dysTalk Symptoms Of Dyspraxia - Dyspraxia - Forum - dysTalk

Thought I start a thread for people to share experiences on what the tell tale signs of dyspraxia are. To get it started:

Problems in the following areas:

- getting dressed / tying shoe laces

- using a knife and fork

- organisation with books and stationary

- handwriting (especially keeping up with friends in class)

- struggling with team games.

Be great to hear anyone else's additions to the list.

22/05/2009 09:07:49
LucyT

loosing things

not able to organise notes although accademically able

difficulity with bike

empty homework book

dropping things

spilling things

difficulty understanding childs speech

25/05/2009 15:22:20
sue

repetition of questions-no matter how many times you have answered it.

not able to follow simple instruction unless told in basic words.

13/06/2009 20:27:39
denise

memory difficulties ie remembering a task learned earlier.

midline crossover difficulties ie picking something up on the left using right hand

28/07/2009 19:18:52
Carol Greenwood

not able to show affection to children

09/08/2009 11:42:51
Judith Atha

Difficulties in getting views across

Not ever managing to ride a bike

Balance - falling down heavily for no appartent reason

Difficulties in maintaining friends - in the Adult not being able to form relationships with the opposite sex

Adult- coming across as alot younger than they actually are, due to not being able to drive my son does not have a drivers licence so has no I.D so can not go down the pub and socialise, as bars and pubs dont believe my son being 25, after years of being bullied at school by both children and teachers and being bullied by the kids where we live my son suffers from isolation

Trouble holding down jobs, my son left school 9 years ago and has been sacked from 10 jobs so far as he is too slow on tasks

Depression, my son has been depressed since he was about 9 and at the moment is suicidal.This is due to the fact that government agencies have fobbed us of and are not interested in the Dyspraxia.

Total lack of organization skills

19/08/2009 06:51:29
Michele Roberts

Spatial awareness difficulties.

Getting a task right one day, and the next day has no idea what you are asking them to do.

Unable to organise their ideas, speech and body to perform the task required.

Their brain is like a filing cabinet without a filing system so when retriving information stored they are unable to locate that piece of information. It gets lost.

08/09/2009 14:23:39
Jenny P

Michele (19/8 comment) - am thinking of you and your son.

09/09/2009 02:22:41
Pip H

Liable to become alcohol or drug dependent at a young age.

26/09/2009 16:00:49
Mary

Ask a thousand questions all the time.

19/10/2009 19:17:56
Tasja

Speech may be unclear

Poor sense of rhythm, tempo and volume in speech/music

19/10/2009 21:20:10
Kris

A positive attribute - they will never become a fashion victim.

20/10/2009 07:27:35
Pauline

Michele Roberts, I have a young dyspraxic apprentice who ''was found out'' soon after he started here, we are a heavy engineering industry so it is difficult at times but he has people on his side. He may not finish all of his apprenticeship but he will get as far as he is able to and then based on his level of skill be allocated a position. It has been a difficult road for him and this is firm that takes on board the D.D.A.

He is loud and obsessed by whatever topic he is on at the time. He has a mentor who has the patience to deal with him

02/11/2009 14:47:08
KAREN TINSLEY

myself and my wife have an 8 year old boy with dyspraxia,don't know if anyone else has endured this but our little lad scratches his face when he gets frustrated....he can also get quite aggressive when he is told about his behaviour,but also he is the most caring person in the world,also he will not be in a room alone at any cost,we love him with all our hearts although it can be tough at times we would'nt change him for the world.

02/11/2009 17:35:09
paul martin

This is a helpful list of dyspraxia symptoms. All I'd add is that dyspraxia symptoms can occur with dyslexia symptoms as well so if your child is showing dyspraxia symptoms make sure that you see someone who is prepare to look out for all related difficulties.

12/01/2010 15:23:23
A

I've been reading the posts on this site in the hope to find an answer to my Son's problems. He has been diagnosed with 'dyspraxic tendancies' but his motor skills are not too bad now (he's 10). Paul Martin's post above could have been written by me - the behaviour is exactly what our son does, and I was feeling like he was the only child that has ever done this - Paul, would love to hear if you have ever got to the bottom of this??

