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DYSPRAXIA ........ ANY ADVICE

31 replies

bride2be · 17/11/2006 19:59

HI MY 12YR OLD DAUGHTER HAS DYSPRAXIA (JUST BEEN TOLD YESTERDAY AT TARGET SETTING DAY, SHE ALSO HAS MILD DYSLEXIA CAN ANYONE RECCOMEND ANYTHING FOR TELLING THE TIME, I WOULD PREFER IT CD FOR THE COMPUTER AND HAS ANYONE ELSE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THERE CHILD AS MINE IS UNABLE TO TELL THE TIME.

OP posts:
possumhead · 17/11/2006 22:15

Hi,
Not in same situation, but have a read of this
It may be of some help.

bride2be · 17/11/2006 23:05

Thankyou that has been a good help, feel like schoold has let my daughter down, i asked them about 4 weeks ago for feedback on any tests they did on her but it takes target setting day and me demanding to see the special needs teacher that she tells me oh by the way she has dyspraxia

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possumhead · 17/11/2006 23:27

oh, by the way...?!!!
That it is no way to tell someone something like this. Has she got an IEP (individual education plan)?

mamama · 18/11/2006 01:08

If she has dyspraxia, the SENCO should be able to help. Your daughter may be entitled to some occupational therapy - when I've had kids in our class with Dyspraxia, they often work with the TA to practise their fine motor skills - lots of cutting out, drawing round shapes, tracing, tying laces, rolling/ catching a ball etc. If they told you today, they really should have explained what help is avalaible to you and how you can help. If they didn't, you might want to call the Senco for more info. I'm surprised they didn't tell you before. That doesn't really help anyone.

bride2be · 18/11/2006 10:28

THEY JUST TOLD ME THEY WOULD START WORKING WITH HER AFTER CHRISTMAS AND THEY ASKED IF SHE DID SPORTS(WHICH AS A SECONDARY SCHOOL THEY DO SPORTS 3 TIMES A WEEK) CAITLIN SAID SHE DID AFTER SCHOOL SPORTS AND THEY SAID GOOD THAT WILL HELP WITH YOUR COORDINATION.
NOTHING WAS MENTIONED OF SENCO OR AN IEP, LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER TRIP TO THE SCHOOL PROBALLY ONE OF MANY, WHY IS THE EDUCATION SYSTEM NO GOOD TO KIDS THAT NEED HELP AARGH

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fuchsia0703 · 18/11/2006 10:46

Schools do not diagnose dyspraxia - they may pick up that she has problems though. Ask for an appointment with the Senco to clarify the position and ask what they will be doing to help. In the meantime, look on the Dyspraxia Foundation website for information.

It does seem a bit odd that she has got to 12 years old without someone picking up a problem - was she OK at primary?

By the way, try not to use capitals on the boards - it is equivalent to shouting!

bride2be · 18/11/2006 12:39

Hi no she had trouble at school from yr2 i noticed that something wasn't right, I feel like i am spending time trying to get my daughter a decent education, probally like loads of other people.
I only write in capitals because i hate keep putting capitals in, that is me being lazy

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mamama · 18/11/2006 18:33

In what way was 'something not right'? with your dd since Y2? I think Fuschia is right, it does seem odd that she got through primary school without a diagnosis.

Who assessed your DD? How did they decide it is Dyspraxia - do you know what caused them to say that/ what the symptoms were? Does she have difficulty with handwriting or other fine motor skills?

I think there are a lot of questions you need to ask the school. It is very unhelpful for them to give your daughter a label but not explain why or what can be done to help. Can you give them a call on Monday?

bride2be · 18/11/2006 18:53

From yr2 I noticed when she should of been putting spellings together she wasn't bed was deb phone was fon, In junior school the special needs at the education dept tested her with me having to ask, not the school.
She cannot catch a ball most of the time and she cannot tell the time, when i spoke to the special needs teacher the other day i had to do a school run so didn't have as much time as wanted, but will ring on Monday and speak to her again.

