Assessment for dyspraxia, what happens?

[MyCupSpillethOverMe]

NC’d for this. After suspecting it for a few years I’ve finally plucked up the courage and booked an appointment with my GP to discuss whether I might have dyspraxia. What should I expect? Any experiences anyone can share? Or life hacks…

Hello, I haven't got experience of a dyspraxia assessment. But I went for an autism assessment with my brother which included the assessor asking my brother and me lots of questions and her making notes. Before hand she had also asked another family member to answer some questions on paper and she read them out too.

At a guess part of the dyspraxia assessment will be like that but I would imagine that they would so some physical sort of tests.

Closer to the time of the assessment I guess they will tell you more about it.

Did they say how long you are likely to be on the waiting list for?

I just plucked up the courage to ask my GP for an autism assessment. I've no idea how late Ng I have to wait.

@MyCupSpillethOverMe :)

If you are over 18 and your symptoms are not having a severe impact on your life they may do nothing, save give the details of some charitable organisations and privately run groups. Not to be a Debbie Downer. But it would be good to prepare for the possibility that no kind of referral is made.

@Chubbycatt sorry, didn’t see this but thanks for responding! The GP basically said they didn’t assess adults. I asked if I could see an occupational therapist and she didn’t seem to even know what that was because she told me to see my work occupational health

All in all a waste of time - so if anyone comes across this thread when they are looking for people’s experiences in the future I’d concur with Vincette that they will do nothing.

DH bought me knee and elbow pads for my birthday which was much more useful

You need an assessment with an educational psychologist or accredited assot for dyslexia and dyspraxia. It costs about £300. It involved lots of tests, it took me 4 hours and then a large report was written

My son (14) is currently going through dyspraxia assessment. I went to GP initially with suspicions and was referred to Occupational Therapy. After arund a 12 month wait, he had a 2 hour assessment appointment where he was tested on motor skills, balance, handwriting drawing, visual tracking, joint laxity etc.

Some 9 months later we have had the verbal results, which have indicated he most likely does have DCD. Next step is he has been referred to a pediatrician as he has to be assessed to ensure there is no other medical cause for his issues.
He has also been referred to an Optholomist (I think that's what she said) for a specialist Visual Tracking test as that was highlighted as a key weakness.

Once those assessments are done, all three results are combined to produce a final Report which will, or will not, state diagnosis.

It's a long haul. Weekly back and forth with the school to request various learning supports (additional time in tests, use of a laptop as he struggles to hold pens). Still a long way to go as OT have stated that his (suspected) DCD is so bad that he would benefit from a scribe in school, but chances of the school having budget for that is basically nil.

Main recommendation is to be prepared for a long process and to be vocal with what support you need.

Hello, I got assessed as an adult in France, definately less waiting around (about a month in my case) and the tests are relatively standardised so it should still apply: If you speak decent French it may be worth a call if the NHS is a bust:

I got a referral from my gp, then went to an occupational therapist (private sector ergothérapeute, cost 300€ back in 2012): lots of talking about daily life skills, did I hit my milestones as a child (were you a bum shuffler, can you ride a bike etc): Then some practical tests like drawing some figures, folding paper, using a knife & fork on some playdough, writing speed & accuracy: The tests were geared towards children but apparently it isn't an issue:
Later on I did a WAIS test (IQ but geared towards how I think, the idea was to figure out the spacial issues) and the neuropsy did some basic eye tracking tests while I was there: That was also about 300€ in 2017 althought the average is usually more 400€ now: The testing itself wasn't super useful, but I got some good advice out of it: The neuropsychologist was great and having a discussion about driving, getting lost and all the fun aspects of dyspraxia was pretty relieving:

Good luck in any case