13/01/2010 17:58:46
Juliet Morris

im just going through the prosses with school as to wether my 9 year old son has dyspraxia .His hand writing is a mess he has aggressive behaviour and where the same cannot leave him in a room on his own im pushing school for a diagnosis but sometimes its as if theyre not bothered.

18/01/2010 13:43:27
mandy

hi - i have a five year old daughter with dyspraxia and mostly has all the traits...ie melt down when gets upset,cant dress,problems with pencil control and knife and folk....only thing i cant get to the bottom of is she still wets daily not nights could this be connected????

21/01/2010 20:10:50
tracey

Hi all,

I am now 47 and was only diagnosed with dyspraxia in 2005 so have wondered what was wrong with me all these years! I am fortunate in working for an organisation that recognises Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)and I have just had my first session with the Education Support section on site. The tutor said that Brain Gym has had incredible results for adults and children with SpLD so do try and find a tutor! I will post when I find a good Website.

I have also found that Omega-3 Fatty Acids are brilliant for improving brain function! I even had to stop taking them before my assessment so I had a true result!

So Brain Gym and Omega-3's will be great for adults and children with the condition.

My symptoms are:

Some co-ordination difficulties, particularly when tired or over a period.

Sensitivity to touch (tactile defensiveness) so I have to wear tight clothes.

Sensitivity to sound – auditory overload.

Sensitive to light – Irlen’s Syndrome (scotopic sensitivity). Get tired quickly when reading high-contrast print and yawn a lot.

General sensory sensitivity.

Poor information processing so I get mentally overloaded and can’t take in the info. Also makes me upset. Too much for too long and I break down in floods of tears like my life’s falling apart!

Cannot arrange info in a logical sequence and cannot make obvious logical connections e.g. like I know so-and-so's not in work but I still go to see them to ask for info as they’re two separate facts. This is most obvious and causes me to look thick more than my other symptoms!

Poor recall, like info is filed in the wrong place. I’m rather uneducated as I can’t remember things! Look thick there too!

Poor concentration and easily distracted. Tend to indulge in displacement activity if a situation or activity is challenging and makes me tired.

Chronic fatigue and poor muscle tone. Wobbly ankles. Take ages to get over a virus like my energy and nutrient reserves have been depleted and take a long time to recover.

Cannot answer a question when fired at me as I cannot recall. Very bad if I’m nervous of the person or if they’re in a position of authority and I want to look good. That of course means it gets worse so I don’t look good!

Positives: I'm very artistic and musical and have a powerful imagination. Plus, I know I'm not thick! I wish others did though.

As I go through my tutoring with Education Support I'll post anything that may be of help to you guys!

Alexxx

22/01/2010 11:39:58
Valkyrie (Member)

My 10 year old daughter is constantly stressed and intolerant of hunger, heat, tight clothing, having her hair brushed, etc etc. Very impatient and aggressive. Getting out of the house to go to school is a major event every day. Can't catch or use a bat and ball. Clumpsy, un co-ordinated, falls and drops things. struggles with knife and fork. Struggles with shoe laces. Never still. Often in a hyped up state talking at a million miles an hour. Struggles to get on with others, always feels victimised, can't share. I have struggled to cope with all of these behaviours and never realised what it might be or how it makes her feel. Now feel terrible for not giving her more support. Would like to get her assessed but not sure what step to take next. Do these symptoms sound like dyspraxia to you? She has neat handwriting and can draw beautifully but struggles with two handed jobs. Any advice would be appreciated

22/01/2010 18:44:31
Kirsten Mackay

Learning to drive is a long, long work in progress! I’ve had to stop again because of shortage of funds, and yes, I’ve been learning in an automatic. I’m 41, and I tested positive for dyslexia in my final degree year. Somehow, the dyslexia diagnosis has never seemed to fully answer the pattern of strengths and weaknesses. Although literacy was slow initially, I showed a strong flair for written English at secondary school. Reading is slow however, and spelling is somewhat “iffy”! Learning to touch-type took a considerable amount of practice, and I constantly mis-type. I did join a typing class two years running, but couldn’t keep pace with the others students. I quickly became embarrassingly far behind, despite substantial daily practice! I left the class, persevered at home, and so taught myself.

