Dyspraxia concerns with DD1

[Pikkewyn]

Warning this could be an essay!

DD1 (6 in Yr2) is as young as you can get for her year and has been struggling since yr R, she had no idea of pencil grip at all until the last term of yr 1 and no one seemed concerned. When her new teacher started a year ago she was concerned about DD's lack of progress in writing and advised a intensive handwriting programme using Write from the start on a daily basis for 20 minutes at home and school, a year has produced huge changes and DD now has legible writing. Earlier this year they expressed further concern about maths and stamina when writing. Fortunately for us her yr1 teacher has followed her to yr 2 and not want to follow us with an OT referral.

DD shows some of the classic signs of dyspraxia - can't ride a bike, can't use a pair of scissors,can't sit still, constantly moving, struggles with dressing/buttons, easily distracted, seems to understand instructions/explanations but 5 minutes into the task is totally lost - especially when relating to maths/science concepts. Can't focus in a noisy environment and hates loud noises. We have noticed she actively avoids food/toys/games where she know she will struggle. We bought her a pair of sparkly jeans she had her heart set on but now refuses to wear them as they have a zip and buttons - she heads for leggings instead, asked for Lego but it sits in a box because she can't do it! She has also sussed who to sit next to/ask for help amongst her peers so she won't get into trouble for not doing things herself.

She never crawled, only rolled at 10 months, she walked at 11 months and speaks and reads incredibly well. We have a 4 year old DD2 who is becoming her big sister's helper - she cuts out craft for DD1, opens her yogurts and today found an easy way and taught DD1 (with more patience than I have) how to do her polo shirt buttons whilst wearing it! Builds her lego creations to DD1's specification.

We went to the doctor re ADD1 and asked for a dyspraxia assessment.
The doctor did ask for the SENCO at school to write regarding issues though, but then referred us to OT.
OT says dyspraxia.

This was at the end of last year. ADD1 is 15.
I wish we had had an assessment earlier but she only came to us age 8 so lots of stuff was put down to early years initially.

ADD2 age 10 has again recently been diagnosed with DCD.
It explains her inability to sit still amongst other stuff. She doesn't currently show other traits of dyspraxia but I'm watching on the organisation side which has caused DD1 so many issues in secondary school.

Can you not write a list of concerns down and ask to see the SENCO?

Is the teacher unwilling to see issues because not as bad as others in class, or because she thinks your DD is too young to refer?

Thanks.

They seem unwilling to refer as she is so young in her year and that she will 'grow' into herself. I would rather we dealt with it now and support her through the rest of primary so she has a decent start in to secondary.

I have asked the school SENCO to ring me but am still waiting from since before Christmas.

OK.

Even if school is unwilling to assist there are things you can do.

Pick what is important and spend time practicing that skill.
e.g. handwriting: Dot to dots, following large mazes, large size hamma beads etc can all help develop fine motor control.

Swimming is great for general coordination.

If there is something she really wants to master eg scissors encourage some time doing cutting out, and break down the technique for her.

Some things don't matter, eg clothes. Just become aware of what she likes the feel of and don't buy other stuff. Buy polo shirts loose enough so that she doesn't need to do buttons. Similarly elasticated trousers. Coats with poppers, or add on the poppers yourself.

dyspraxia website may be able to help.

You don't need an assessment to get things put in place, so you may need to deal with them individually. e.g. following explanations. If she is struggling the school need to put something in place, so TA explain again to her, be allowed to work in a quiet corner of the room etc.

Make sure craft kits are do-able. Advise everyone to go down massively in age. The best craft kit my DD2 age 10 got this Christmas was age 4 I think, but she could do it on her own and produce something to be proud of. We have found that assembling things or sticker based are better than cutting out or painting.

We have spent the last 7 years working around undiagnosed dyspraxia. The only reason we pushed now was for transition to 6th form. They said DD1's writing was OK 35%ile (we put a lot of effort into it) but her ball control was bottom 0.5% (no effort put in) so focussing can make a difference.

Good luck.

Thank you so much for your advice.

I second all of this advice. My 7yo DS is very very similar to your DD. I am certain that he is dyslexic, but he is not yet diagnosed. I particularly second going down in age for craft kits. We are doing 3 plus crafts at the moment and he is loving being able to do them

We got DSS1 diagnosed via the GP and SENCO have been great since then. It took a while but I was adamant he wasn't "normal." I believe he has had good support because none of us (his mum, dad and me) would let it go. Don't be fobbed off.

Horse riding has been amazing for him. Horses don't judge and it's great for building core strength. DSS1 does it via SENCO.

Sorry, that should have read that I was certain he was dyspraxic, not dyslexic (though that has in the past been suggested to us).

Your dd sounds very similar to my ds, who is now 9. In year 1, the SENCO suggested I got a GP referral since it would move faster than referral through the school. Six months later, he was diagnosed with dyspraxia.

