Dyspraxia

[Flora]

William has an appointment with CAMHS on Monday and I wanted to ask them if he could be referred for some sort of therapy for dyspraxia.

 

Just wondered what, if any, sort of therapy your children have had for dyspraxia so that I have an idea of what to ask for.

 

He has a seperate dx of dyspraxia and has never had any physio or OT to help him.

 

I'm trying to get him fit and lose some weight, we went walking yesterday and he just can't!!! He sort of lopes along with his arms going all over the place and I tried to get him to march along and he fell over! He's always got sore feet and legs because he keeps knocking them and bruising them, he has very little spacial awareness.

 

I'm trying to teach him to tie his shoe laces, he can't pull and tie at the same time, so even if he manages to follow the procedure for tying his laces the bow just flops loose.

 

 

Lauren

Edited June 6, 2006 by Lauren

[phasmid]

lauren dont know if this helps but phas jr joined karate classes to help with his dyspraxia all the balancing and control plus learnig the "kata's" to go up the grades helped him no end and at only ?3 per week was infinately cheaper than anything else offered. we know of at least 6 other asd kids who joined specificaaly because of this

hope it helps

[board]

hello my dd 6 dose karate and it has help here a lot she is a orange belt she as only been doing it a couple of months it gets her use to people as well if i was you i would try it i didt think it would help but it dose all the best to you jill

[col]

Both girls do gymnastics. Was told by DD8 instructor yesterday how much she's come on. Caught sight of her doing a forward roll on the high beam (i think, as she went out of sight, but that what it sort of looked as she was about to do it) They both used to go swimming as well. But had a confrontation with some lady as when i was 38 wks pregnant with DS. She told me to" control" my children.

[Flora]

Phas, thanks for that. William started Karate last year for that very reason; I joined the class along with him so that he couldn't use that as an excuse not to go. It was pure torture for him. He couldn't listen and do the complicated movements together. We went 3 times a week for about 10 weeks then stopped going. He is so uncoordinated that he found it impossible to listen and move at the same time and didn't manage to learn any of the moves at all. When he started to become distressed and upset about it that's when we pulled out.

 

I haven't disregarded the Karate, and am keeping an open mind about trying again in the future, but I think he needs something less complicated to start with. When we are walking and talking he keeps stopping to work out what to say or to listen, so we now tend to walk in silence; he really does have a problem with doing more than one thing at a time.

 

Lauren

[PinkSapphireAngel]

My ds has physio (although they feel there is no more they can do now) and OT for his Dyspraxia and I follow the programes they give.

[Elouise]

Annie had after the Pead' threw his hands up mystified by her lack of sequencing.

 

Assesment for suitable writing equipment and other bits to make school life easier.

 

Fine motor finger excercises her teacher and LA do daily.

 

Once a week gross motor movement class

 

Once a week alt. sports club that is not competitive or requires concentration, co-ordination or organisation. She loves it.

[bid]

Hi Lauren,

 

Auriel has Dyspraxia too, and when he was younger benefitted from group physio and OT sessions (had to fight and fight for them though ).

 

More recently, at his special school he has had 1:1 OT, but now at his age (nearly 17) hasn't been very, er, 'keen' on attending!

 

Sorry to state the obvious, but have you contacted the Dyspraxia Foundation??

 

Bid

 

Just to add, that certainly 10 odd years ago when I belonged to the Dysp Found there were quite a lot of amazing, 'cure-all' therapies about, all of which cost loads of money! I always felt that physio and OT were better options, although only my opinion...

Edited June 6, 2006 by bid

[BusyLizzie100]

OT can help, although much of the therapy is to be done at home, which we find hard!! But we have picked up a lot along the way - like for writing, both boys need to strengthen their upper limbs so any games involving pushing or on hands and knees are good. Ds1 is currently doing a group session of the Speed Up! handwriting programme. Again, it's hard work to get him to do the stuff at home, but there has been an improvement. OTs can help with both gross and fine motor skills. Get on the waiting list ASAP!