The worst difficulty for me is memory. I simply don’t remember instructions and directions and this makes working life nearly impossible. I’m unemployed. I don’t recall information in spoken form, and lose concentration constantly. I get very tired, and doing a job exhausts me. Other difficulties include picking-up steps in an aerobics class, recalling instructions in demonstrations (i.e. enacted physically - not just verbally), throwing and catching, general clumsiness. I used to have to use a scalpal in work, before everything was done on computers (for graphics work), and I emptied the office first aid box of plasters in the first couple of weeks! In kitchen work, I spilled things and burnt myself a lot; I was always breaking things like ceramics too. I can’t cross-reference information - I simply don’t have the working memory capacity for that, so a recent suggestion that I might work in data inputting was a non-starter! I’ve always had poor muscle tone, stand awkwardly (when I forget) and remember being a source of fun to others in school when running.

I was a slower than my peers in learning to ride a bike, swim and tell the time. I continued to bed wet for longer than most children. I was always the last to finish getting changed for school sports. Craft work in primary school looked disturbingly ill-made in comparison to the efforts of the other children.

I don’t remember names, which other people often assume is a show of non-interest, even rudeness. Meetings are something I learnt to avoid in working life, as I’d not be able to recall what had been said anyway. I took a tape recorder on a course once, but it caused so much fuss in the department (concern over intellectual ownership issues) that I didn’t bother again. That probably sounds defeatist, but I also find that entering into any sort of discussion about my pattern of difficulties tends to catagorise me in the eyes of others as a bit neurotic or deluded. Possibly worse, professionals make assumptions about what my condition means, and go so far off-track that it honestly is unbearable. I’m awaiting my test results from the D.O.E. medical at the moment. I originally went for a depression diagnosis, and “just thought” it may be worth one more go at finding out what could be up! I’ll eat my hat if it’s not dyspraxia! What do you think?

24/01/2010 14:39:42
Kate

I am writing in responce to Kirsten's post.We too have a ten year old girl who we have suspected has Dyspraxia,we are now in the process of having her assessed.All the things you have written could be written about our little girl,we really did think we were on our own for this one but obviously not.I dont feel in a position to give advice as we could with some ourselves but we have tried one or two different things.We do play a lot of bat and ball type sports and she did improve very quickly which in turn did wonders for her confidence, which she does lack in.We also try to do lots of things together as a family, this makes her feel so much more secure and less isolated.She also is VERY emotional and needs to be reassured constantly. Although it is very difficult at times i think being patient is very important. We too could write a book about getting ready for school, it can be a nightmare, but found that using a reward chart and structured times for dressing, brushing teeth and hair etc. worked really well for us.

01/02/2010 21:26:11
Alan

FOR KIRSTEN: contact the dyspraxia Foundation. Here's the URL:

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/index.php

And the phone number: 01462 454 986 (10 am - 1 pm) Mon - Fri.

I was assessed privately but then I'm an adult. It may well be she can be assessed free of charge as she's a child. Even speak to a good doctor. They should be clued-up about these disabilities! I wish you luck!

Alex

08/02/2010 12:26:51
Alex

FOR KATE: sounds like typical dyspraxia to me! I can associate with a lot of what you're saying. Under The Disability at Work Act Employers HAVE to recognise your condition and I know it's hard explaining it to them but they HAVE to make arrangements at work to help you and they certainly CANNOT cause you grief, bully or dismiss you due to your disability. I work for the Civil Service and they're great with disabilities. It's a shame we're experiencing job cuts but keep an eye out for vacancies in the papers. If a line Manager is unhelpful, you can get help from our Union. I've had lots of support!