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fuchsia0703 · 19/11/2006 12:01

So your daughter was assessed in primary school - what was the result? Did she get any support? If your daughter's primary school had any concerns they should have passed them on when she transferred. Dyspraxia is a very wide ranging condition which is why it is so difficult to get a diagnosis. My DD who is 9 is brilliant at spellings and reading but has major problems with maths and telling the time. I know other children who have it who have verbal dyspraxia but are fairly well coordinated generally.

bride2be · 19/11/2006 22:56

They assesed her in primary school for dyslexia but did nothing to help her, it has only been when she has gone to secondary school and i kicked up a fuss that nothing had been done in junior school and i wasn't prepared to let another year go by with her being neglected that they agreed to do something and when i asked on Thursday the sn told me she had dyspraxia as well as dyslexia, i am ringing school tomorrow to get an appointment with sn and have a good talk with her.

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fubsy · 20/11/2006 14:40

Hi B2B - Education can "diagnose" dyslexia, but not dyspraxia. if they think your DD has dypraxia they need to let you know why they think that, then next step is to ask for refrral to Paediatrician and or physiothrapist/occupational therapist from your GP. Beware that a lot of Occupational Therapy departments wont see children of secondary school age, but it may be worth kicking up a fuss as noone seems to have advised you properly in the past.

Good luck!

bride2be · 20/11/2006 15:12

Thanks everyone, have spoke to sn this mornung on the phone and they told me they couldn,t see me until mid December which i wasn't happy about, and i asked why they weren't going to start working with my daughter until after christmas and i asked wht then and she said there was other children with greater needs, but she said she would work with Caitlin either before school or after school doing wordshark and starspell i told her we already had wordshark at home and we were waiting on delivery of starspell, so i would work with Caitlin at home but if she had any other ideas i was more than happy for Caitlin to do this, but she said she didn't.
Feels like i am banging my head against a brick wall, it just seems that they think it is okay to let weeks go by even though she has a reading age of 8 1/2 and spelling 8

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flyingmum · 20/11/2006 18:24

I can recommend a really useful book: Dyspraxia, Developmental Co-ordination Disorder by Dr Amanda Kirby ISBN: 0-285-63512-3

My son is very dyspraxic and also has literacy difficulties as well as aspergers and stuff. There are real shades of grey between all these severe specific learning difficulties and frankley you need a really good Ed psych or paed to differentiate them. You won't get any OT unless you jump up and down and the NHS waiting lists are mega. I waited 18months for my son's 6 sessions (woopee!). My chap cannot handwrite (he is 11) and as for ball skills and PE - Nightmare on Elm Street agogo!

A really good OT assessment can be very revealing. We had to go private in the end (due to tribunal) but I have to say it was the best £500 I have ever spent and told us so much about him and why he couldn't do moves and simple things that we all take for granted.

All the best

Hassled · 20/11/2006 21:24

One of my sons is Dyspraxic, the other (younger) has Verbal dyspraxia (but no co-ordination worries). I've managed to get a Statement of SEN for the younger but only by being an absolute cow, ringing children's Services once a week for months, writing endless letters - and that's with the support of a great speech therapist. Without her I wouldn't have stood a chance - so much just seems down to luck. With the older it's been much harder - no OT at all, he has an IEP only because I've made a fuss about the handwriting he's expected to do (now they let him do loads of stuff on the computer), and a school that seems only dimly aware what Dyspraxia is. The only thing I've learnt is that to get help you have to overcome any embarrassment and forget being "nice" - endless persistence, ringing the same people again and again, can eventually work. Does anyone know about how many Dyspraxics also have Asperger's? The older boy seems to tick lots (but not all) of the Asperger boxes but I don't know how much of that is just being Dyspraxic - many thanks.

fubsy · 21/11/2006 22:24

Hassled, do you remember those diagrams from maths with circles that overlap eachother so that each one can be individual or ovrlap with any or all of the others? I think they may be called venn diagrams.

