Could this be dyspraxia?

[Slavetotherave1]

DS is 5.5

He was a bit on the late side with most major milestones - sat up at 8/9 months, crawled at 11 months, walked 17 months, pointed at 18 months, talking at 2 years plus. That said, his speech is excellent now and developed very quickly once it started. Now has perfect functional speech and holds excellent back and forth conversation. No real concerns there other than he does like to whisper to himself at times, although it doesn’t seem echolalic or anything like that, more like he’s thinking out loud at times/processing rather than communication.

He is resistant to physical activity, has to be pushed/encouraged to partake. That said, he can ride a bike and scooter fairly competently but he had his bike for over a year before he would get on the blooofy thing despite having mastered the skill. We were at the stage of telling him we’d get rid of it before he decided he wanted to ride it after all 🙈 He is really struggling with swimming and seems to be making VERY slow progress but he is making progress. Very reluctant to lose the armbands though. He was overly cautious as a child at things like soft play, very risk averse. He has no interest in drawing, colouring, craft but will do so if pushed. He is behind with his fine motor skills, particularly with handwriting and pencil grip - this has been highlighted by his reception teacher as he has large messy writing and struggles with using scissors etc. However he is good at Lego and can have fairly good dexterity with this. He is a very messy eater and struggles with using cutlery - he still uses only a fork and spoon and we cut up his food for him. He is left handed (we think) but there is ongoing uncertainty over his hand dominance. He has poor short term memory and lack of ability to follow instructions at times (very easily distracted) but his long term memory is amazing. He fidgets constantly (mostly jiggling his legs) and always seems to need to fiddle with something. He cannot resist picking something up if he’s sat down, even if told to leave it alone. He can be clumsy, often knocking over drinks/dropping things and I often notice bruises on his legs which he doesn’t know how he got. He is full of energy at times and runs and jumps and throws himself at the sofa, particularly when excited or watching tv - I don’t then this is a stim or a tic as he’s aware he’s doing it and is happy to converse with me while doing it and is easily distracted from it. But could perhaps be explainer as sensory seeking? He struggles a little socially, and seems better in smaller groups. That said, he loves going to parties etc but he does seem happier playing with 1 or 2 children than in large groups. He has a best friend at school and he can be a bit controlling/bossy over what they do/play. He is probably more confident talking to adults but he will chat happily to other kids once he’s warmed up a bit/given encouragement. There’s probably more but these are the things that spring to mind.

He is very happy though, he’s confident and he really enjoys school. Very kind and empathetic little boy. No issues with food (he’s an amazing eater and will tuck into all sorts), sleeps well, and doesn’t appear to have sensory issues with anything although he did like looking at lights as a baby/young toddler 🤷‍♀️ He’s fine with transitions and doesn’t have any difficulty around routines or repetitive behaviour etc. He enjoys parties, loud/busy places and doing new things/meeting people, nothing like that seems to phase him, in fact he embraces it. I wouldn’t say he has any obsessional interests although he likes trains, planes, cars and Spider-Man and likes reading books about them.

I’m so aware that a lot of these things can just be normal for a boy of his age but bearing in mind he had some delays in his early milestones does anyone think dyspraxia could be the answer? I would really appreciate any input or advice. TIA x

[Headfirstintothewild]

I think there is enough to warrant further assessment. Have you spoken to the SENCO?

[Slavetotherave1]

@Headfirstintothewild

I think there is enough to warrant further assessment. Have you spoken to the SENCO?

No, not yet. We spoke with his class teacher at the latest parents evening and she said her only concern (well not concern, more observation) was the fine motor skills and no one has mentioned dyspraxia to us. I’m just reluctant to seek an official diagnosis unless it would be of use to him. As I said, he doesn’t seem to be struggling at home or at school although obviously if the motor skills thing doesn’t pick up, then perhaps I need to change tack

[TeenDivided]

Worth seeing someone. DD2 saw a 'balance doctor' in yR and y1 and one of the TAs did weekly exercises with her wrt motor skills.

She ended up with a DCD/Dyspraxia diagnosis a few years later.

Dyspraxia can have things other than motor skills such as executive function, sensory issues. Helpful to know in advance as then mitigations can be put in place / you know they're not just 'being fussy'.

Neither of my 2 like furry hoods, lacey bits of trim. One is picky on food & struggles with organisation.

I'd ask for referral to OT or some such, there may be a longish wait.