dx, partly the fact he has a great teacher who actually DOES stuff rather than just talking about it.

Most importantly the dx has made DS1 more confident - he just says that it has 'explained this about myself'.

How are all the other dreamers doing?

[singersgirl]

Duh! Ignore that. It was on the previous page.

[singersgirl]

I'm wondering and so is DH now. Someone told me that his new school does a screen for various types of 'dys-' including dyspraxia and dysgraphia, so I'm not sure if we should wait until September and see if they pick anything up.

Remind me, as it takes a long time to go through this thread - did you instigate your DS's assessment yourself in the end?

[castlesintheair]

He could be singersgirl. Certainly explains DS's quirkiness and I was simiarly told I was mad for thinking it about him for so long. Could you take him for an assessment just to rule it out if nothing else?

[singersgirl]

DS1's trumpet teacher just asked me today if I though he might be mildly dyspraxic. I said that I'd thought so for years but everyone else thinks I'm barmy. He can't clap in time at all - he can hum in time and play music in time, but can't clap!

[castlesintheair]

Meant to say, it has a big effect on writing too - hence your DD's messy writing possibly, my DS's unusual pencil grip and 'spidery' writing.

[castlesintheair]

G&T it could be that your DD is a bit SPDish. My friend's DS is and sound's like your DD, esp the falling off chairs etc . He has proprioception immaturity (as does my DS) and the brushing is the key thing for this. Just to explain briefly: proprioceptive information is received through the muscles and joints and helps a person to be aware of his position in space and the position of body parts in relation to each other. It is necessary in fine postural adjustments which assists in keeping balance and coordinating movements. When it is out of sync children can be a bit 'all over the place', sort of clumsy, possibly sensory seeking, distracted by classroom noise etc, usually bright.

Other things (which you can do at home) are heavy pushing and pulling, being squashed under heavy cushions, snake-like crawling . Trampolines are excellent for proprioceptive input. Have just ordered an 8ft one today. And a therapy ball which is a bit like one of those birthing balls for DS to roll around on!!

BOGOF, I hope this answers your questions too

[buy1get1free]

CastlesintheAir what does the brushing and pushing eventually achieve? I'm really interested as I think my ds2 has sensory issues

[GeorgeAndTimmy]

Hi Castles
Thanks for your reply. My dd doesn't get dizzy and isn't scared about falling (good job really!), but does fall off chairs for no reason (probably at leats once every meal time), falls over her own legs, has problems when trying to do things with both hands - like for eg, holding her bag and putting her drink in it - she gets all confused about which hand should do what. Her writing is very messy and she is always accidentally scuffing things up, dropping things.

I don't think she has dyspraxia, but I do think she is unusual amongst her peers for this. This, and her inattention and dreaminess tend to be overlooked (as you said earlier in the thread), because she is achieving well at school - top sets for everything etc. However, I see that she is not like her (younger siblings) and would like to see if there is anything I can do at home to improve these issues.

I am glad things seem to be improving for your DS

[castlesintheair]

No it's a plastic thing the OT gave me. Quite small with plastic bristles. A bit like a nail brush!

[singersgirl]

Castles, that's great news. Do you just use a hairbrush?

[castlesintheair]

G&T, I think the biggest benefit is the brushing. It only takes a minute 3 x a day. Just his arms, back of legs and back. We also do other things but they are quite specific to DS's dx. He spends an hour with the OT each week (without me) but I know she does a lot of swinging, spinning and bending backwards exercises. She also does handwriting with him but again that is specific to his weird pencil grip. DS is stimulation seeking (fidgets) but also get very easily dizzy and is (or was) very tense and frightened of hurting himself/falling. If your DD is like this I can tell you more. Don't want to waffle on otherwise!

