Apologies in advance for the ridiculous length of this post.
Background: I live in Ireland and DS is in 6th class in Primary school. (They move to secondary at 13yrs and take the Junior Cert exam, roughly equivalent to GCE level, after 3 years so when they’re 15/16yrs.)
DS is 12 and was diagnosed with Dyspraxia last summer by the Occupational Therapist who we saw privately costing us €750 for the 2 hour consultation. We submitted a copy of her report to the school.
It’s a village primary school and they were unwilling to arrange for him to be formally tested for Dyspraxia as their budget is tiny and they can only put forward one child a year for disability testing and so prioritised students who are struggling academically. I totally accept this as DS is academically extremely able, but he was struggling with activities like Art and PE in particular. It was the Head who recommended we try the OT service and we took her advice. DS was seen in May 21 but it was obviously too late for the school to apply for any additional SN funding for this year.
School are generally very good and supportive overall and DS is particularly enjoying this year so far. However, he does not receive any additional SN support.
My Dilemma:
We have just received notification that the school are going to recommence swimming lessons in March for 4th/5th and 6th Class. They have also asked us to pay €70 to cover the 6 weeks.
I want to either Opt out of attending the lessons or ask for additional 1:1 support for him, which I doubt they will be able to supply. I don’t want to throw away €70 on lessons which will cause him further embarrassment in front of not only his own classmates, but 2 other classes.
Previously before Covid, they did run lessons for one term during 2019 which DS found very tricky as he was in a large mixed ability group and he spent the majority of the session holding into the side. He also struggles to get dressed and undressed quickly and is usually last out of the changing rooms and ends up sitting alone on the bus.
Quite separately, I have recently found a swimming instructor who is willing to provide 1:1 training and has additional training in supporting students with Dyspraxia. Previously, I have taken DS to swimming classes since he was 5 years old but he’s failed to make much progress. He has no fear of the water and can put his head underwater quite happily. However, he simply cannot co-ordinate his limbs very well.
At his assessment last May, the OT said he’d scored extremely low - 0.5 percentile (I think) regarding his balance and co-ordination. He still walks on tiptoes for most of the time and he doesn’t join in playground games if they involve throwing, catching or kicking a ball as he simply can’t do it. The OT wanted him to be assessed by a Paediatrician in case there was anything physically amiss but we’re unlikely to get an appointment in the next two years as his issues are not deemed medically urgent.
School knows that DS always tries his best with any task he’s given and because he’s academically very able (can complete difficult maths equations in his head), he’s largely left alone to get on with his schoolwork.
I haven’t ever made a fuss before but I really don’t want to throw away an additional €70 when I’ll be spending more than that on private swimming lessons and we simply can’t afford to.
If you’re a parent of a child with similar difficulties, what would you do?