Dyspraxia

[mumtoje]

Posted this already but forgot a title

I am concerned that my 6.5 yr old DS may have dyspraxia. He has had poor concentration since he started school and it was noted last year that his gross motor interaction needed some attention. At the time it was recommended that he see an OT and SALT , the SALT to help with his listening skills. He was seen by them but they decided that it was his gross motor skills that needed attention as they claimed that he had to put a lot of processing into his physical movements and there was not enough left to process other information coming in. I was told that the problem was in his core trunk area So he has had some physio sessions.
He has always been a bit clumsy in that his spatial awareness, depth perception and motor planning has not been great. He bumps into people quite a bit and his balance is probably not as good as his peers. He finds it difficult to get comfortable on a seat but is not hyperactive if that makes sense. He finds it difficult to follow lots of instructions and his organisation skills are not great.His vocabulary is great but the speed at which he would retell a story is sluggish as his mind seems to be going quicker than his mouth.

However he can ride a bike without stableisers, can hop and jump etc. He was not late doing these things either. His fine motor skills are OK, not above average but I would suspect in the normal range. His handwriting is ok, a bit immature but again I would thnk not cause for concern. His spelling is good . His reading is quite slow and laborious.His practical maths skills are ok but getting it on paper is a problem

He seems to have some of the symptoms of dyspraxia but am unsure if you could be dyspraxic and able to do things like ride a bike, swim, fine motor skills being ok. I would have thought that the Physio , OT etc would have mentioned Dyspraxia at this stage. He also had an physio assessmennt at the end of his first lots of sessions and she gave him "age appropriate" things to do and he was able to do all of them except one which he was not meant to able to do until 7. However one of the boys in DS's
physio session has been seen by a reputable educational physcologist who is very definite that he is dyspraxic , yet he has been seen by many people and never been mentioned before. Any thoughts would be appreciated

ds (almost 10) has core stability problems , motor coordination issues (ie can't ride a bioke , spidery handwriting), hypermobility in arms and hands yet he is not considered to have major issues and has not been diagnosed. I think in assessments they tend to eliminate the more significant conditions first and define in terms of medical or functional need. In your ds' case his problems may be deemed slight and within age appropriateness but at least has had some therapy so is "in the system" as it were for further help if he doesn't make progress. ds was only just starting to get help at that age. I'm not sure you'd find having a formal label of much benefit atm .

Thanks Liz. You are probably right in terms of defining medical or functional need. There seems to be a reluctance to "label" unless the condition is glaringly obvious . I wouldnt want a formal label unless it was going to be a benefit in terms of getting extra help. Although he seemed "age appropriate" at the most recent assessment I still think he has motor issues which may not have shown up there. He is very "bouncy" in comparison to his peers and seems to have problems in regulating his movements rather than specific problems with certain things. Not sure that makes sense. i would like to see him get some OT but that doesnt seem to be possible atm. As you say i guess he is in the system anyway

I use to think this of my son now aged 9,he could fall over a matchstick..He was always falling over and bumping into things,bad temper,slow talking and reading,etc..

He is now 9,top of the class in maths,reading coming on,gone up another level,putting things to paper,still hit and miss,have just been told he is dyslexic,which was the furthest thing from my mind,he is on the go all the time,as well..

just an idea for you.

My ds is diagnosed with dyspraxia, he can swim very well(one of the best in his school) but has problems with cycling writing concentration etc. Have you contacted the dyscovery centre or the dyspraxia foundation?