oral/verbal dyspraxia

Sally44 · April 6, 2010

I've had the SALT and OT say that my son may have 'dyspraxia' problems. However OT says that dyspraxia and ASD are so similar that no further investigation or dx is needed. I'm fed up of dx and no action, but I'm very suspcious of that. Comments please!!

My son appears to be unable to mouth a word or letter silently. He can do it if he uses his voice. But if I tell him a word/letter and he says it, and I then ask him to do it silently, he just opens and closes his mouth. Does this sound similar to anyone else. What is it. And is it worth pursuing ie. what are the implications of this.

My son cannot climb or ride a bike. If he manages to climb a couple of feet off the floor he definately cannot get down again! He cannot hold a drink away from the table without spilling it. He cannot use a knife and fork properly. He is very poor at sports. He has only recently begun to draw at all.

But he isn't 'severely' dyspraxic. I feel this is probably another thread of his overall complex presentation.

My feeling is that this is a motor planning issue. But the thought of having something else to add to the growing list is daunting. Infact I don't think I even want it unless something useful or purposeful is going to come of it.

bensmum2 · April 6, 2010

Hi Sally, I have 2 sons with Dyspraxia, the eldest being 25 soon , he was very very clumsy always falling, poor handwriting and very very poor organisation and motor planning, always walking into people becasue although he sees them he has very slow reactions, my 14 year old who only recently got diagnosed with Aspergers was diagnosed with dyspraxia at age 5 he has never been as clumsy, but he can't write or draw well at all, can't use a knife and fork, has poor dressing skills, and has the sensory problems which could be associated with both Dyspraxia and ASD. The two conditions do seem to be very similar we bought him a high sleeper bed and he was unable to get up and down the ladder so we had to sell it .He is also very poor at sports all his percentiles are around 0.5 for motor skills both fien and gross. I don't really know whether a diagnosis would help, i'm not sure how ol he is, sorry, or my son at 14 they aren't presently offering anything if he is younger there may be some ot he coudl have, sorry my reply isn't much use, i just wanted to say you are not on your own with this complex diagnosis thing, i alsofind thta when he does get help for o0ne of his needs, they forget about the rest, they dn't seem to be able to handle more than one problem at a time !!

Mumble · April 6, 2010

I have a diagnosis of ASD and dyspraxia. I see the clumsy/motor-coordination issues as related to the dyspraxia (can't catch a ball, can't hit a ball, fall over nothing, hand-writing unreadable until taught when I was 18 etc.) however, they also could be related to the ASD in terms of having less opportunity to practise things like sports. I suppose though it doesn't matter what the 'cause' is so long as the difficulty is recognised and responded to.

Sammysnake · April 6, 2010

My daughter (9) has recently been diagnosed with AS but she originally saw the paediatrician and a physio when she was 4 as pre-school suspected Dyspraxia might explain all her issues. This was dismissed at the time (but they also said there was definitely no sign of ASD too!). The paediatrician this time around feels the difficulties she has with motor skills are probably due to the AS rather than a separate diagnosis of Dyspraxia but her school still want to have someone look into her motor skills in case there is something that can be done simply to help her. With this in mind they are completing a Henderson Movement ABC checklist which will be sent to the Outreach Team for Physical Disabilities.

I was very keen to get the AS formally diagnosed and it's made a massive difference to B's self-esteem and ability to accept herself but I'm not so bothered about having a Dyspraxia diagnosis - I think B's needs in this area are probably very mild in comparison with other kids with 'proper' Dyspraxia and I'm happy that her school will support B's physical needs without it (at least this year's super fantastic teacher will ). Apparently the way this checklist works is that the child's physical abilities in each area are given a score and if the score is above a certain level then the Physical Disabilities Team will get involved via the educational pathway, irrespective of whether there is a diagnosis.

In terms of my daughter I absolutely agree with Mumble who said

I suppose though it doesn't matter what the 'cause' is so long as the difficulty is recognised and responded to.

Hope this helps, Sam

Edited April 6, 2010 by Sammysnake

Sally44 · April 7, 2010

Does anyone have the verbal/oral dyspraxia? If so is it how I described it in my original post? What I am trying to get clear in my head is which need is main one. My son has a diagnosis of moderate to severe language disorder and if he has oral or verbal dyspraxia that is going to impact as well. It seems to be a motor planning issue, and motor planning I presume is a difficulty across the board. Or can that also be spiky, eg. fine in one area and then very poor in another?

My son also has a diagnosis of ASD, but that is not moderate or severe in my opinion.

He also appears to have a specific learning difficulty which maybe dyslexia, or could be due to motor planning issues or due to his ASD.

I'm just trying to get a better understanding of how they do impact on eachother and what the cumulative result is - well I see the cumulative result - so I suppose I'm trying to work backwards to see 'where' certain difficulties are coming from. This is going to help me when deciding on a secondary school.

My son also has anxiety issues and is very emotionally labile.

I'm looking around schools at the moment - and we've also got a total re-assessment of his Statement in process. So I want all these things in the Statement, even if he does not have a dx.

But this inability to say words or letters without sound is puzzling me. So if anyone has experienced this I would be interested to know what they were told it was due to.

Suze · April 8, 2010

There was a lady at my support group whose son had severe speach problems and was unable to speak, he also had trouble eating and mouthing things.He was subsequently dx with verbal dyspraxia, this susequent dx over rode his autism dx.However they could,nt get any funding and are still battling with the help of our local MP for help for him.

smiley1590 · April 9, 2010

i used to get words jumbled and wrong way round like saw and was and my b and d's when writing sounds like he has physical dyspraxia aswell struggling and has difficulties with riding a bike climbing stairs using knife and fork so maybe developmental dyspraxia i was officially assessed and diagnosed with dyspraxia first then AS came years later then when further into research of information found out the conditions are connected and are co - morbids commonly together are closely linked and entwinted within eachother so you don't know whic one is which can be confusing and frustrating at times my family felt wasn't just dyspraxia that 'fitted' something else there too only when accidently investigated through several different services that came across missing piece of jigsaw that fitted with dyspraxia alot people do have co -morbids though normally diagnosed one first then the other so worth looking into more .... as coud be possibility hiding in background lurking .....

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