is dd syspraxic or are my expectations too high?

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

For some time I have felt dd1 aged 6 may be dyspraxic. She is clumsy and disorganised and prone to lapses in concentration. However her reading and comprehension is very good though she seems to dislike maths she is ok and achieveing expected levels. She is slow to get changed and often forgets to do what she is asked, a dreamer. There were a few years of problems with constipation which required consultant care and she is still not continent at night.

All these things may just be how she is a clumsy, dreamy child and if her school work is acceptable and very good in some areas maybe I am wrong to pursue help. But my instinct is that there is a potential problem with her lack of physical confidence and coordination, she is very tall, well built and has been towering over her friends since pre-school.

Is there any point pursuing my concerns will she actually be helped will a paediatrician be interested in a child who appears happy and able in many ways? Will it help her to be examined in this way.

I don't want to ignore my niggling concerns but I don't want to push for something that will not be beneficial. - confused can anyone set me straight? Thank you.

My ds is 10 and has only this year been diagnosed with dyspraxia and hypermobility. We had years of things not being quite right with him, although he is a bright boy and achieving well at school. He is also tall like your dd, and he is left handed, so a lot of his issues like poor handwriting were put down to that for a long time.

His issues became more obvious when he went up to junior school. I asked to meet the SENCO at school, who got the school nurse involved and it all went from there. Ds initially had a joint physiotherapy/O.T. assessment then was seen by a paediatrician, and then we had the diagnosis.

It was a relief for all of us, ds included, to know that there was a reason why he finds some things difficult - as he got older he would get very frustrated with himself and would say things like "I'm so stupid" He does still find things difficult, but school cuts him some slack now when it takes him longer to change for P.E. or if he loses something, and he is allowed to work more on computers. I had my reservations about seeking a possible diagnosis, but I am very glad that I did now.

I would say that if you are concerned it will do no harm to persue it and may well open doors to support for her. You need to see an occupational therapist. She may or may not be dyspraxic but only an expert can tell you for sure. It may be a bit of a battle if she's otherwise doing ok, but it's worth it! Any interventions that you may get an only be beneficial and if you are worried about a 'label' then remember that any DX is confidential and doesn't have to be disclosed. Though, TBH, I would want school to know so that they can put in some support or follow any recommendations you get from an OT.

I am hypermobile - but I had no idea it was so often linked to dyspraxia and other issues - I have back problems and am clumsy but never really held me back as such (though plenty of teasing). I am still able to put my legs behind my head which for someone of my height and large arse frame is unusual but I never really saw it as a problem till I was pregnant with spd and now suffering from post birth back pain still.

We are seeing our GP next week about a referral to an Ed Psych. We thought DS (6) might be dyslexic as he is having problems with his literacy and DH is dyslexic. Someone mentioned dyspraxia which i had never heard of before and when I looked it it, he ticked most of the boxes. A lot of the motor skills problems we just put down to kids developing at different rates and thought nothing more of it.

Having spoken to the school, he is not a priority for them so it looks like it will be the private route for assistance. Can't really afford it, but then again DS can't afford to fall so far behind if there is help out there for him. DS is also having confidence issues because he feels stupid, and as he gets frustrated very easily (including tears) there have already been a few deliberate 'provoking' sessions with accompanied bullying teasing from some of the boys in his class.

I didn't really want DS labelled but I would rather he was labelled as dyslexic/dyspraxic than written off! Good luck x

Thank you for all your responses.

I only relatively recently learned about dyspraxia - I did discuss it with DD1's wonderful teacher in yr1 so the school are aware we are looking into it as a possibility but it is not something the school will investigate so we need to get her assessed via referral through GP. One of my nieces is autistic and other nephews are on the spectrum so it is already on the radar for our family. I would hazard a guess that my dad had been Dyspraxic to some extent as he also had immense issues with clumsiness and rarely walked down the street without falling off the pavement.

Good luck Betram and Deep

Hypermobility does seem quite common in people with dyspraxia. It makes things more difficult as bendy joints don't send the same messsages to the brain about where they are and what they are doing (proprioception). I really hope that those of you with younger children can get a diagnosis and get some support. We also had issues with other children provoking ds at school, but fortunately the school realised what had been going on and didn't punish ds.

Our local OT department here runs courses to help parents and carers. Several of the things that came up would have been SO helpful to know when ds was younger, and would have saved a lot of stress and heartache. Ds might not be able to ride a bike very well (yet!), but give him a computer and he can do allsorts with it. He is so good with them that in year 5, the teacher asked ds to teach the class how to do something. From that, ds says he would like to teach I.T.

Good luck to you all.

Your OT department sounds great! We are only at the very beginning of our journey so keeping our fingers crossed our OT is good!

Just having read about dyspraxia has helped - for example, I don't get frustrated with DS when he asks for help taking his jumper off. He's not being lazy - it is a challenge for him. Am hoping the Ed Psych will help us help him with his frustration...

DS is quite computer literate as well for a 6 year old. Maybe it's an area of strength for dyspraxics!