can anyone give me some advice please???

[xmasmummy]

i am a little worried about my son. he will be six in june next year. he has a mild hearing loss in his right ear but it isnt that which i am worried about.
his hand-eye co-ordination is very poor, he cant use scissors and cant yet write his name (although he can spell his name). he can just about manage to draw a face and a circle. his concentration is very poor and he has problems following orders/ requests. you can ask him to pick something up or go upstairs for something and by the time he gets there he has no idea what he is there for and comes back empty handed. also he doesnt seem to learn repeated requests like "when you come home from school i would like you to put your coat and shoes in your room" this has to be repeated at least half a dozen times before it gets done. any one know what is wrong???

please????

Not much help at all, but my ds is 9 and has ADHD and Asperger's. He cannot follow orders/requests, but when he eventually - after 6 repeated requests, does the opposite!

He seems to hear a jumble of words, as possibly your ds does - if you took the "when you come home from school i would like you to" to leave just "put your coat and shoes in your room please" or even motion to the shoes and coat and point to his room whilst saying the words, he may simplify things for him a bit. I know my ds switches off before i have finished a long sentence and in this respect school are having a hard time with him.

He appears not to be listening - and i ask him to repeat back to me my request - which he very rarely is able to do, instead making up what he thinks i said. I have had his ears checked several times, but realise it is just the way he is. Possibly your ds's mild hearing problem plays a part in this?

Sorry if this is of no help, but if it is not, please know you are not alone. I must appear to be a very strange parent when i shorten sentences for the maximum impact but i find it sometimes works.

yes have tried shortening it and that dont seem to help much. my mum reckons he might also be slightly dyslexic which would explain the inability to write yet, and also dyspraxic because of his co-ordination problems. also he tends to get very worked up over silly things like "its too dark" and "i cant reach the light switch" when he clearly can. he was brilliant as a baby, spoke mega early and was an angel until he turned 3. i am alone, am a single parent of 4 and he is the second eldest, also have older boy, a toddler (girl) and a baby (girl). it is getting really hard to cope with it all now

Hi xmasmummy,

Has your son seen a developmental paediatrician?. It sounds like their imput is needed. You can ask your GP for a referral to such a person if you haven't already done so.

Have school made any comments?.

school doesnt seem to notice

The school sounds bonkers. Infant teachers, in my experience, get almost hysterical about the ability or inability to use scissors so him not being able to shows something is wrong that no one has noticed. My six year old is in year 2 (he's an August birthday) and has no special needs but is a bit slow on the old handwriting but can write a diary entry of several sentences, can write his name and has just sat and written his xmas cards. My 11 year old, who has severe dyspraxia and also aspergers and a few extra things will not write his xmas cards, his handwriting is appalling (about the same or worse as his brothers)and used to get very confused about directions (still can if he is in a yonderly mood). It does sound as if your son is a bit dyspraxic from what you said. I should start pushing to get him tested because some occupational therapy may really help.

Good luck.

thats what i was thinking. have home tested him, his coordination is poor, he is clumsy, cannot follow simple orders and still runs like he has a nappy on.but he has no communication problems at all, he also tends to over react to little things and gets upset v easily

r u still in contact with yr health visitor, if not ask yr dr for a referal to an OT. Could have autism or dyspraxic (prob spelt it wrong) Dont use long sentences just say "coat, shoes, room" and point to his room, may seem a bit harsh but just see what he does. would go to DR asap cos it may take a while to get an appointment to get him assessed.

worcestercaroline- he is definitely not autistic, i know the signs to look out for- uncontrollable tantrums, avoiding eye contact. he has none of these, he has no social problems, has plenty of friends and is a very pleasant little boy. the dyspraxia was my initial thought and i have checked a few websites about it and it definitely fits. will ring gp tomorrow and ask them to refer me to developmental paed. also spoke to the school today, they had noticed something but neglected to mention it to me.