Clumsy child. Anyone with experience?

[Naptrappedmummy]

DD, 4.5, is incredibly clumsy and has been that I’ve noticed for at least a year. Walking home from school just now she nearly fell (but for me holding her hand) 4 times in 10 minutes. This is just on a regular pavement. She can’t hold a cup without spilling it everywhere. She’s small for her age and has slightly hyper mobile joints (we had her checked over) but nothing to the extent that it accounts for her level of clumsiness. School have commented on it also.

I can’t work out if it’s physical or mental - when walking she looks around everywhere, does silly footwork, chats constantly and is always distracted. But then other kids do this and don’t seem to fall over this much.

Any ideas please?

Dyspraxia? Look at the Dyspraxia Foundation website and see if anything listed for her age seems to apply.

Some people just are clumsy. My whole family are. We're all rubbish at sports and in and out of A&E constantly from one accident or another. I wouldn't worry about it unless your mum spider sense is going that something is, in which case you could ask GP for a referral to a pediatrician for a check over?

DEF def Dyspraxia.. I have it and wasn't diagnosed very early. Its so important.. Ds2 is profoundly deaf and autistic and dyspraxic.. He suffers doubly with the balance issues from the deafness and the dyspraxia.
I made sure ds2 was diagnosed as soon as possible. He was able to access occupational therapy at school...

My dd is like this, has ADHD, I suspect dyspraxia but we haven't got her tested for that.

Thank you. I have read the symptoms of dyspraxia and she ticks every box. It’s like reading her profile. If she is diagnosed would it make a difference? Is there any help out there? We are in position to pay for private therapy if needed. It’s got to the point she’s injuring herself quite a lot and gets upset during PE because she finds it so hard to keep up with the other children.

2nd/3rd dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder... Look for local pediatrician maybe called child development team..
They should have a website that talks about referrals...used to be gp only in my area but each are different.. we got some OT support and excersises for balance... Its an ongoing thing but early help can help!

My dd is dyspraxic, if your dd struggles with handwriting it is worth getting a diagnosis so school can make allowances. Ultimately that means allowing her to use IT as much as possible.
To help her improve her balance find her a sport she enjoys. Also needs to be a club that encourage everyone so not too competitive. Our occupational health recommended swimming as being particularly good.

My brother in law benefited from a dyspraxia diagnosis. It helped my in-laws communicate his needs to the teachers and it provided explanation for things he struggled with such as telling the time. I gave him an explanation for why things were different for him.

I'm not dyspraxic but I have a label. It took 10 years to get and makes a huge difference know how it is I'm different, what extra consideration I have. 99% of my day is the same as without the label but that 1% gives me a place to belong.

My family are very clumsy and I'm unable to hold a drink without spilling it and drop things continuous. My little sister is the worst and needed plastic surgery at 5 to repair an injury after falling off her bike. Her headteacher joked once that if he hadn't seen most of the injuries with his own eyes he would have considered her injuries a safe guarding incidents.

Ask gp to refer you to Occupational Therapy. The therapist can assess her, including motor skills, coordination and posture and recommend gadgets such as special cushions to support her and pencil grips. Her clumsiness may be due to fatigue from the hypermobility and trying to sit still.