Even though my son can write legibly, he was diagnosed with dysgraphia because writing is slow for him, way too slow for it to be an efficient means for him to get his thoughts on paper. He also still has occasional letter and number reversals and spacing issues if he tries to write quickly. His handwriting problems never got better, no matter how much time he spent practicing. The neuropsychologist said his dysgraphia was caused by the dyspraxia.
But my son does not have problems with sequencing and he has only a few of the problems that kids with dyspraxia are supposed to have. He does sometimes have bad days and it does seem like his motor skills are affected a little and this shows up in piano lessons, but I think it might be caused by the headaches. I know my ability to think and do things is impaired a little when I have a migraine and several other family members have the same problem. We all learned to compensate for the headaches, we all managed to do well in school and get good jobs and I think my son will too but he also has the hypotonia and scoliosis that we didn't have to deal with. It would be very difficult for him if he were in our public school.
My daughter even noticed that he is not clumsy at all until he has been out walking for a couple of hours and his feet hurt really bad. Then, he sometimes trips over his own feet. The foot pain problem is so bad that he had to leave the anime convention early. He couldn't see all of it because of the pain. This is the problem that seems more like a disability and it is because of the hypotonia. The arches in his feet collapse when he stands. We have tried custom made orthotics twice and they don't help very much. He is still not able to do some of the things he wants to do because of the pain in his feet, the frequent headaches, and the scoliosis brace. My daughter suggested letting him use a wheelchair when the pain gets bad enough to limit his activities but my son won't do it because he worries about what other people will think since he doesn't look like he has a disability. My daughter told him he could lift up his shirt (so they could see the brace) but he won't do it.
The handwriting issue seems very minor to him since he can type well. I just worry about how the handwriting issues will affect his ability to write out math problems quickly when he takes the ACT. My son just wants to be able to enjoy some of the things other kids are able to enjoy without pain.
The physical therapist says our plan to do aquatic therapy in a hot tub is a good one because of his pain issues. Our new exercise room and hot tub room will be ready for my son to use when we get back from vacation. My husband is staying home for the week to get it ready.
