DD age 7 can read letters but can't copy legibly, can't draw

[Sunnyd1234]

Hi advice please. Trying to find a diagnosis for my DD. She has real trouble copying writing or drawing. For example if I draw a simple square house with triangle roof, she will draw a rough circle with an arch on top when she tries to copy. She gets confused between reading b and d and will sometimes write the letters upside down. It's a bit like dyslexia but doesn't seem quite the same. Anyone seen a similar thing and did it resolve.
Thanks,
Sunny

My ds has difficulty with fine motor skills he also has a dysgraphia diagnosis. He found writing, copying, art work difficult. But he has had lots of help at school and doing great with these things now.

My 7 year old DS1 was diagnosed with DCD (Dyspraxia) last year.

His main symptoms are poor handwriting, childish drawings, attention issues, difficulty catching balls, cycling, learning how to swim. Also he has a lisp. However, he does very well at reading, comprehension and maths, so he's not dyslexic.

Every dyspraxic is different and has a different set of symptoms but the main tell-tale for most is poor handwriting and copying of shapes.

I knew my DS1 struggled with handwriting but didn't think it was DCD as he's great at Lego and he doesn't stumble around.

The Dyspraxia Foundation website and helpline are very helpful.

Where I live we can self-refer to a DCD Occupational Therapist. It might worth checking.

Another vote for getting dyspraxia/DCD checked out. How are her motor skills like catching, balance, spilling drinks, bumping into things, climbing/bikes?

Can she read fairly fluently? phonics skills and comprehends the story and whats going on? what about spelling? what does her teacher say?

Hi thanks for ideas.
She does have trouble catching a ball but can cycle well. Balance when walking was a problem and we actually moved house because she wasn't safe on the stairs when she was younger - could open the child lock! On a bike or tricycle she has always had good awareness and flies round on a racing line! I think it may be a visual motor integration issue when it comes to writing as I have seen an example on the OT mum visual motor integration web page which seems to describe her writing to a T. www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/visual-motor-integration-activities.html

So I am not sure if that means dysgraphia or dyspraxia.

She can only read 2 or 3 letter words and she knows her single letter phonics.

Maybe dyslexia and dysgraphia?

TinTinBanana how did you get a dysgraphia diagnosis? Does your DS read ok?

Thanks,
Sam

Dyspraxia and Dyslexia are pretty co-morbid with hard dyslexic being dyspraxic.

I would check for dyspraxia first, as the assessment is simple and paid by NHS. Diagnosing Dyslexia is another kettle of fish, as schools don't have Ed Psych funding to pay for dyslexia assessment.

The line between dysgraphia/dyslexia/dyspraxia is pretty blurry. Dyspraxia and Dyslexia intersect in different symptoms.

For example, I thought I was dyslexic for a long time, because my reading isn't great. But I'm most likely dyspraxic as my reading problem are motor (eye movement).

'half' not 'hard' dyslexic

Have a look at the Dyspraxia Foundation website and check out the list for her age group. They also have a community fb page.

Hi sunny Dr Gavin Reid diagnosed my ds with dyslexia and dysgraphia with dysgraphia being the more severe. We are in Scotland and he was doing assessments somewhere we could travel to. So it was a private assessment.

My ds has always found reading difficult and tiring. He needed alot of help with learning to read but he can read now. He does better with a large font and struggles to read small letters on the white board at school.

I think ds probably does have dyspraxia only it is called a motor difficulty in the letter from the o/t with it causing more problems with his fine motor skills. He did find learning to ride a bike and swim difficult but he got there in the end. He is very accident prone. Dressing was difficult. Can't tie shoe laces.

It is difficult to know which diagnosis explains my ds' reading and writing difficulties. All I can say is that lots of good support with reading, writing and fine motor exercises have really helped him.