So I picked my 7 year old and a friend up from cooking camp this week. The friend announced (very politely) that my daughter had done something to gross everyone out and had to be asked to stop three times. After a little prompting, I figured out that my daughter had eaten cous cous with her hands. She eats everything with her hands. I have never been able to get her to eat with a fork.
The next day I went in to talk to the instructor, to explain dyspraxia, thinking I would suggest they just help her put the fork in her hands the right way...and while waiting, I saw that they were selling this set of gardening tool eating utensils that were really easy to grip. I bought them for her. While buying them, I told the sales clerk that she had DCD, and the sales clerk said her niece had that, had a teacher who understood it, and used a compass or something to teach her how to write. I'm not sure I understand how that works, but she said that her niece was doing great because of this teacher. I'm jealous! Why can I not get my daughter access to one of these teachers?
Back to the eating utensils. My daughter has asked for and used them every day. She now can eat with a fork. A pink fork meant for a two year old, but a fork nonetheless. She is obviously happier, even if she didn't seem particularly upset before.
How do I find the magic tools? Why did it take me so many years to find this stupid fork and what else is out there for her?
It has been almost 4 years now. 4 years of paying all kinds of doctors who can't really do anything. Her swimming teacher quit on her. I can't teach her how to swim. Her 1st grade teacher who I swear is one of the best in the school still really believed that my daughter's problems were of her own making.
They don't have to teach her math, they don't have to teach her reading, they don't have to teach her pretty much anything academic, but can't someone please teach her how to put her books in her desk??
I just don't know what to do to help her. So fork, okay that's good...for now. I have no idea how she's ever going to learn to hold a fork for real. Writing? Sometimes her writing is crazy neat, sometimes it is unreadable. I tried to teach her typing this summer. She's not interested.
No OT anymore. She graduated. Our health insurance doesn't pay for any of this. We have an educational psychologist for counseling right now at $175 an hour.
I just don't know where to go or what to do or what to ask. I just want her to be okay. My husband had the same problems. He is not now nor will he ever be truly okay. I don't want the same thing to happen to her. Where do I find one of these teachers who understands and who will teach her how to write with the magic compass?
Are there books that any of you can recommend for teaching me how to teach my child? She had physical therapy from 4mos-3years, a complete neuropsych evaluation at 4, OT for a year at 6. No one is really putting all of the pieces together and this has been a very exhausting, expensive journey with an otherwise sweet, happy, intelligent, total pleasure to be around kid.
This is part rant and part "really, really, what on earth do I do?" and partly wondering if anyone knows what the heck this compass thing is all about because I'd like to find one of those.