 

Ds1's OT recommended judo, which he has done for nearly four years now. I haven't done karate, but he enjoys the judo and has been graded several times, which is great for self-esteem (and Mummy's pride). Judo is basically a form of self-defence and the moves are precise so they involve thinking about what you're doing (sounds daunting but is actually good therapy!). Also, it's quite physical so there's lots of falling about and tripping each other up! I'm not sure how someone who is tactile defensive would cope (ds2 likes watching, but would hate being flipped up by someone else), but ds1 loves getting stuck into a contest (not a 'fight') and often laughs his head off as he's chucked to the ground. He's quite good, too! I think the extra weight he carries actually works in his favour when he's pinning someone to the ground.

 

The other thing we were recommended was swimming. We put it off for ages because he had grommets but now that they're out he has a lesson every week. Watching him thrash about in the water as he tries to get his arms, legs etc to cooperate is a bit off-putting, but bizarrely his breaststroke is one of the best in the class. The teacher even commented on it! The only thing I'd say is that you have to find a class that suits your son. One class we tried was hopeless but the current one is great. The teacher is on the side and she has helpers in the water, which works well. Even ds2 is now 'swimming' and little ds3 is jumping in off the side!

 

Hope that helps.

 

Lizzie

[Suze]

hi loz.......my boy had a writing course....Theoderescu I think.He had two lots of integration therapy/OT.Which involved lying down on wobble boards, touching sand..........bouncing balls etc etc........lots of co,ordination stuff.He was signed off by them 2 yrs ago.....which I was,nt happy about.I phoned the OT a while ago to speak about concerns I was having with my son.She told me that they are no longer able to offer any child with a ASD dx any OT, even if they are dx dyspraxic .I can,t tell you how stunned I was, she agreed completely that this was disgusting , she said that they just could,nt afford to fund it anymore as there were so many referrals...........it all boils down to money.

[Flora]

Suze Yeah, I've got a funny feeling this is why he hasn't been offered any therapy. He is so dyspraxia it's just not funny. I'll see what happens anyway when I ask on Monday.

 

Why aren't 'they' prepared to spend any money on ASD??? It's an absolute crime it really is.

 

Lozza X

[yoyo]

Lauren,

 

This may be totally off the wall and no help at all but would rugby be a possibility. I realise team games may not suit but it is something that does not require fine control. One of my sons was ultra clumsy, weak, no spatial awareness, etc and rugby was the only sport he succeeded at (not brilliantly but it gave him pleasure). If William has some extra weight, it helps if he is also big for his age at this level. I hope you get some help with this.

 

Yoyo

[justamom]

Would he try swimming at all? its good excerise too!!!

[Flora]

yoyo, William went through a school year playing tag rugby and in the end the games teacher advised he didn't do it because he was so distressed by it. He doesn't like being touched and he found the whole experience really traumatic.

 

Justamom.... Yes, now swimming is a brilliant idea and now he's off I can take him when the pool's quiet!

 

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions everyone

 

Lauren

[yoyo]

I thought it might not be right for him. I just know it is a sport that requires less co-ordination than some and it can be an advantage to be bigger than the others in the age group at William's level. I do hope that swimming works well for him. So sorry to read about your daughter. Teenage years are so difficult. I realised no one wanted to be friends with me by then and found it so depressing. Academic work was my refuge. Tony Attwood has a paper on AS in girls; I can't remember the Net address but you might find it if you type it into your search engine.

 

yoyo

[Ian Jordan]

Sport and exercises by themselves aren't sufficient.

 

You need to know where your head is (rotation / tilt angle)

You need to know where you are in space (visual perception)

You need to know where you body is (proprioception)

 

If one of these is not adequate then exercises will be of limited use and will often be unsuccessful. That is not to say that they are not useful but they are insufficient in themselves, are very slow in achieving results, and often are attempting to treat the symptom rather than the problem.