Alex

08/02/2010 12:35:08
Alex

CORRECTION: for Kate, I should have put Disability Discrimination Act! Sorry!

08/02/2010 12:38:06
Alex

I am a Belgian Occupational therapist and i'm very interested in DCD about several years.

I would like to know the effect of DCD for adolecents in school. (problems with organisation, sollutions for handwriting-problems,...)

I am also interested in the combination of diagnosis DCD and Autisme.

(Sorry for my 'bad English'!!)

08/02/2010 19:18:47
Tine

Tine, please go to Google Hazel Carr and see my work I have done and the link with other difficulties I have found with DCD

09/02/2010 13:15:29
Hazel

I noticed that people with Dyspraxia will often interrupt people as they need to say what they are thinking before it goes, they are anxious and are easily frustraited. they also have difficulty expressing their feelings. If they havent been diagnosed, they know they are different to other people, but they dont know why & this leads to frustraition with everything inc work, partners, family, pets etc.

12/02/2010 14:48:12
Jen Martin

To tracey 21/01/2010

Yes it can affect toilet training. Our son was fine at nights but took a long while to cope with days.

He also needed milk during the night until he was 5.

Development can be slow in all sorts of areas.

25/02/2010 15:09:52
Adam (Member)

Hi, I have an 11 year old who has been diagnosed as having dyslexic tendencies, dyspraxic tendencies, he is left handed and is also hypermobile. I too thought I was going crazy until he was diagnosed, until then people used to comment that he was ''difficult'' Just wondering what other peoples experiences are regarding toilet training and bedwetting, basically my son was dry day and night for aprox 2 years, at first he started bedwetting again when he started school, this gradually got worse until it was every night 2/3 times we tried absolutely everything, medication, alarms, hypnotherapy. Eventually at the age of 10 it was suggested that we try bladder training( drinking and toiletting at set times) which actually stopped the bedwetting for a few months(so easy!!), unfortunately now he has lost interest even with a brand new mobile phone with 8 alarms going off regularly to remind him!! he just doesn't feel thirsty and always forgets to have a drink, but more worringly he wets during the day, not every day and very rarely at school, normally at home whilst playing, it's like he just forgets all about the toilet, I am just concerned as he starts senior school this september, is this just a matter of organisation or might it be more than that, any advice???

02/03/2010 14:59:11
Claire

Can't help much as our son is 8 and seems to mostly have it under control now. He does still have the occasional accident when he is too busy to listen to his body, but it's rare. We have to make him sit on the toilet before bed as he doesn't think he needs to, and he is surprised when he finds he did need to.

I was interested in what you said about drinking. I have to have someone at work remind me to drink (my wife is a Senco and thinks I am mildly DCD, she says my son and I are 2 peas in a pod, I am not totaly convinced.) We share trips to the tea machine though I only drink water. When he is away I can go all day without drinking and then I will suddenly realise I need a drink desperately. I never really thought about that as a possible symptom of DCD.

02/03/2010 16:04:59
Adam (Member)

F.O.A. ALEX

Thank you for responding! I kept checking on here for a while after posting and stopped after the D.O.E. were entirely unhelpful, which made me question my judgement. Your supportive post means a lot. I'll keep pushing now for a diagnosis, and will print off my post for them. Thanks again,

Kate.

04/03/2010 00:57:40
Kate

Help!! We have been to see physio therapist who did some test called ABC test and the results say our daughter (12 nearly 13) dosent have dyspraxia, which sounds great, then why does she display most symptoms, wetting thru day, losing stuff, realy bad memory, asks me to repeat stuff as she dosent seem to get it and loads more symptoms besides. They said she has some memory and organisational/sensory problems, low muscle tone,spatial awareness, which she will be supported with, great, so what about being sick for no reason,feeling dizzy,unable to use scissors ruler and god knows what else, there is so much she has difficulty with i cant list it all. Thats all being ignored, I feel like some kind of nutter as i should be happy about the result but it feels wrong and i feel frustrated and i get the impression they think i just want to give her a label.Im at my wits end, has anyone else had this.

