HELP and advice needed for my son with dyspraxia

[kel31]

we have been going through the motions concerning my son maybe having dyspraxia we have seen the ped and the salt and the educational psy just waiting on the OT now which has been well over a year we have rang a private ot up and i got on very well with her and she seem to understand what we have been going through would going to a private ot interfear with seeing a nhs ot later ? and also who can diagnose dyspraxia as we are unsure about this and what will happen after we have the diagnoses

in theory going private shouldn't affect NHS treatment, vast majority of people on here who have used private and NHS haven't had problems with it. might be as well to speak to the NHS OT department to be on safe side though.

in terms of diagnosis - would have thought final call would be down to the paediatrican.

in terms of what will happen after diagnosis - would hope school would put into practice salt/ed psych/OT recommendations as a bare minimum, and of course you may be wanting to look at statementing if you think your child will need 1-1 time etc.

Normally nothing happens with a dx of dyspraxia - and like dyslexia they frequently never actually give you the dx, you just all realise the child has it.

We have had a couple of OT sessions on dressing skills, a couple on handwriting, and 4 lots of sensory integration training.

Plus the OT came into school and talked gave them some advice.

And that's it. For ever.

Our DS got one term of OT sessions and that was it :( School were helpful and he got a writing wedge and chunky pens at primary; plus extra time for exams and other help at secondary.

The best help he got was regular (private) cranial osteopathy.

Yes, diagnosis will be by the paed - it's a medical condition, needs a medical diagnosis (so I was told) - but obviously the diganosis is based on what the OT, Ed Psych etc say.

In our case the diagnosis helped a huge amount.
It helped with DS2's self-esteem - I had a piece of paper I could wave at him to prove that none of his problems was his fault.
DS2 had a fair few OT sessions - and some sessions on personal organisation when he started High School.
The fact he has a diagnosis has led to additional help at school - extra time in exams/tests, touch-typing lessons, the provision of a laptop.
And yes, as TC says, if Statementing turns out to be the way to go (pretty unusual for Dyspraxia, although possible - my DS3 with verbal Dyspraxia got a Statement) then you have the start of the paper trail you need.

ooo- cranial osteopathy. at what age is that useful up to and do you happen to know if it also helps with verbal dyspraxia??

thankyou all for you input its really helped one last question will a paed take all the findings from a private OT to make a diagnosis

also the ed psych is not agreeing with the salt or his class teacher or the senco so what could we do

My DS had cranial osteopathy from age 7 up until he went to university at almost 19.

that sounds interesting will look it up on the net thanks for your advice

Why is the EP not agreeing with SALT, teacher or SENCO?

I'd question why one professional is dismissive of others opinions. Have they put their reasoning in a report, can they justify it and back it up with evidence?
If they haven't ask for their reasoning.

They should pay equal regard reports whether they are done privately or via the LEA. If they don't you have grounds for complaint.

in the report the EP has done it states he only needs gidence to get him up to his age realeted school work the school wanted to keep him in year 1 which the EP was totally against the school still did applie to leicester county halls to hold him back a year but due to there already being 30 kids in year 1 we got refused my sons 6 and cannot write his name he has poor pencil control well no pencil control really he has very poor memory he is working at foundation stage work but still struggles even with this he cannot read books with more than one word he has poor balance so he oftens plays up when pe days are he plays me up every morning when we are on are way to school but it gets worse when pe is on that day its driving me nutts if im honest ive had this since playschool we had family steps help the playschool learn how to deal with my son as he would not talk to anybody play with anything all he done was play with one car and if any of the playschool ladies approached him he would hide and would not show his face till they had gone far away from him

Ok, it may have helped holding him back a year. What was the EP's reason for being totally against the move?
Could you not appeal against the LEA's decision, especially if you have backing of the teacher and SALT? What does your head say?

How does the EP suggest the school get him up to age related school work. What intervention/support has he suggested should be put in place to meet his needs?
What does he consider to be age appropriate? Because theoretically a child in yr2 who is working at foundation level is considered to be working within the range appropriate to their age. Not every chid is going to be level 1+ entering year 2.

nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/110237
Have a look at this link, it will give you an idea of what he should be able to do if he is working at foundation level.
If you don't think he is you need to approach the school to find out exactly where he is.

Take a friend along make notes don't forget to date.

the head was all for keeping him in year 1 we all had to fill some forms and send them to leicester county halls it was county halls that wrote back saying there was a legal limit to 30 kids in year 1 and that year 1 was full with 30 kids already the EP said she didnt feel that my son would like being held back in year 1 while his friend moved into year 2 how she could judge this after a hour of seeing my son i have no idear

the intervention/support she offerd was help with the hand writeing she seemed to be blind to the other issues

are you saying not to worry about the fact my son cannot read/or write ???????

my son was born with abnormalities of his bowel it was called malrotation of the bowel which he had to have a operation on he will never have the right amount of bowel as a child that doesnt suffer from malrotation and also his bowel is the oppersite side to a person with a normal bowel his appendix was up in his chest which got removed at the same time a his bowel op he is also cows milk intolerance and soya intolerance due to having his bowels touched the specialist also told us that we may find other abnormalities as he grows

hi had at look at the link you sent me thats shocked me totally 95% he cannot do in the foundation stage and as for year 1 i would say maybe 1% cheers for the link tho Minx179
you have been a great help

Personally I don't think the friends thing is much of an issue going into year 1. If he was further up the school it could definately be a problem.