Anyway, theres a very respected OT in london called Sidney Chu who describes dyspraxia like that. His diagram shows dyspraxia overlapping with ADHD, AS/Aspergers, Language difficulties, Dyslexia. So assuming that dyspraxia is the label given to the motor component of the condition, there can be elements of any or all of the other conditions. That is what makes it so complex and difficult to both diagnose and treat.

There is also a tendency for some paeds and EPs to tell parents their child has dyspraxia when they have a whole pile of other things going on as well, then referring them to the therapists. Unfortunately this raises hope in the parents as their expectation is that the dyspraxia can be treated, but when it is combined with severe autism/ADHD/learning difficulties/behaviour problems, it becomes very difficult to address.

The internet is full of helpful groups that invent a system then get an article in the Times or Telegraph and then everyone expects their child with dyspraxia to be curable. Even the paeds collude with this, often referring parents to private organisations that they dutifully go to at great expense, only to find that they can only have an assessment or that it will be too stressful to travel for treatment.

Obviously the service available on the nhs varies hugely, but I would hope that most places would offer something.

fuchsia0703 · 22/11/2006 08:53

I can really understand that you're angry b2b but, a little word of advice, you sound a little confrontational in your dealings with the school and imo all that will do is get their backs up. Whilst it is no excuse, your DD is only one of the many children they have to deal with with varying needs. I think you should see your GP anyway. There is only a legal requirement for support in education until 16and this is another way forward. The SENCO does sound like she was trying to help in offering to work with your DD before or after school (probably her only free slot). She might get something more out of the software packages with a teacher, rather than just playing with them at school and at least it is a start. You will achieve far more by working with the school rather than seeing them as a body to fight against.

bride2be · 22/11/2006 09:26

I think i am angry with the school because they don't give me feedback and i never seem to get it, i just get the feeling that some of the teachers aren't taking it seriously enough, although her form teacher was really good on target setting day, but a few weeks earlier the head of year wasn't that interested.
What can the gp do?
thanks for everyones advice, makes it not such a lonely place, and the fact there is other people in this situation as well.

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fuchsia0703 · 22/11/2006 16:35

A diagnosis has to come from the medical side of things not the educational. Any OT/physio referral would come through your GP. Have a look on the Dyspraxia Foundation website if you have notdone this yet and click on Local Groups. There are support groups throughout the UK who may be aable to give you advice specific to your area. Whereabouts are you?

bride2be · 22/11/2006 16:38

Hi i am in Newcastle Upon Tyne, I will make an appointment with my gp, thanks

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fubsy · 22/11/2006 21:54

B2B, if you want a diagnosis your GP will have to refer your daughter to a paediatrician, but if its practical help you want ask for a therapy referral.

Good luck

mum24boyz · 29/11/2006 14:24

fubsy, just looking at your overlapping msg, makes lots of sense, my little boy in nursery is now being watched for asd i believe, as he does lots of lining up, but his older brother is aspies and they are totally different, i see none of the same things in the youngest. i have suspected dyspraxia for some time as he has poor co-ordination and poor speech, infact he is only just starting to talk at 3 1/2. your explanation makes lots of sense and might stop me looking for signs that arent there now, thanks very much, ps am new here, good to meet you all.

fubsy · 29/11/2006 22:25

Welcome, Mum24boyz!

fuchsia0703 · 30/11/2006 09:38

None of it is clear cut unfortunately - I went to a talk by Dr Amanda Kirby who has written books on Dyspraxia and runs the Dyscovery Centre near Cardiff (another website for you people who are newish to all this to check out). She said if you imagine the Olympic symbol (seven overlapping circles) that is what all these invisible disabilities are like. There are so many overlaps between dyspraxia, dyslexia, asd etc etc.

mum24boyz · 30/11/2006 20:56

thanks fubsy, and fuschia, yeah i know a lot of the other sn mums i know, their kids end up with a whole list of things, once they finally get round to diagnosing one of them that is, like i said, i can stop looking for signs that arent there now, cos my 2 littlies are so different, and it really confused me, thanks.