Dyspraxia

[tiredmum]

I would really appreciate any input regarding dyspraxia. I have been checking out symptons etc online as have always known my dd has gross motor skill problems and some fine motor skills problems too. Have been looking at the DORE site but treatment is very expensive, way out of my league. I know daily exercises can help and could do these at home with her if I knew what to do, any ideas? or pointers would be appreciated. Thanks

[yoyo123]

have you asked the school Senco? Perhaps you could get an occupational therapy referral through the school ( or GP)?

[Ed's mum]

This might help:http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 93&start=0

[T.i.p.s.y]

One of the best things you can do for Dyspraxia is sending DC to a trampolining club - even a basic cheap one. I know it may sound silly but the moves they have to combine helps build the brain connections. If you can't find one then a gymnastic club will also help. Having a trampoline in the garden is not the same thing unless you make up routines for DC to do. It has worked for my son who was diagnosed with dyspraxia and now you can hardly tell he has it.

[Ed's mum]

Also this:http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... php?t=1042

The info all seems to be on the SEN section of the website.

[tiredmum]

One of the best things you can do for Dyspraxia is sending DC to a trampolining club

She did go for about a year and a half when she was younger and I must say it did help her, she asked to quit but I may see if she would start up again on a "casual" basis.

In class she functions very well, top groups etc , except she is a poor speller and prefers to type rather than write. In PE and games she struggles and at 11 yrs still cant ride her bike and runs very awkwardly!

Thanks for your quick replies and wil check out your links eds mum

[inkypinkyponky]

My DD2 is now year 8 at non-selective school but when in the infants it was obvious that she had problems with school work. Having been fobbed off many times by the infants, who said she would catch up, she went to the linked junior school where her year 4 teacher was fantastic. Having nearly 40 years experience as a teacher, she sorted out tests with the Senco thus finding dyslexia and dyspraxia, on top of her vision problems where her eyes do not focus together.

Sorry, long intro, but the the Senco did help her ( half hour a week - wow!) but also informed us of how we could help our daughter at home.

With dyspraxia, coordination is the problem. We were advised that swimming lessons are really helpful in this respect as the action of swimming involves a lot of left/right arm actions which have to be cordinated with leg kicking.

Also helpful would be pony riding lessons as again hand actions and heel kicking are opposite in order to steer the pony. DD2 did ride for a couple of years but at £26 for a 50 minute lesson it was a bit prohibitive. The swimming was £55 for 10 lessons - a bit more manageable!

Two easy things to do were skipping, as the brain has to move arms and leg together, and a simple catch game. If your DD cannot catch a ball, then a bean bag or even a soft toy makes it easier to start with and give confidence to continue.
These two only take a few minutes to play and can easily be slotted into the day - skip to school? (Your DD not you!)
Riding a bike was difficult but at 9, DD2 managed without stabilizers- woohoo!

All these things helped our daughter, so good luck if you decide to give them a go. We looked at the Dore programme but even 6 years ago the outlay was £1800 - too much by far for us!
I'm sure there are many more intense options, maybe there's info on the internet now, but for us these worked as we tended to do more things at home for her dyslexia. The latest school report states that she's only 18 months behind now, not 4 years!

[T.i.p.s.y]

When it came to riding a bike I eventually raied the stabilisers so they weren't actually touching the ground. DS would initially ride with each stabiliser wheel hitting the ground but eventually I could see he was riding without them touching the ground. As soon as I took them off he could ride immediately without any help.Had he known I had done this with the stabilisers he would have panicked - ignorance is bliss!

[KB]

Tennis is also good & apparently music lessons - something to do with the parts of the brain that are being used.
Also 'wobble boards' either the very basic ones or fancy electronic ones as well (with Christmas coming up?)
Probably a bit out of date now, but something called the 'eye toy' for PS2 - an early version of the Wii idea (must be some good games on that as well?)

The little bats with balls attached on elastic are something thats easy to have around.
Juggling also good We found one of the boys at the early morning club we ran for a while was brilliant at this!
Those 'stilt' cups (upside down bucket type thing with string 'handles').

[pixiequeen]

Hello tiredmum

Don't know if this will help as not sure if my DD1 has exactly the same issues. She is dyspraxic, but I think it is mostly caused by poor spatial perception, lack of 3D vision and 'hypermobile' joints (basically all her joints are loose which although sometimes useful makes it hard to keep your balance!)

We had a referral to the physiotherapist (NHS) who did give us some exercises. DD was told to get into crawling position, hold out her right hand and count to 10, hold out left hand, then right leg, then left leg, and finally do opposite arm and leg. She found it difficult but I could see that it was helping. The physiotherapist also recommended swimming.

But - the thing I think has helped the most is playing the piano. Having to use both hands at the same time apparently forces the left and right sides of the brain to work together and build those missing connections.

DD still falls over her own feet occasionally and will never be a sportswoman but she's improved loads since the age of 3 when she couldn't walk across a room without landing flat on her face.