19/03/2010 21:38:49
Lucy (g)

To Alex and Kate,

All I can say is thank you. I felt like I was reading my life. I have only this past week become familiar with the term Dyspraxia and it is still blowing my mind. As I read in another post somewhere (dont remember where !!) I now know why I burn the dinner and ..... Oh dear, cant remember the rest of the quote. I always suspected I was a bit clumbsey and knew I could not spell with terrible handwriting but now that my life is quite (children have all left home) I am noticeing so many things and reading about this has made me realise I have always had these issues. I was beginning to think it was alzheimers. Thank God I am creative, always wanted to paint and NEVER could, now I love photography. I have developed the habit of writing things down, well mostly and have lots of labels on things, now I know I HAVE to do this more and more. Thanks again.

23/03/2010 23:31:28
Cathie

my 10 year old son has just been diagnosed with dyspraxia,hes had years of OT help with little improvement.he has very poor fine motor skills and gets very severe cramp when writting etc, his memory is terrible and so is his organisation skills he loses things all the time.consentration makes him really tired and so does exercise walking etc,when standing he always has to lean on something or somone.he also still wets the bed but is fine during the day.

27/03/2010 02:49:16
anne

Hi Lucy, the dizzyness rung a bell with me. That was our sons number one sympton! He would fall unconcious if he span round or felt dizzy, he would not come round quikly and then would be contantly sick. I think it can be the senses overloading and then 'shuting down' mind you in our case it was that which got him the help he gets now as he ended up in hospital after spinning around at a party when he was younger and zonking out! Persevere if you are concerned moms know best!

07/04/2010 21:48:18
Deborah

I am working with a 4 year old girl with global dyspraxia. Grandmother had been trying to toilet train her for several weeks and reaching some level of success. However after a recent change to her routine, she had regressed. Has anyone got any useful tips for potty training (particularly with the global dyspraxia)It would be very much appreciated. Thanks

27/04/2010 10:52:10
Clare

I have a 5 year old and this is what I have done to help with toilet training:

1. Encourage them to get into the habit of using the toilet before going somewhere and leaving somewhere. Try to find a euphemism like let's take teddy to the toilet he needs to go too or let's see if spiderman is in the bathroom.

2. To keep them there try keeping them company by playing a game, using a favourite toy or puppet. It's labour intensive to start with but you won't need to do it forever. Although you might have to use the technique again when they regress.

3. Wherever you go show them where the toilet is and run through the toilet procedure. Do this even when you come home from being out or if they have a friend round to play. This works really well with my son.

3. Give them lots of praise.

4. Gradually let them take ownership for using the toilet. Accept that sometimes you go backwards with this. But sometimes they really surprise you!

5. I have found that poos are harder to manage for my child as he is prone to loose bowel movement. Check that diet is not impacting on this. We stopped fruit juice and the impact was amazing.

Accept that it will take longer than normal and you will be in it for the long haul but it will happen.

27/04/2010 21:42:56
Elena

hello im leona and Im 17 and have been told i have dyspraxia but havent been diagonosed, i read up about it all the time and so does my mam and we've realised i have infact got many of the symptoms, its very frustrating and it really gets me down, depression is a lik to dyspraxia but my dad said i cant take my anti depressants anymore.

even though my dyspraxia can be a good thing its also a bad thing

i was with someone for a year and a bit and we were engaged, i dont think he could handle my disability anymore as im too loud, immature,too clumsy and just really rubbish at social things which sucks because he did know i had it so he shouldve been more supportive, my handwriting is terrible and i have had help all of my school years and it never gets any better. its just nice to know im not the only person though xxxx

29/04/2010 23:47:02
leona charissa callon

i am currently taking an masters in research methods. so speaking from the perspective of 38 yr old mature student all i can say is i have as many positive symptoms as i do negative ones.

pro's

able to be very inventive always thinking on my feet.