You might find then that he is working on the P scales, you need to clarify this with his teacher.

So who is putting in the hand writing support? The school, or external services?
How much, how often?

so what should i ask the teacher ??????

if he is on the p scales

the school and not very often proberly about twice a week and then he has to trace over his name that the teacher has already wrote everyday

I can't really advise you on what to ask the teacher because it's personal to you and your child, just ask the questions you feel you want answering. Only you can decide if you are happy or unhappy with the response you get, or the provision your son is getting.

It might help to look here

www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/services/ed_classroom_guidelines.php

You need to get hold of the SEN code of practice. You can download it from here
bpec.net/sen-help.htm you need to scroll down a bit.

This site will give you a basic overview of what the school could be doing
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SpecialEducationalNeeds/DG_4000690?cids=Google_PPC&cre=Education_Learning_Franchise

If he has bad dyspraxia he will need a lot of OT before learning to write.

I think Speed Up and Handwriting without tears start with stuff like that.

For my boy we're doing stuff for strengthening his core stability and his fingers. Until he can do that he won't be able to write.

Tracing over worksheets will never teach him.

IndigoBell has your child got dyspraxia ? im not sure how bad his dyspraxia is as ive never been through this before my other 2 kids havent had the problems my youngist has had

minx179 thankyou so much for all the help you have given me ive learnt more from you 2day than ive learnt in the last 2 1/2 years through the profs

ive had a good cry today down to my sons new teacher not understanding my sons needs i think she thinks i want to wrap him up in cotton wool which is not the case at all i also think she thinks my son is just plain lazy which again is so far from whats really going on

Yes, my boy has got dyspraxia and what I'm telling you is the advice the nhs occupational therapist gave us.

We went on a handwriting course run by them and it focussed far more on stuff like that then on actually writing.

Although they did also talk about pencil grip and paper position.

yeah we have been on the waiting list for a about a year and half waiting for the NHS OT i spoke with them on monday and theres still 35 kids ahead of my son this is why we are looking into seeing a private OT did they give you any advice on good pencil grips etc... we are all kinda stuck at the moment school dosent know what to try incase its wrong ive looked at grips and etc.. but again botherd in case i hinder his progress rather than help it we all have been working on makeing sure he holds the pencil right etc.. but his grip isnt there and this has been after 2 years practise

Kel

Go and see a private OT; they will assess your son, they may not give you a diagnosis, but they will be able to give you some strategies and advice which may help him build up his core stability and help with his gross and minor motor controls.

Make sure any OT you use has experience of working with children with learning difficulties specifically Dyspraxia.

They may be able to advise on pencil grips etc, but if as you say 'his grip isn't there', personally I think you are jumping too many stages ahead by focussing on him writing. My son had a similar difficulty when younger, couldn't hold chunky crayons correctly, could only make emergent marks on paper. He still has an akward grip with pens, but he has learnt to write.

Unfortunately you will have to get used to schools making implications about your parenting and/or your child being lazy. We used to get 'well hes an August baby and a boy, what do you expect, they're always behind'(not true). It is an effective strategy used by schools to justify your childs lack of progression by focussing the problem back on the family, rather than the lack of effective support in school. Grow a thick skin and go with your instinct. Try not to let it knock your self-esteem.

Buy these books, it may give you an idea of what to expect, things to try etc but remember not every child with Dyspraxia is the same, what works for one may not work for another etc.

Dyspraxia by Amanda Kirby
Developmental Dyspraxia by Madeline Portwood

minx179 your life with the schools sounds just like mine my boy is also born end of august and was born 5 wks early this as also been brought up atleast 6 times this term and we are only abouts 2wks into the new term i will have a look at private OT that specifically deal with learning difficlties

Hello Hassled,

Would be really interested to know how you went about getting a statement for your child with verbal dyspraxia. Was your child then entitled to go to a school with special provisions for children with speech, language and communication disorders? If so, can you recommend a school? Our youngest daughter, who is 5, has severe dyspraxia including verbal dyspraxia. We are not currently living in the UK and are trying to decide whether to return to the UK, try to get her statemented and placed in a special school or whether we are being completely unrealistic!! Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks.

my sons paediatrician diagnosed him after asking for OT,speech and EP reports, only the paediatrician is allowed to diagnose though the others might give you a verble diagnosis.

with so much imput my son had no trouble getting a statement or fulltime TA.he had over 4 years of OT going into school almost weekly advising the school and teaching his TA to do daily exercises working on his balance, pencil grip etc in the end they discharged him as he had maximum amount of support and coping stratages had been put into place including getting him a laptop. the speech is still on going and as part of his statement the school work on his sounds daily.

my son has had so much support as its all in his statement,if i had any advice and that would be not to sit quietly push to get help for your child.