Asking for MN help again - where do we go from here - ASD /Dyspraxia / Dyslexia

[LargeLatte]

Long, and vague general plea for help as I've run out of ideas.

I've had so much help from this board, and ds2 (6) has made lots of progress with balance and co-ordination, sports skills and social skills thanks to suggestions here, RRT, CPOC, Occ T and lots of help at school.

Just back from Occ T appointment with new person to get a fresh perspective. Handwriting has not improved at all in 2 years - can still barely write his own name.

Concentration is awful - very energetic, needs to be moving, cannot process a question and then answer it, or carry out simple tasks.

DX dyspraxia with lots of sensory seeking behaviours.

School are interested in ASD assessment (I am not).

OT mentioned dyslexia.

What next? We've been given some ideas for letter formation practice without using a pencil. And Occ T will go into school for a chat with teacher to see what's needed.

What am I missing. How can I help ds who is a happy, bright, energetic little boy learn to listen, be attentive, follow instructions, answer questions - to concentrate?

The school are interested in having him assessed and I'd advise you to agree as an official assessment of his needs will enable them to provide the resources to help him. When my son's school wanted to assess him at age 6 we were very reluctant (didn't want him labelled etc). A friend in education reassured us and explained how the system works. He was seen by the educational psychologist and it turned out to be the best thing for him. After the official "diagnosis" (ASD) the school SEN co-ordinator took charge and arranged all kinds of stuff specifically to help him and the school was given funding to cover the costs. It's hard to make much headway on your own - if help is available, try not to be afraid to take it. Believe me, it can make life much better! Hope this helps.

Thanks for replying. My main concern is that Occ T is not available for children with ASD dx in our area, which OT confirmed today, and that is something which has helped him the most.

I asked the school to come up with a case as to how an assessment would benefit ds and I haven't heard anything back. If I had an idea of what other help might be available I could be persuaded but so far it looks like ASD dx would result in less help.

Would he have a dual diagnosis? If he is already diagnosed with dyspraxia, would having an ASC diagnosis as well as the dyspraxia mean that he loses support from OT?

my son who is very similar has improved a lot with ADHD meds I hated the idea but he has come leaps and bounds since we started them.
might not be an answer you want and its not for everyone.
They helped him to concentrate more and his learning has come on.

That was my interpretation of today's meeting yes - that if he was diagnosed as ASD they would withdraw support as they don't work with kids on the spectrum.

That sounds a bit weird, since it's not at all unusual for kids with ASC diagnoses to need OT support. Could you push them a bit on that - if they don't work with kids with ASCs, then who does? Is there a separate specialist service, for example?

hi
hope nonne minds me hijacking this!
i have slight concerns about my4&half hr old dd.she has hypermobility,has very good imagination&plays alot on her own.
she does like to play with others too though,
shes still at preschool at mo&theyve said theyve no real concerns about her but they are working on her sharing&interacting with other children.shes fine when theres something out she likes playing with&she will play with another child then,such as the dolls house but if theres nothing out she likes she prefers to play on her own,making things talk.
she does the same at home,will get any two things,even bits of loo roll,my mums walking sticks when we go there or anything&make them into characters&make them talk to each other!
she does little plays for us with anything being the characters.
also when shes talking to the other kids she tries to have long conversations with them that go off on a tangent&they get bored&wander off bless her!
weve had playdates&they play fine together,though she can be bit bossy sometimes!if they stay for dinner she starts telling them off if she thinks theyre not eating it properly etc!
shes pretty stubborn,doesnt take no for an answer very easily&can have a meltdown when shes told off.she answers back,hands on hip etc!
shes playing with her playfood at mo&she brings over an old book shes using as a menu,asks what i want&brings it over.she waits for me to start eating&when i do she gets all exited&sort of jumps about on her feet&flaps her hands giggling.
shes a lovely loving little girl,likes to dance round the room&sing&i love her to bits!
ive just got a 'feeling'shes bit different,eccentric whatever!
ive got two other grown up dds,one of whoms got a dd of her own so shes not my first or anything
sorry for the long post!!

shameless bump sorry!prob should have started new thread