Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder Help

Hi all, not much time but wanted to add a few things about my DS's (who is presently 8 1/2 years old) history, while I have a little bit of time. So my DS seemed slightly behind as a infant - I remember being concerned about his lifting his head during tummy time, not rolling, etc. I realized how worried I was when at 6 months I took like 30 pictures of DS finally lifting his head on his tummy. He was a fatty so I put it down to that. And he wasn't VERY behind - not enough to raise alarm bells. He did crawl at 7 months and cross-crawled... but not for long. He walked early - end of 10th month. He also signed a lot (American Sign Language) and talked so well ... very articulate )his mouth area was never affected - at least not in terms of speech or even breastfeeding or drinking from straws and cups). So, we didn't notice his fine motor was low. He also found ways to compensate and we sort-of missed things. Anyway, at three years old, a pre-school teacher pointed out his fine motor was pretty low and he would w-sit a lot (and he did, I just didn't know w-sitting was bad). She also pointed out he had poor ball skills. He hated coloring and even drawing. He loved to paint. But, he could walk, jump (we had a trampoline though and he loved moonbounces), do stairs, play on playground equipment. However, I started noticing things were really off as did he around four years old. He would become so frustrated with himself that he could not make letters to draw shapes. Furious with himself and was the one to point out to me that all the other children could do it easily and he couldn't. That's when I started looking, googling, asking other moms - particularly moms with kids in therapies, etc. A mom who had two children who had been much more challenged with gross and fine motor than mine recommended I get him evaluated by PT and OT and she recommended some places. Thank God for her. That's when I found out that he was over two years behind in fine motor. It seems a bit silly now but I was really upset! I got home and when he couldn't see me I sat looking at the report and cried and cried. (I did that more than once after OT and PT evals.) My poor kid and I knew that one just isn't "a little behind" at that kind of delay ...

He had some trouble with the bike. The PTs/OTs were always happy he had good balance and that helped - it was the pedaling (the bilateral coordination). He did the balance bike and loved it but pedaling always eluded him. He never rode the tricycles, big wheels, etc. (we bough like 4 different ones - DH always insisting it was the bike not the child.) He learned to ride the bike with no training wheels nonetheless and then forgot. Nevertheless, he did master it for good at 5 years old (late 5). Swinging was another skill he learned at 5 and then forgot a few times and had to re-learn. Swimming has been the most challenging. He would learn and then forget. He also would be the only kid not moving up in swimming lessons. I finally had to get him year-round, private lessons from a relatively "hard-core' instructor (he and I discussed it and he said he was willing to go hardcore as he was determined to get it... the instructor was a little harder than the ymca but not super hard like throw-kid-in-deep-end hard, which would of course have never worked anyway even if I were the insane type of mom to do something like that). It's still slow going but he can swim and is good enough to go down the slides and be in the deep end. He is still getting lessons. My DS's fine motor skills are the ones the most affected - he simply can not write. He has a terrible time with any upper body ball sports - baseball, basketball, football. But is okay with soccer, ice-skating, rollerblading, etc. He just started playing ice hockey! I intend to get him instructional small group basketball and football lessons so that he can at least participate during recess. It helps if he gets one-on-one specific instruction with a lot of repetition. He can't just pick things up with regular instruction like other children. He also has incredible determination to at be able to do things somewhat competently so that helps. He will push himself to the extreme for certain things.

My DS cannot tie his shoes, yet. He has trouble dialing a phone, he is just starting to know his phone number and address. He cannot multitask. Princeton neuroscientists says this is because he needs all of his mental energy and focus for the motor task at hand he can not do more than one task at once or listen while doing a motor task, or talk while doing a motor task, etc. This is exactly what I see - it's not an attention thing (though it can look like adhd) it's the motor-tasks and motor planning are so challenging he doesn't have the brain-space, the attention space, etc. I TOTALLY agree. Finally, someone who gets it.

The neuroscientist at Princeton tells me that often it seems some children are affected more in fine motor and some more in gross motor. She also mention it seemed like some kids had more coordination trouble with the legs area (not my DS so much) and others had more effects in their arms/upper body area, and that would be my DS.

I think the therapies my DS has done have helped. He can't write but his over-all coordination is better and he continues to improve. I think all of the work has been worth it -particularly vision therapy and this weird 'coordination/crossing mid-line therapy' that he did in conjunction with a "listening therapy." Not sure how successful the listening therapy was but the physical therapy they did was great for his coordination and strength, I think. I had tears in my eyes watching him out there playing hockey today. Tears. He is the 'worst' guy on his team right now but still is doing really well and so much more than I had EVER expected! Neither he nor his team seem to care. His team is so supportive ... his coach puts him out there but also pulls him right in when he sees him fatiguing (really nice - why can't teachers be like this?) and is really encouraging and DS is improving and loves it. I couldn't believe my eyes today (his first game) and I was also so scared and nervous for him. He was in heaven.

I think my DS is probably on the more mild side of the spectrum. I think he needs extra support and repetition for motor tasks. He'll never be a great athlete but it looks he'll be competent enough to have fun and participate. But I do think he definitely has DCD.