 

Dyspraxia is often related to visiospatial awareness, stereoscopic vision, mid line effects, vestibular dysfunction. It is essential that a multi disciplinary approach is undertaken with competent professionals.

 

I would insist that visual perceptual testing is conducted as part of any assessment as it is so much more successful at alleviating many of the problems in dyspraxia immediately.

Hand eye coordination, writing, gait, clumsiness often resolve / reduce immediately and in conjunction with other interventions there is a much faster and better results.

[Flora]

Ian, does that mean some of these problems will be corrected when he starts wearing his coloured lenses??

 

Lauren

[BusyLizzie100]

Ian,

 

and what if coloured lenses are found not to help?

[Flora]

Lizzie, the lenses are made specifically for the child following in depth assessment of their visual processing. They wouldn't be prescribed unless they were going to correct some of the problems. I was just wondering if the lenses Ian has prescribed for prospagnosia and depth perception will correct some of his problems with dyspraxia aswell.

 

Lauren

[Canopus]

Ian is absolutely correct. Physical exercises and sports are ineffective at overcoming dyspraxia.

 

When I was at school it was recommended that I took more physical exercise and participated in team sports to improve my physical co-ordination. The attitude at the time was that sportmen must train and that practice makes perfect. However, the results were totally unsuccessful and the blame was placed on sheer laziness and neglect.

 

I always held the view that it wasn't a problem with muscles but a problem with the central nervous system and visual-muscle co-ordination but the doctors at the time wouldn't believe me. I ended up developing a machine to improve hand-eye co-ordination, and to an extent it was effective.

[BusyLizzie100]

Lauren, I hope that is the case.

 

Ian has already assessed my son and found that coloured lenses will be no use to him. I'd just like to know if there is anything else, apart from OT or sport, which as Ian says are not sufficient by themselves, may help him.

 

Lizzie

Edited June 7, 2006 by BusyLizzie100

[Flora]

Lizzie

 

Last year and the year before both my boys had vision training with an optometrist.. William had one 12 week course and after 6 weeks was able to ride his bike. Prior to that he couldn't even push the pedals never mind balance. Although with this sort of therapy it could be that because Ian has already assessed your son and found that it isn't a visual thing then maybe the vision training wouldn't help either. Also, unlike Ian it was staggeringly expensive even just for the assessment, so if he couldn't help it would be a disappointment. I'll pm you the website anyway.

 

Lauren

[k9ruby]

I am a 15 year old with severe dyspraxia.

 

I had OT and PT. at first I had PT, ball skills and ot every day for aabout 1/2 an hyour untill year 7. then it was 20mins a week, and then in year 9 we stopped, as it does have a point where you can't get any better.

 

I am on the waiting list for ot.

 

I have severe trouble with PE too. The thing is with dyspraxia is that you often get hypotonia with it, which i have, and it makes my legs really weak and they tire easily. I am also a very slow runner. I have next to no co-ordination and spatial awareness, and my balance is very poor.

 

Its so bad that both the we and the school agree that trying to teach me normal sports is a waste of time, so every pe lesson i go to the fittness suite for 1 to 1 sessions. I leanrt to ride my bike when i was about 9, whereas my nt brother lleaarnt when he was nearly 4!

 

Before i got my sessions, our form were taught javilin, and i ended up throwing it less than a inch to a teachers toe, which the teachers had to give me a foam rocket shape to use after that, as it was the only saffe way for me to participate!

 

The best spoirts i could recommend are the one that don't have a team attitiude and are fun, and within his level, so he has a sense of acheivement.

 

Trampiling, table tennis (not playing by the rules but just hitting it to eachother), horse riding (fantastic if you join a riding for the disabled group!, i did it until i was about 9 as i became quite badly allergic to the horses and every week it got worse (huge bummer!). swimming, even if its just messing about going underwater. ball skills, dog walking.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited June 7, 2006 by k9ruby

[Ian Jordan]

Ian, does that mean some of these problems will be corrected when he starts wearing his coloured lenses??