always ask for clarification to eliminate any misunderstanding.(so will not jump to conclusions)

highly organized in university (because if i wasn't my dyspraxia would ensure i missed every deadline)

very original train of thought an ability to draw paralells between concepts and theories that are not apparent to people that have normal thought processes.

a caring nature and an ability to empathise with people and groups that have been defined by their otherness by mainstream society.

a very dry sense of humour. in the sense that i don't even have to try very hard to make people laugh. its a gift?

keen and enthusiastic about everything.

in a one on one situation i will make the other person feel as though they are the most important thing on my mind. because when i am talking to them they are.

cons

cant ride a bike

i am not sure when people are joking or serious

definately can't dance

Frustation when i can not fully express what i am thinking.

drawing a circle an impossibility

not good with crowds of people

so i think on the whole this makes life better. but as for me as a child my disability would have been more apparent and viewed negatively as i couldn't avoid the situations that amplified the symptoms of dyspraxia

15/05/2010 14:24:18
caroline38

Hi it seems that being dry may be affected then, I wonder if it is down to organisation. Does anybody know what the difference is between having dyspraxic tendencies and having a formal diagnosis of dyspraxia? Does it make any difference at all to the help that my child will receive? Feeling very frustrated lately, my son is going to start senior school this September, so he has had a report by the Ed psych who can't seem to acknowledge that my son has dyspraxic tendencies and is hypermobile, he said that we don't have a formal diagnosis!! any advice pls

19/05/2010 14:52:17
claire

Hi, My son who is nearly 12 started secondary school last sept. Only now are we starting to see how this is affecting him.I had a terrible birth with him and i think consequently he has had a lot of symptoms of dyspraxia.Does anyone else think the two are linked?

23/05/2010 16:28:37
Catherine mcguigan

We were struggling in education for 4 years past. He cried and I cried. He hates to write. Homework time was time in hell for both of us.

After talking to experts I became to know he is dyspraxic dyslexic.

So what facing the new challenge. Need to change method to teach him. Hope this school year will be in peace.

mom of Solomon

25/05/2010 07:36:25
TTH

I'm 16 and i'm still in school, got like 1 week left, i went to a interveiw for a college placement, and he was asking me questions about do i have any problems with awnsering questions and i said yh. sometimes i can read the question an understand it and right something totaly different to what the question is asking me, and sometimes i cannot understand the question even though i have read it liike 12 times it still doesnt clock in my head what the question is trying ask me. And the interveiw man said that i could have dyspraxia. So i'm just curious becasue i have looked over the internet and done some research and i have taken test online and they said ''thank you for taking the time to complete the dore dyspraxia symtom assesment. From the awnsers you have given in this assesment we have calculated the probobililty of you having symtoms assosiated with dyspraxia''

And now i dont know what to do from here becasue my mum will just say that im bieng lazy with my writing and reading. but im not an if i try to write neatly i have to wrtie really slowly and when im reading i can be readin one line the i will be readin the wrong part of the page all of a sudden but i have never recognised it before i reaserched dyspraxia. I have also noticed that when i right specific words they look correct but people are telling me that they are not. but in my mind i could promise my self that it looks correct. Anyways who can help me in what to do next becasue i cant really tell my mum becasue WELL you know... She expectes alot of me when it comes to school, and tells me that i have a high IQ but i seem to fail english everytime. im no good at it and maths im ok at but not the best it takes me longer to do things that it would other people in the class, but sometimes when it comes to certain questions i can awnser them in seconds. and another thing i have noticed is that when i am doing something important or even if its not important and someone calls my name i will have to look and also i get distracteed very easilyyy........WHAT DO I DO ?

27/05/2010 14:41:26
Samuel (:

My son is just 6 and has been assessed for dyspraxia, the Doctor said that although he was displaying signs of dyspraxia, he didn't want to label him with it. He is now having occupational therapy which consists of 3 sessions only for 3 weeks first one being yesterday. I have been informed that his percentile is 5% which basically means that out of 100 children of his age, he would be better then 4 of them with his gross and fine motor skills This is a really low score. What I don't understand is that if he is rating poor on the scale how can they only give him 3 weeks OT (was informed all to do with lack of funding). Has anybody else come across this and can I pay privately for Occupational Therapy?

