Possible dyspraxia

[Peanut78]

My son had a problem with alignment in his pelvis and as a result did not sit until very late. He was eventually referred for chiro and physio and was sitting quite quickly after. However, doctors and phsyio always said he would "catch up quickly", but he didn't. It took him a long time to crawl (past 12 months) and he is still not walking independently now at 18 months (although I don't think we are too far off). He does not speak (no words at all). Although he does make noises and blow rasberries etc, he doesn't babble in the sense of dadadada etc. In addition, I have noticed that he is behind other children in terms of activies, for example posting (he will take things out, but not put then back), pointing at objects when named (he will point at things, but not when you ask where they are or name them) etc. Otherwise, he is a very cheerful little chappie, eats relatively well and interacts socially.

He is being referred to an OT to assess whether he may have dyspraxia. I am relieved that they will be looking into why he is consistently delayed in his development, but also pretty scared as I know next to nothing about dyspraxia except it may be a learning difficulty he would have for life. Anyone have any experience with dyspraxia?

Thanks

 

[birdiex]

Hi Hun!

Straight away, I just wanted to say that Dyspraxia can make you quite un-coordinated. I couldn't ride a bike until the last 6 months because of it, so that might be why he's having trouble walking and things. I wouldn't worry though, when he gets the hang of walking he'll be fine with it. Maybe a little clumsy, but all kids get bumps and bruises don't they?

I've got it myself and it's a very vague thing, and affects everybody who has it in very different ways. Give it a quick google! Honestly though, it's not made my life harder than it needed to be so I really wouldn't worry. It might take him a little longer to acquire all of the skills that come to other kids naturally but once he's got them, they're not going anywhere! The learning process might take a little longer and he might need an extra helping hand but they have all of this in main-stream schools so in short, I really wouldn't worry and just make sure he's got all the help he needs!

HTH!

 

[Peanut78]

Hi Hun!

Straight away, I just wanted to say that Dyspraxia can make you quite un-coordinated. I couldn't ride a bike until the last 6 months because of it, so that might be why he's having trouble walking and things. I wouldn't worry though, when he gets the hang of walking he'll be fine with it. Maybe a little clumsy, but all kids get bumps and bruises don't they?

I've got it myself and it's a very vague thing, and affects everybody who has it in very different ways. Give it a quick google! Honestly though, it's not made my life harder than it needed to be so I really wouldn't worry. It might take him a little longer to acquire all of the skills that come to other kids naturally but once he's got them, they're not going anywhere! The learning process might take a little longer and he might need an extra helping hand but they have all of this in main-stream schools so in short, I really wouldn't worry and just make sure he's got all the help he needs!

HTH!

Thanks for this, it's really reassuring to hear about your experience

I guess I felt so worried because I didn't know what it meant in real terms. My sister has learning difficulties and I remember what a struggle school was for her, but I think in her (and mine) generation there wasn't any support - if anything she was made to feel a bit thick by her teachers. Nowadays teachers seem more clued up and as you say - additional support is made available.

 

[Blah11]

My little brother is dyspraxic. He didn't really speak until he was 4 or 5 and even then, I had to translate what he was saying because for some reason I was the only one who understood him and ended up going to speech therapy for quite a long time when he did get speaking as he couldn't say 'S' and said 't' instead. He was a really clumsy child too and fell over loads but no broken bones or anything nasty.
When he got a bit older it became apparent that his handwriting was attrocious and his teachers at school were quite hard on him about it. One thing led to another and he was diagnosed with dyspraxia. He was given lots of OT and PT input and now (hes almost 21) you wouldn't know he had it.

He writes with his left hand and his writing is absolutely fine and legible, he got 3 highers at high school (alevels) and went to college to do sports sciences. His speech has been fine since he was about 7 or 8.



Honestly i wouldnt worry, it's an inconvienence if anything and I don't think it'll cause any huge issues since you would have a diagnosis early on

 

[Peanut78]

My little brother is dyspraxic. He didn't really speak until he was 4 or 5 and even then, I had to translate what he was saying because for some reason I was the only one who understood him and ended up going to speech therapy for quite a long time when he did get speaking as he couldn't say 'S' and said 't' instead. He was a really clumsy child too and fell over loads but no broken bones or anything nasty.
When he got a bit older it became apparent that his handwriting was attrocious and his teachers at school were quite hard on him about it. One thing led to another and he was diagnosed with dyspraxia. He was given lots of OT and PT input and now (hes almost 21) you wouldn't know he had it.

