Can you talk to me about dyspraxia please.

[ComeOVeneer]

Had ds's parent evening at nursery last night. He does have some issues, easily distracted, gets over excited/emotional/angry and finds it hard to pull himself back from it. At home recently he has had episodes where you gets out of control and becomes physical, hiting/kicking/pinching (mainly me) and laughs about it as he is doing it. Also recently had an episode wher I ended up having to put him in his room and hold the door closed whilst he launched toys at the door.

Other things are he will often play by himself fior ages quite happily when there are other children around (although he will also happily play with others). Lastly he will request the same breakfast, lunch and dinner ever day (although again he will eat plenty of other things when presented to him).

Now I know he can be badly behaved, but I thought he was just an overly boistrous 4 yr old boy and perhaps exhibiting anxiousness at leaving nuresery and started school. However his teacher said although she is not an expert she considers there is a possibility of some level of dyxpraxia.

Can anyone talk to me about it or point me in the direction of some good resources for me to look further into it. She said we should just wait and see how he develops once at school, but should we do anything? Am in a bit of a flap about this tbh.

Bump

Hello,
Can't help sorry, but nicked this off another thread.
Hope it helps till someone more useful comes along x

Hi Comeoveneer

I suspect my son 3.6 has dyspraxia (among other problems). You will need to get it diagnosed by an OT - your GP or a paed can refer you. We have a waiting list in our area so I have booked a private assessment for next month.

Have a look at this website to get a better idea of what this teacher is talking about www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/services/gu_symptoms.php

Would not suggest leaving it - it might all sort itself out but if it doesn't your son will be missing out on help at a crucial age (and diagnosis can take ages).

Start by going to your gp and telling him/her of your teacher's concerns. insist on referral - gps suggest wait and see and it is so tempting to stick head in sand i know

my friend's daughter has dyspraxia and with help she is now doing v well at school

good luck

Thanks. From that site -

Very high levels of motor activity, including feet swinging and tapping when seated, hand-clapping or twisting. Unable to stay still - Not really

High levels of excitability, with a loud/shrill voice - Not shrill, but yes

May be easily distressed and prone to temper tantrums - yes

May constantly bump into objects and fall over - Not really

Hands flap when running - No

Difficulty with pedalling a tricycle or similar toy - No

Lack of any sense of danger (jumping from heights etc) - No (actually is a bit of a scardy cat sometimes).

Continued messy eating. May prefer to eat with their fingers, frequently spill drinks - yes

Avoidance of constructional toys, such as jigsaws or building blocks - No, loves lego.

Poor fine motor skills. Difficulty in holding a pencil or using scissors - a year ago couldn't use scissors, now improving.

Drawings may appear immature - a little

Lack of imaginative play. May show little interest in dressing up or in playing appropriately in a home corner or wendy house - No

Limited creative play - No

Isolation within the peer group. Rejected by peers, children may prefer adult company - No (although he sometimes intimidates tham with his outbursts).

Laterality (left- or right-handedness) still not established - Yes

Persistent language difficulties - No

Sensitive to sensory stimulation, including high levels of noise, tactile defensiveness, wearing new clothes - Yes only to objection to noise.

Limited response to verbal instruction. May be slow to respond and have problems with comprehension - Often have to repeat over and over as he doesn't seem to hear.

Limited concentration. Tasks are often left unfinished - Sometimes, once invovled in a task can concentrate well. But often gets distracted. eg asked to go upstairs to clean teeth and find him playing with toys in his room, or half way through getting dressed he starts reading a book etc.

not ticking many boxes is he?

mmmn puzzling - still think you should talk to gp or list in hand ask teacher what made her suggest dyspraxia. Perhaps she is trying to say "something is not quite right maybe you need to investigate"? I'm sure teacher is trying to be helpful

wanted to add that the behaviour at home stuff you describe sounds like typical 4yo boy

in the absence of specific concerns re co-ordination and motor control, I can't understand why the teacher has said Dyspraxia - all I can assume is that she doesn't actually know what it is. The Dyspraxia Foundation has a good "symptoms" list.

Some Dyspraxic children have behavioural issues, usually a result of frustration at not being able to do "normal" things easily. Some Dyspraxic children are also a bit Aspergic - but by no means all. And not all Aspergic children have behavioural issues. So you can't assume one because of the other - there has to be more to it.

TBH, a lot of what you described in your OP sounds like a 4 year old getting that surge of testosterone that arrives at that sort of age. So don't panic - if the school wants to get him assessed by an Ed Pych, that would clarify any concerns they have, but he does sound on the boisterous side to normal to me.

ADHD childrens checklist

The checklist below may indicate a person has ADHD ? they do not need to have all of these problems. However, if these problems continue beyond the time that their peers have grown out of them, they may indicate ADHD and advice should be sought.

adhd children?s checklist

• Fearless and impulsive -in a way yes but scared in some ways too eg won't go on a zipwire/rope swing etc.

• Does not stop to think - yes

• Takes undue risks- yes

• Dashes around-yes

• May run out into roads -YES

• Erratic behaviour-yes

• Accident-prone- not really

• Increased activity - always on the go.

• Compulsive touching everything and everyone- no

• Clumsy- no

• Talks incessantly- no

• Allergies-no

• Sleep and appetite problems continue.- yes (up a 5.30am every day). Asks for the same breakfast lunch and dinner everyday

• Poor co-ordination -no

• Tying laces - not really tried

• Dressing - can't do buttonsor turn things back if inside out, or put socks on

• Handwriting - to early to tell

• Ball games - can't catch

• Lack self-esteem - no

• Problems with making friends - np

• Impatience so they will not take turns in games - will do so grudgingly

• Demands must be met immediately- a bit

• May hit out and grab things - yes

• Inflexible personality:

• Un-cooperative - yes

• Defiant -yes

• Disobedient- yes

In a more formal setting, i.e., classroom etc, teachers (as well as seeing the above mentioned behaviour), may notice problems with:

• Poor concentration and brief attention span- occasionally
• Sitting through lessons is almost impossible - yes
• Fidgets constantly -no
• Constantly moving feet, hands etc.- no
• Taps pens, pencils books etc. - no
• Roams around classroom- yes
• Cannot take turns- reluctantly
• May blurt out answers to questions - yes
• Speak entirely inappropriately out of turn -yes
• Weak short-term memory - no
• Normal or high IQ but under performance at school - to early to tell

What do you think of that? Or am I getting to worried over normal (or rather exhuberant (sp) behaviour.

I think you might be getting too worried over normal behaviour. The key is in the first bit - if he continues with these traits when his peers have outgrown them, then you need to worry. But only then. I would say 99% of 4 year old boys have erratic behaviour and struggle to take turns, for example.

The more I think about it, the crosser I'm getting with the teacher - if she has concerns, she should be referring him for proper assessment via the SENCo, not freaking you out with random diagnoses.

Thanks hassled. Yes you are right, she kind of sprung it on me, but then said lets just wait and see. However he is leaving in 2 weeks and sarting school in sept. Do you think I should mention this to the school or see what their take on the situation is once he has been there a while?

I think if he really had a problem he would be ticking a lot more of those boxes. My ds1 has dyspraxia and ticks jsut about every one of them. I think you are probably right and he is a normal boisterous little boy. He sounds a lot like my dt2 tbh, some children are jsut lively!

If anything, I'd mention that he is lively to the school and leave it at that. (I've prewarned school about my lively one!).

I agree with Hassled, it is rather unprofessional of the preschool. Also, if they did have any concerns they should be passign them on to the school in his file themselves.

Thanks chops. I think you are right. It just throws you somewhat when something like this is so bluntly thrown into the equation.