 

Lauren

 

 

YES!

[Ian Jordan]

Ian,

 

and what if coloured lenses are found not to help?

 

They wont in all cases - but you must get tested with optimum methods - most tinted lenses don't work very well.

If they don't work a knowledable person will be able to point you in the right direction, whether it be exercises, neurofeedback, vestibular, auditory, exercises. Usually more than one system is a problem.

[tabz2711]

Hi

I bought a wobble board called the Wobbler from John Lewis to help my daughter who has dyslexia and dyspraxia and it seemed to help. It has different games on it trying to get the ball into the hole and a maze so quite fun for kids. John Lewis had them half price int he sales but I brought mine full price I think it was ?34.95, It can be purchased on the internet from here

 

http://www.outdoortoysdirect.co.uk/Fun-Out...mes/The-Wobbler

 

I use it with all my foster children and they love it.

[tabz2711]

Hi

I bought a wobble board called the Wobbler from John Lewis to help my daughter who has dyslexia and dyspraxia and it seemed to help. It has different games on it trying to get the ball into the hole and a maze so quite fun for kids. John Lewis had them half price int he sales but I brought mine full price I think it was ?34.95, It can be purchased on the internet from here

 

http://www.outdoortoysdirect.co.uk/Fun-Out...mes/The-Wobbler

 

I use it with all my foster children and they love it.

 

 

Here is another link to ebay starting bid ?10

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/wobbler-board_W0QQit...1QQcmdZViewItem

[tabz2711]

Here is another link to ebay starting bid ?10

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/wobbler-board_W0QQit...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

and another

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THE-BIG-WOBBLER-FUN-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[Daisydot]

My son is diagnosed with Dyspraxia. He used to fall over constantly, trip over nothing, bump into things, could not write or use a pencil at all, had a weird gait running and was very "flimsy". We were asked by the diagnosing paediatrician - how rich are you ? She said if we could afford it we should go for private OT because it would be ages before our son got any NHS treatment (the waiting list was about 2 years at the time). We did pay for private OT and it did help a lot although it was dreadfully expensive (?50 per hour). The OT worked a lot on visual perception, fine and gross motor skills, strengthening the core and laterality (knowing right from left). She also worked on a scheme called 'Numbers Without Tears' and successfully taught my son how to write his numbers. The OT got my son to lay on a scooter board (like a wide skateboard) and push himself off from the wall. Also, doing things like wheelbarrows round the room and obstacle courses. She used things like pegs and peg boards and a game called "timeshock" to help the fine motor skills. He also did the Teudoresco programme (rather dull). He was also recommended to use special triangular shaped pencils and pens called "Hand Huggers" which the NHS Ot also recommended. We learned a lot of techniques from her. We had 34 sessions over about 1 year, I used to take my son out of school one afternoon a week and then do some follow up with him at home. We were able to have some NHS OT (a few sessions and a couple of assessments is all we have had to date, and its 3 and a half years since his diagnosis). Now my son has a Statement the OT is on there - but he has only been seen once by the OT since the statement started. However, his speech & language needs have overtaken the OT needs, but to be honest, he has come on so much we are not too worried about the Dyspraxia at the moment.

 

I would recommend Brain Gym, which you can do courses on or get books from the Library. It is particularly good for "crossing the midline" of the brain, which apparently is good for things like writing and co-ordination. Many schools already use this scheme, so it may be worth asking as the exercises are good for all children, not just dyspraxics.

 

My son loves swimming and we take him often. However, swimming lessons were impossible as he just could not understand what the instructor was saying (he has a language deficit).

 

The thing I would recommend the most though is a TRAMPOLINE. We bought one for our son's birthday last year. It has been fantastic. Apparently, bouncing does something to the synovial fluid in the ear (dont ask me the science, as I cant remember). Its also good exercise generally and has strengthened my son's legs immensely. If you are going to invest in one, a safety net is a must.

 

Best of luck

Daisydot