OP - I could have written your post word for word about DS aged 7 (year 3). We have known about his fine/gross motor difficulties for a couple of years but just got a dyspraxia and hyper mobile diagnosis this week via the GP/Paediatrician referral. Definitely try that route and don't be fobbed off, you know your child and have a direct comparison with her little sister. Since we got a diagnosis our school has snapped into action! I second all the advice above. In addition for handwriting we have started 2 things which have helped - using a stabilo easygraph handwriting pencil (you can buy from Amazon). And using a highlighted line to help with spatial awareness for where the letters go (if you want to pm me I can send a photo of what I mean). All the best of luck x

Sounds incredibly similar to my ds2 who has dcd/dyspraxia but now at yr 9 , age 13 has really caught up. He is now academically flying at a school that uses iPads, learnt to ride a bike at 12 and hopefully is going to learn to swim this year :)
We found nothing much happened until yr 3 despite identifying issues in yr R everyone is very reluctant to diagnose anything before then ime..We finally went through the gp route to paed and OT and they liased with school. Speak to your gp and senco but be prepared to wait..

Your poor little DD I speak as someone with (fairly mild) dyspraxia who wasn't diagnosed until adulthood. Realised my total inability to learn to drive wasn't normal. I learned to ride a bike at 10 . I wish I had been diagnosed as a child - I went through life believing I was just useless. I was patronised and hated it, please don't let your DD2 become her helper, imagine the impact that will have on her self-esteem! Please get her assessed, don't let them get away with this 'she'll grow out of it' crap. Mine was 'aw, she's so bright - academic kids are always impractical', um, nope, I think most of the other smart kids could use scissors and ride a bike Please reassure her she's not stupid or abnormal, just because she struggles with some things.

My dd 10 yr5, had an Ed Psych. Assessment yesterday. We had to pay for it, as waiting list huge and we are at an independent school, so little support. Not cheap £500, but it answered a lot of questions we had.

Like you we had an idea, but she could ride a bike, climb, use scissors etc., but early signs were there, I remember she didn't decide which hand to hold a bat it for some time, having no preference! Her pencil grip is odd, but reasonable writing, if laborious, dislikes change etc. her verbal/ language skills, were apparently Superior, but her working memory low average, one test putting blocks together to make a pattern was completely odd, nothing like she was seeing!

Push for an assessment, if anything, it will mean she will get support moving on to secondary, but you don't need an assessment to start putting strategies in place.

Last night I spent some time Googling and I have a friend - unfortunately across the other side of the country, who has given me some ideas as she is a Specialist Teacher, she has started giving me them slowly, but I am happy to pass them on.

I haven't read these boards yet, but she suggested teaching dd to type, lots of kid friendly programmes ones out there, looking at Dexteria apps., doing visual stuff for us as dd struggles with maths, such as if she finds things like measurements difficult, use BBC bitesize and stuff in TES (you can join free), to watch. I have always used cuisenaire rods for maths, but am going to go back to them, as these will help with number placement.

Also look at Cogmed, which is a programme they do daily which helps working memory, I am going to try and get on a half day course next week, as it is fairly new, so want to find out more and one is local.

I am sure there are people on here with far more knowledge, but I think you need to just get on and do what you need to do, assessment or not, all the assessment has done for us, is confirm our instincts.

If you source anything useful, do let me know. It's a scary future for us, but the biggest thing that helped dd, was telling her Daniel Radcliffe has Dyspraxia!

[big grin]

I just bought I'd update quickly. We saw the GP who send a rocket e-mail and phone call to the SENCO regarding referral. He asked her to refer for paediatrician appointment but an OT appointment came through last week for tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect at all or what they may ask/do? Lots of the tasks suggested here are helping her gain confidence and help with her fine motor skills. She has her first riding lesson booked for Saturday!

Hi, from experience the occupational therapist will only be able to tell you if your daughter has a developmental disorder and should refer you back to a paediatrician for diagnosis. I had to fight with Senco for a referral. All medics have been great but having to fight all the way with school. Started in reception and still fighting in yr 5. You could try involving the school nurse maybe, ours referred to paediatrician.

Hope OT appointment went well.
My DDs has to do lots of tasks such as balancing, walking along a line, rearranging pegs, throwing and catching bean bags etc.

Thanks both. Appointment went well she is nearly 7 so fell into the younger (3-6) test group - she scored a 6 the dyspraxia cut off is 5, so they reckon she has a delay rather than a disorder although they are pretty sure if in 6 months they re test and she takes the 7-10 test she will fall below the 5 but our PCT offers 3 OT sessions for those with scores between 6 and 15 to encourage independence. They will also offer her a bike riding course in the summer to see if they can get her to pedal.

OP can I ask whetehr you took your DD with you to the GP when asking for the referral? I have a just turned 7yo DS who I suspect may be dyspraxic. I don't really want to draw his attention to it as I think iit would upset him unnecessarily, but do you think I would need him to come to the GP with me when asking for a referral?

We did take DD as he wanted to do a brief assessment on her - checking strength in hands, balance, co ordination etc. He gave her tasks to do and we chatted as she was otherwise occupied focussing on the tasks. She wasn't fussed but we did tell her about it as she melts down if faced with the unknown.

Pikkewyn my 21-year-old dd was diagnosed with dyspraxia when 15; I so regret not sorting it earlier, she had all the signs you mention but never occurred to me to query them until colleague recognised signs and suggested seein and educational psychologist. There's so much these days in way of OT to help younger children but v little for older teenagers and I felt so sad as I thought about her earlier schooling and all the times people had called her clumsy or stupid when noen of it was her thought.

In short don't be fobbed off make sure she gets all the help you can find.

Thanks OP. I guess I should take DS with me to the appointment with the GP.

Thanks Daisy. I think I need to bite the bullet.