Dyspraxia & Apraxia Support Group
Dyspraxia is difficulty getting the body to do what we want when we want to do it. Apraxia is a neurological disorder characterized by being unable to execute or carry out learned (familiar) movements, even if the desire and physical ability is there. This group is dedicated to those coping with either aprxia or dyspraxia. Join the group to find support and get advice.
Hi, I'm a new member, but reading some of your stories, have helped. Here's my long story so far.
My daughter has suffered the last 2 years, lagging further behind. Her writing and spelling are terrible but at least she spells phonetically. However it is heart breaking when the new teachers at new school write watch your punctuation, watch your spelling etc, they obviously haven't been told of her difficulties. The minute I could I mithered the SENCO. Now I think things are being put in place like extra reading and writing lessons but she doesnt want to do them, doesnt want to be split up from her friends etc. I have tried to explain its so she can catch up with the others.
She has been put into other ability classes, but this doesnt help, as it has a lot of the children who dont have problems, but just like to mess around and cause trouble. She is getting a bit frustrated with this. She tends to sit on her own so she can concentrate with her friends on another aisle. She was put forward for a statement of educational needs panel but this was turned down. Hopefully the new school can put her forward again so she can get a helper if she doesn't improve.
The OT tests were interesting, some things she can do, like skip but cant ride a bike. Catching a ball and throwing it against the wall was funny, am surprised the lights in the ceiling didn't get smashed! But she loves swimming, her strokes are a bit dodgy but loves swimming underwater, but hates washing her face.
The biggest problem I have now is to get her organised in the morning, I have to remind her to do this, that and the other and she has 1 speed slow. And brushing her teeth and hair is a problem, she is very head sore, so we had her hair cut shorter so she could manage it and thats helped a bit.
I've ordered the stubby grips for pencils and some special half moon shaped pens that the OT had her trying so when they arrive hopefully they'll help, i'll report back if they help her. She writes with her index and middle finger on top of each other.
She does seem to have a mixture of symptoms like not liking escalators and not knowing when to get off one.She cant do shoe laces they always come undone, buttons are a problem. Plus she used to do ballroom dancing and was in a formation when she was 7 but as the routines got harder with more turns, she struggled turning the right way, so just carried on with normal ballroom dancing and again has found the harder routines harder to learn so has just stopped doing it. Now she wants to sing (has quite a good voice) and wants to play the guitar, so that may be fun.
In regards to it being genetic, my brother found out last year that he has some symptoms by talking to someone at his counselling course at college and he's 37 now, but he managed to do a degree and become a teacher even though he was very disorganised and cant use a knife and fork or butter bread. But He can play drums,guitar and piano so maybe he conquered the manual dexterity part of things. Some of the symptoms are so strange.
I am glad I found this community it will be very helpful to share expriences and ideas.
Bev
My daughter has suffered the last 2 years, lagging further behind. Her writing and spelling are terrible but at least she spells phonetically. However it is heart breaking when the new teachers at new school write watch your punctuation, watch your spelling etc, they obviously haven't been told of her difficulties. The minute I could I mithered the SENCO. Now I think things are being put in place like extra reading and writing lessons but she doesnt want to do them, doesnt want to be split up from her friends etc. I have tried to explain its so she can catch up with the others.
She has been put into other ability classes, but this doesnt help, as it has a lot of the children who dont have problems, but just like to mess around and cause trouble. She is getting a bit frustrated with this. She tends to sit on her own so she can concentrate with her friends on another aisle. She was put forward for a statement of educational needs panel but this was turned down. Hopefully the new school can put her forward again so she can get a helper if she doesn't improve.
The OT tests were interesting, some things she can do, like skip but cant ride a bike. Catching a ball and throwing it against the wall was funny, am surprised the lights in the ceiling didn't get smashed! But she loves swimming, her strokes are a bit dodgy but loves swimming underwater, but hates washing her face.
The biggest problem I have now is to get her organised in the morning, I have to remind her to do this, that and the other and she has 1 speed slow. And brushing her teeth and hair is a problem, she is very head sore, so we had her hair cut shorter so she could manage it and thats helped a bit.
I've ordered the stubby grips for pencils and some special half moon shaped pens that the OT had her trying so when they arrive hopefully they'll help, i'll report back if they help her. She writes with her index and middle finger on top of each other.
She does seem to have a mixture of symptoms like not liking escalators and not knowing when to get off one.She cant do shoe laces they always come undone, buttons are a problem. Plus she used to do ballroom dancing and was in a formation when she was 7 but as the routines got harder with more turns, she struggled turning the right way, so just carried on with normal ballroom dancing and again has found the harder routines harder to learn so has just stopped doing it. Now she wants to sing (has quite a good voice) and wants to play the guitar, so that may be fun.
In regards to it being genetic, my brother found out last year that he has some symptoms by talking to someone at his counselling course at college and he's 37 now, but he managed to do a degree and become a teacher even though he was very disorganised and cant use a knife and fork or butter bread. But He can play drums,guitar and piano so maybe he conquered the manual dexterity part of things. Some of the symptoms are so strange.
I am glad I found this community it will be very helpful to share expriences and ideas.
Bev
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I have been here before, a long long time ago and now I am back.Forgive me for not just saying what I want to say,even under a triple dose of antidepressants it is still raw and seeping and I am hesitant at revealing it as at least under the bandages around my heart I don,t have to look at how raw and wounded.My child was cleaved from my heart by his own actions. my child of ten,turning eleven...
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theatre and I are there already. I'm having a very berry tea with crackers, cheese and cherry tomatoes and she's having a joint with some beer and we're both on really comfy recliners on thick pile carpet. we need some help with the decor if anyone is around??
Your daughter sounds very much like me. Have you looked into private tutoring so that your daughter does not have to be split up from her friends at school? Dyspraxia makes you so conspicuous anyway it is easier to work on thing in private rather than at school where people can see you struggling and will bully you.
As for your brother, I used to play the piano too. As well as having diverse symptoms so people have different strengths and weaknesses, I think there is another reason for why he could do these things. Dyspraxia does not mean you cannot do things. It means that the things which nondyspraxics have wired into them and can do automatically need to be learnt from scratch by dyspraxics. So it is perfectly possible to learn things you just need to be patient.
Our son is 10 and he is very dyspraxic with social communication difficulties. He also is hypersensitive to some sounds and textures.
I can relate to your story as he sounds very much as your child does. Brushing hair and teeth can be a nightmare. Have you tried an electric toothbrush. This may help. Also my son has the stablo pens and he finds it a lot easier to write with these.
Don't worry too much with the laces, just buy velcro fasteners, then there is not so much of an issue for her. It can be trial and error, every child is different. It can be hard and as there doesn't seem to be any support groups in our area it can be a lonely disability to have. I hope I have helped a little and God bless.
I HIGHLY recommend reading the book The LCP Solution as soon as possible. By doing so myself right after my diagnosis, I have since become 95% free of my symptoms to all these deficiencies.