[GeorgeAndTimmy]

Wow Castles! That sounds impressive! If you get a chance, could you give us more details on the exercises your DS is doing - I saw you posted some earlier, but didn't quite understand how they worked. My dd has several similarities to your DS, so if you could, I'd be really grateful (I used to post here about my dd, but namechanged ages ago and haven't done recently. She is 8, bright but dreamy, falls off chairs, messy with food, voracious reader, forgetful but delightful )

[castlesintheair]

Just an update on the OT if anyone is 'watching'. It has really been quite remarkable to see the difference in DS in only 3 weeks since we have started the OT programme. He swam alone for the 1st time on Friday, walked along a high beam alone and unprompted. He did his maths homework in 2 minutes last week (he is good at maths but usually takes 10 minutes) with no fidgeting. He also slept for 3 hours yesterday afternoon (unheard of and he is 7!) I'm guessing because he is so relaxed. Am impressed

[castlesintheair]

You have to alternate singersgirl, so left, right, left so to speak. The OT gave me a special plastic brush for the brushing and you have to be quite firm which helps if they are ticklish like DS. He was very cooperative today esp likes the pushing against each other bit. Hadn't realised how strong he is when he wants to be It's also cumulative so pointless unless you can do it 3x a day for a week.

[singersgirl]

Mmm. I might try with DS1 if I can get him to co-operate with being brushed 3 x a day.

Do you have to alternate the colours when pointing at the circles ie red, green, red, green, or do you do them each 10 x randomly?

Don't worry about the retained reflexes until you've got time.

[castlesintheair]

Hi just a quick update as finally saw OT today. DS is highly sensory seeking (fidgets is best example). I have to brush his arms, legs and back quite firmly with a 3 x daily then do pushing against each other to count of 10. I also have to put 2 different coloured circles on the wall behind him and get him to turn and look and point at them quickly 10 x once a day. Will let you know how I get on! Anyone want to join?

Singersgirl, will come back later about retained reflexes. Sorry not to have done so before but got distracted.

[paddingtonbear1]

hi singersgirl, we'd probably move dd as soon as we can - she might even start the new school after this coming holiday, to get a bit used to it before the big summer hols. I just hope we are doing the right thing, I think we are but you can never be sure! We've talked to dd and she doesn't seem to mind the idea of moving. Hopefully we can get her in for a taster session to see how she likes it.

[singersgirl]

Castles, I would love to know about the retained reflexes so I can test DS1! Have you got exercises? Let us know how you get on.

Paddington, the thread is very long, and I too keep it on my watch list. If you have a few hours to spare, it's an interesting read. Every so often I do a search on Mumsnet for something (usually to do with DS1) and lo and behold, it's already come up somewhere on this thread.

It's such a shame there's no role play etc in your DD's classroom; it's so important for little children to play. Would you move DD from next term?

[paddingtonbear1]

hi guys, this thread is very interesting - although I've not managed to read all of it!
we are considering moving dd to a different school, one which will think of some of her qualities (eg great imagination) as a plus rather than a minus. Went to see the head of new school today, both dh and I really impressed. Their infant classrooms still have role play stuff and toys (dd's current has none of this, in fact it's like a junior classroom).
dd's current teacher has nothing good to say about her, and now dd has stopped participating in lessons completely. Is not progressing at all. It's a very academic school, and much more is expected in yr 2 - not sure dd will cope with it.
Interestingly, the school we went round today has had a few parents from dd's current school enquiring!

[castlesintheair]

Just seen this. Thanks Sphil! We just saw our OT today. DS has both 'forms' of retained reflex which come under the vestibular system and proprioception problems as well. It all makes so much sense and it is so interesting. If anyone wants me to expand in lay-mans terms let me know! I can't wait to get started now

Welcome paddingtonbear. I keep this thread on my watch list as we are a patchy bunch of contributors! Although, it's been a tremendous support and source of information for me.

[sphil]

Only a week late

OT talked about retained ATNR (Assymetric Tonic Neck Reflex) and STNR (Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex). ATNR affects the ability to use both hands together, cross the midline etc. and STNR affects posture, causes fidgetting etc.