25/06/2010 10:26:31
Danielle

my son is 9 & its been a battle for the last year to try & get a diagnosis, i think the reason why they use the term tendencies is so they dont have to help as there is no diagnosis. i recently moved to cornwall from the n/east & got my son an appointment with the school doctor who has diagnosed him with developmental coordination disorder (just another term for dyspraxia). my advice to parents would be keep going to school & keep pushing thats the only way you can get help for them. the person who asked about birth problems being associated with dyspraxia, this is true stress in birth & the early weeks of life have an impact on dyspraxia. get to the library & read as many books as you can as knowledge is power...

07/07/2010 11:26:57
claire

My daughter is 14 now and has always been a 'difficult' child. Since a young age she has been very active, always climbing, jumping, never sitting still and very accident prone, tripping and falling over what appears to be 'nothing'.She was told off in primary school for not holding her pencil properly.She talks very fast and is difficult to understand, but gets very frusrated and aggressive when asked to repeat herself. She has terrible mood swings and cannot control her temper. About a year ago she became depressed and also suffers from anxiety and severe panic attacks, which have prevented her from going to school properly for at least a year. She cannot organise herself and when she does go to school she usually forgets something. She constantly loses things, spills drinks, breaks things and forgets things. Does this sound like dyspraxia to anyone reading this. I am seeing the doctor about her next week, does anyone have any advice about what kinds of questions to ask or what help to ask for. I would appreciate any advice.

14/07/2010 01:04:35
Karen Beale

ive een asking my sons school for years to test him for dyslesia they just keep putting it off but now he as just done test for high scool and he got n n n he is 11 now cant read or write im so mad why didnt his school do the test and help him. now i doing as much as i can to help him i feel he as been so let down by his school. if any one can help me pls email me on amanda_02@hotmail.co.uk thank you

14/07/2010 10:36:06
amanda louise wilson

Hi this is for Karen Beale, I would tell your gp that you want your daughter referred to see the school doctor he can diagnose dyspraxia & then refer you on to an ot & physiotherapist. I found that my sons school did nothing to help, you have to be prepared to fight for help. Another thing you can do is get in touch with Parentpartnership they can help you & will come with you to school meetings with the senco which you should arrange. I brought in learning difficulties & disabilities inclusion service to do an assessment on my son which was more detailed than an educational psychologists report. You can access this through your local council education dept, tell them you would like an assessment done for your daughter.

Good luck

19/07/2010 21:42:57
Claire

hi am 52 after years of making people laugh with me falling over spilling drinks ending up with egg in my hair when eating or toothpaste in my hair when brushing teeth smacking people in the face with bag when turning around cooking disaster getting called funny walk and talking non stop just a few of my dyspraxia symptons its a relief to know that it is a disability and am not a odd ball as i have been told by work freinds luckly enough i am seeing occupational therapist to make life easier .

26/07/2010 23:01:23
chatty cathy

My daughter is 10 and has some dyslexia/dyspraxia symptoms, we were never really looking for her subtle symptoms and they were previuosly missed at school. She is at a Steiner school and so started academic work at 7 years of age, like in Europe.Because she is quite a mild case and is a bright girl we think she has been able to compensate for this up until this last year, when school work has become more difficult and her work now looks a few years behind some of her peers. Her teacher recommended the INPP programme for her as well as body brushing / sound therapy with Robert Allen in Windsor. The INPP website has really interesting info on dylexia and dyspraxia ( Google INPP ). The body brushing she has is not that as done for autism, instead it uses a fine sable art brush. This method is meant to help her retained reflexes. I never knew about these previously but now have read 'the Well Balanced Child' by Sally Goddard Blythe. Also I recommended ' The out of synch child'-I think the authors name is Carol Schwartz ( amazon ). She is also having Cranial Osteopathy. I recommend both of these therapies as my daughter has stated that since starting them it has become easier for her to read, write, sit still and draw.

