Developmental motor coordination

[shazzarooney99]

My son is a year and a half to 2 ears behind, is this anything to worry about? hes 8. only just flicked through the report again tonight and not actually sure what it meant.

Sounds like he might be dyspraxic (dcd is a similar condition). The report should detail how it affects him, to what extent and make suggestions about how to proceed. Sometimes Occupational Therapy may help with posture, coordination, balance, handwriting, memory and organisation of thought processes using games , puzzles and activities. Special cushions and blankets may help with sitting still, attention span and sleep through sensory input. Chances are the differences between him and others his age will become more marked such as in playing team sport and socially so ideally you want to find appropriate activities and intervention before he becomes aware of this. Longer term if writing is an issue he may need to learn to touchtype for exams , have extra time or support.

Thanks for that info Lizs xx

dyspraxia & dcd are pretty much the same thing. They are often under-diagnosed and under-supported.

support is hard to find but do push for it because it can help.

And especially watch that difficulties in motor skills (sports / writing / doing buttons etc) don't spill over and cause poor self-esteem or other social struggles.

You might like to take a look at www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/dyspraxia-children/ to see if it sounds familiar for your Ds and ideas for ways to help.

We have trouble with buttons,we also have trouble turning things if inside out,also wiping his bottom and theres no way i can forsee laces being done in the imminent future,he also struggles with socks,also has problems with his handwriting.

Lisz even though hes 8 ive looked at the 7 year old one and by goodness me there are so many things that fit, in fact every single one of these.

By 7 years old

Problems may include:

Difficulties in adapting to a structured school routine
Difficulties in Physical Education lessons
Slow at dressing. Unable to tie shoe laces
Barely legible handwriting
Immature drawing and copying skills
Limited concentration and poor listening skills
Literal use of language
Inability to remember more than two or three instructions at once
Slow completion of class work
Continued high levels of motor activity
Hand flapping or clapping when excited
Tendency to become easily distressed and emotional
Problems with co-ordinating a knife and fork
Inability to form relationships with other children
Sleeping difficulties, including wakefulness at night and nightmares
Reporting of physical symptoms, such as migraine, headaches, feeling sick

Im shocked,we actually have the third appointment booked because he constantly feel sick,wow just wo, thanks for this,i would ever have thought of dyspraxia xxxxxx

Glad it was useful . You are where we were about 10 years ago. Ds still refers to that website from time to time. Who did the report? Good luck with the appointments.

School bout i a occupational therapist that specalise in sensory and all that stuff,she did say at the end of the report it was indicitave of sensory processing disorder.

A lot of conditions overlap, the final diagnosis being the most dominant. You really need to get a developmental paediatrician and/or ed pysch involved to get more specific information.

Thanks Lizs