dysTalk Advise Needing Re Getting My Son A Diagnosis And The Help He Needs - Dyspraxia - Forum - dysTalk

I am posting this message on here as I did not know where else to go to get advice thought some one here might be able to help me or give me advice.Im from the UK. My youngest son is 5 1/2 years old. He has had medical problems all his life. He was born early and was very small. He had feeding problems from the moment he was born and would be sick after every feed bringing most of his milk back up. He struggled to put on weight and would also have mini seizures where he would foam at the mouth and would flap his arms and leg around. We took him to the doctors and he was reffered to a paediatrician. This paediatrician was useless. He would not accept any thing was wrong with our son and just kept telling us to bring him back in 6 months old. He continued to be sick after every feed and failed to reach his mile stones. And by the time he was 1 year old, he could not roll over or sit up even with support. Our health visitor had had enough. She phoned the paediatrician and shouted at him. She also reffered our son her self for physio therapy and occupational therapy. At a year old the peadiatricain saw our son again and finally discovered that our son was lactose intolerant. As soon as we switched formulars to a lactose free formular. Our son stopped being sick. He had physio therapy which really helped and by 15 months he could sit with support by 1 1/2 year could sit up without support. At 2 years old he took his first steps. After this he was signed off physio and they would not see him again. We took him back to the paediatrician several more times and it was always the same bring him back in 6 months he would not listen. By 3 years old my son could walk but very clumsily and would fall over allot, He still had no hand preference and struggled to do any thing with his hands and had eating problems, delayed speech and many other problems. We had had enough of the paediatrician so I went to see are doctor and asked if our son could be reffered to another paediatrician at another hospital for a second opinion. My son was reffered to another paediatrician and at first she seemed nice and very thorough. She reffered him to have speech therapy, who only saw him twice. Then this peadiatricain would not see are son again as she said she was too busy. Finally 2 years later we finally got another appointment to see her. She spent a little while with our so and said that she felt he might have dyspraxia. But she refused to look in too it further and would not start a diagnosis process or give a proper diagnosis. She referred him back to physio therapy and occupational therapy. and we have been waiting now for 7 month for a appointment. We have been told we are going to have to wait another 6 - 12 months for a physio therapy and occupational therapy appointment as they are so busy due to government cuts. My son is now 5 1/2 and still walks clumsily and falls over, he still has no hand preference and struggles to do any thing with his hands. He struggles to hold a pencil or pen and can't even draw. He struggles to run, can't really catch a ball, struggles to pedal a bike, he still has eating problems and is a very messy eater due to coordination problems he has. The list goes on he has so many problems. He is struggling more and more and so needs help. He gets so frustrated when he can't do the things his friends do. He is falling further and further behind his friends. I just don't know what to do? I feel like each place we turn he is pushed away and no one wants to take us seriously or help him. He isn't even in school any more due to him needing extra help to attend school because of his problems. And the LEA refusing to give the funding and the school could not afford the help he needed them selves. So I am having to teach him my self at home. Some days I just want to cry. It is heart breaking watching him struggle and not being able to help. I will never give up on my son. but I don't know which way to turn or what to do now. I have thought about taking him some where private to get diagnosed and to get him help. But don't know where I can take him and imagine it will be very expensive and more than We can afford. What would you reccomend I do next. How can I get my son a diagnosis for dyspraxia what is the process. And how can I get my son the help he needs. I can't just sit here for another 6 - 12 months and do nothing and let him get worse. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, I know it is long. But hope you might be able to offer a little bit of advice or point me in the right direction.

Thanks

25/11/2011 14:50:52
teddybear154 (Member)

your gp can refer you for an assesment if they are helpful. mine wasnt so i got an assesment for my son privately by an educational psycologist. it cost us £300. the downside is that there is no follow up then unless you pay for private therapy. i am going to take my sons report to our gp to see if i can get any help for him. they should beleive me now! I also home ed him as the school didnt beleive me either and he was labelled slow and kept in at break for not keeping up or not listening. he was also bullied. i wish i could give you more help but we are just trying to find some help/support too. good luck

04/12/2011 17:47:30
mumatmadhouse