He writes with his left hand and his writing is absolutely fine and legible, he got 3 highers at high school (alevels) and went to college to do sports sciences. His speech has been fine since he was about 7 or 8.



Honestly i wouldnt worry, it's an inconvienence if anything and I don't think it'll cause any huge issues since you would have a diagnosis early on

Thanks for your post Blah

We should be seeing an OT for an assessment in a couple of weeks, will let you know how is goes.

I am pretty sure Theo is left-handed as well as he uses that hand much more (his dad and great-granddad are lefties as well).

 

[Lostunicorn]

Like Blah, my brother has dyspraxia, and had speech and play therapy, I was also his translator as I was the only one to understand him. As a child he could have testing behaviour, hated cetain fabrics and labels in clothes (something I share with him), was clumsy and had hand eye co-ordination isues and found school difficult due to not realising how to behave in different social situations.

He will be 21 next month and you would never guess he has this diagnosis,he is a fantastic drummer, he did very well at college (gained 3 A levels) and works in media, where he earnt more than me! He also has just passed a foundation degree with distinction. Other than the odd inappropriate comment when in polite conversation you would never know he has dysplaxia

My parents were adviced that music especially learning the drums is a great way to improve gross motor co-ordination and release frustrations to due with speech and it worked miracles for my brother. Hope this helps xxx

 

[ArkaneArkade]

Just to weigh in slightly. I'm far from an expert, but do have a few experiences regarding dyspraxia. I myself am dyspraxic, as are my younger brother and sister.

Typically dyspraxia is diagnosed at an early age - around the start of primary school, as that tends to be when teachers notice things. Earlier diagnosis is fantastic in terms of help, but tbh I was incredibly late in being diagnosed (16 1/2) and I have never really been affected by anything despite being a relatively severe case.

The main issue with dyspraxia is fine motor skills, and as said earlier can present in clumsiness, and also with speech problems. It is from a family of problems, and is quite similar to dyslexia.

My brother used to have issues with his reactions. When he was tested, the method was to throw a tennis ball, clap, then catch it, and his reaction was to wait until the ball was almost back in his hand before he would clap. In the case of my sister and me, we just have slightly untidy writing. I can't do joined up for instance, but otherwise there is very little issue.

The development may seem like a worry, but it does not necessarily mean difficulties for life. It is such a simple problem that even in severe cases like me the worst that ever happened is I was branded lazy/stupid until diagnosis - after that, everything was done to help me, and there were no problems.

I hope everything goes well but try not to worry too much

 

[DejaEntendu]

I have dyspraxia myself, it wasn't diagnosed till I was around 5 but I don't know if they're were any tell tale signs earlier,I completely bypassed the crawling stage (so that could possibly have been a sign but my parents didn't realise it at the time)

I got support in school (which did help quite a lot), I used a laptop in primary school (I didn't want to use one in high school because I didn't want to be singled out)

My handwriting's not the neatest and is pretty much illegiable if I write in a rush which is why I had to use a laptop for all my exams. Dyspraxia doesn't hold you back in the slightest,I learned to ride a bike when I was about 7/8 it took me a lot longer than most other children and I remember falling off and be petrified when my dad would let go of the bike but I got the hang of it eventually.
I've also ridden horses from a very young age and am perfectly fine, I may not be as balanced as some but I can ride well enough (I haven't ridden in about 2 years though now )

I tend to find that i'm very cluttered and disorganised in both mind and in the past I was notrious for forgetting to do homework,losing pieces of paper ,having all my work cluttered at the bottom of my backpack. However it was just a case of simply managing myself better (so for me getting a folder with sections to put things in worked for me).

I was an avid reader when I was younger too,reading well beyond what was expected for a child of my age. It was writing (and sports,like rounders etc) mainly where I had problems,I knew what I wanted the pen/pencil to do but getting my arm/hand to write that letter or word was a whole other subject. Whereas most people could just do it without thinking if I wanted to do a capital T for example I had to think 'Draw a straight line across then another straight line going down starting from just under the middle of the across line' or a Z was ' Two straight lines joined by a diagonal line' , I wasn't like that everytime but I had to think a great deal more about how to move my hand when I was first learning to write. Now I don't have to think about it at all really but then again I don't really write that much anymore either.

Dyspraxia hasn't impacted my life negatively in any way , your son may need some extra support with schooling but apart from that he'll grow up to be like any other child his age.