04/08/2010 14:27:58
Susanna

Hi, can anyone tell me how these children can be fairly graded in school. My 10 year old can do the work one day and the next day she looks at it as though she's never seen it before. Quite frankly, I'm lost. I know she's smart but some days you really just wouldn't know it.

16/08/2010 18:58:40
Maggie

Hi, I'm 14 years old and reading all these symptoms is like reading my life ever since I was little. My mum's a nurse and dad's a doctor and they suspect I do have dyspraxia but don't want me to be labeled so don't help or get me help but my gcse work is coming up and i really think i need help with it, I don't want to fail at life. I have moved school because I have such a bad reputation for being un-organised, asking so many questions that I seem thick, getting frustrated when I can't get something and being aggressive. I spill things, drop things, I trip and I'm clumsy, I'm very paranoid, I loose things, morning before school are hell and I leave usually crying because me and my mum have fallen out, I can't show affection towards children ect all of the above comments really. I used to play piano, violin and harp but when I can't do something or don't get it first time I get a headache and feel hot and frustrated and just start screaming and crying and it's the same with homework and at school when I can't do something but I can't scream or cry so I feel like I'm about to throw up. If my jeans or top is too tight I have this sudden pain in my head, I get hot and I end up screaming and throwing things, it's really weird and I know I'm different which I hate. My parents put me in anger management but It just made me want to cry sitting there with somebody asking why I was angry because I had no idea why I got so frustrated and it made me even more frustrated and impatient because I felt so stupid and degraded and it wasn't helping at all. I always feel victimized like everybody hates me and I'm not very good at making friends because of it. Everybody tells me off for being 'loud' but I don't know I'm being loud and many more things above that have been listed I don't know what to do, people think I'm thick, aggressive, moody, inpatient but I am nice really, I'm very caring it's just i have trouble getting my feelings across when i get so frustrated and I'm not thick, I know I'm not but everybody thinks I am because I cant get my ideas across and what I'm thinking also my parents are set on me being very good at academic subjects when I just want to write stories and draw and act and be artsy and use my imagination then sit and work out sums that i can't do and just get me upset If there is anyone that can help me you would be my savior because I'm worried about my future thank you.

19/08/2010 07:38:38
Rhiannon

This is a message for Rhiannon, from the mother of a dyspraxic 16-year-old.

Rhiannon, it sounds as though you have lots of difficulties in your day-to-day life, some physical and some with how you feel and behave. Dyspraxics often have problems in social situations because they cannot read 'cues' and body language as well as other people. All those things can affect a dyspraxic's self confidence, because they find things difficult that others can do.

I believe, from my son's experience (he was 'diagnosed' at 12) that having a 'label' would help you understand yourself better and also access help at school. This is particularly important with your GCSEs coming up: it will help you if you have some study skills problems if you are given some learning support.

I believe that you should think about doing two things:

1. Talk to your parents about as many of the things you put in your post as you feel comfortable with. No-one wants their child to be unhappy and feeling bad. Plus, as medics themselves, they will know better than the average parents how to access a possible assessment for dyspraxia and perhaps some help.

2. When school starts again, go and see the SENCO at your school and explain the same things. He/she may have a view on whether you should get an assessment for dyspraxia (normally this would be done by an educational psychologist at your age, I think) and might help you in discussing this with your parents.

There are some issues to do with money though. If you had a private educational psychologist assessment it costs maybe £500. You can be assessed by the NHS, but waiting times for this tend to be very long. Also, local authorities can be reluctant to help with assessment because the of the cost of any support you might need. If your father is a GP, he should know about this, so it would be really helpful if you could get his support.

I am obviously not a professional in this area, so someone may come along with better advice for you, but this is my advice as a mother.

Good luck in the future.

25/08/2010 11:25:17
Brigid

PS to Rhiannon

You might want to look at the Dyspraxic Teens website too - lots of dyspraxic teenagers post there.

25/08/2010 13:55:39
Brigid