Dyspraxia

[tatt]

Don't post here normally as I don't really consider my kids G&T. However one is predicted to get A* or A gades at GCSE and also has many dyspraxic characteristics. Does anyone have a G&T dyspraxic child as I dispair of ever getting any decent advice?

[Romy7]

what sort of advice?

[tatt]

how to deal with lack of confidence, speech delay - not bad enough for speech therapy but enough to make them out of place with other G&T teens - poor posture and sensory issues.

[needmorecoffee]

well, ds2 is dyspraxic and predicted to get A stars but I don't consider getting all A stars gifted.
ds2 issues are clumsiness and handwriting (and temper) so the school will allow him extra time in exams after he was seen by the senco. That might be worth chasing up. How is he in PE. ds2 is hopeless but doesn't care and doesn't get bullied but PE seems a bit pointless to both of us.
Have you talkd to the senco yet?

[Romy7]

does the form tutor know your dc well? is the dc on the senco radar or not at all? have you ever had advice from an OT? sometimes they just go through different strategies with the child and the teachers involved...

[jabberwocky]

Ds1 is G&T and also has sensory processing disorder. Kids with SPD can sometimes also have dyspraxia and giftedness is considered to be a "risk factor". There are sites out there for kids like this where you can get some advice. Google things like "twice exceptional". The Council for Exceptional Children is a good place to start.

[jabberwocky]

And yes, occupational therapy is the best place to start with diagnosis and treatment.

[Romy7]

jabberwocky, that google tip is brilliant
never seen any of that before lol!

[jabberwocky]

gotta love the internet

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

My younger brother is dyspraxic - he was diagnosed fairly young (6 or 7ish?), not sure whether he would be counted as G&T, but is fiercely intelligent, was always academic in school and got a First in Politics from a good uni.

He had physio and other support when primary age. His secondary school was also good - especially re exams, e.g. extra time, scribe etc. He also got support at uni to help him plan work, and a grant to buy a laptop and voice recognition software.

[lazymumofteenagesons]

Jabberwocky - info on twice exceptional children is really interesting. Just thought I had a bright kid with SpLD, but he fits in with almost all the traits on website. The main one being that when he was assessed they could not combine the 2 sides of his IQ cos thay were so far apart. Ed Psych said, not too worry he'll do well in 'real life' just doesn't fit into the education system in UK!

[tatt]

not sure the school even has a SENCO, I have no idea who it is if they have. However I did see an edpsych today who had spent a whole hour or so observing my child and giving them a test or two. They were very impressed by their coping strategies and just concerned to see that they weren't pushed too hard {hmm] Chance would be a fine thing - they coast!

They did agree that the large discrepancy between written and oral English ( A written, c oral) merited monitoring. And while agreeing that they may have been diagnosed with dyspraxia when younger didn't feel it worth pursuing this now as they have such good coping strategies. I shall have a good google later - thank you.

[jabberwocky]

lol, lazymum, we were told the same thing re: he'll be fine once he's out of school. Of course, since he's only 5 that leaves quite a bit of time to figure out how to help him cope with and hopefully enjoy school to some degree

[tatt]

spent an hour or two and still haven't found anything that really deals with how to help an able dyspraxic child. Going to borrow some books from the library and see if they have anything helpful.

[VictorianSqualor]

The school will have a SENCO, speak to the class teacher and ask to meet with both the teacher and the SENCO, then when you see them, ask them about coping strategies and for a referral to Occ Therapy, you could even call your local OT and ask if they have any group sessions?
What about the Dyspraxia foundation?

[mabanana]

Try the book Caged In Chaos by Vicky Biggs, written by a very dyspraxic teenager who got the highest marks in English in the whole country and went to Cambridge. Google it. It is full of advice and also empathy as she had all those problems.

[tatt]

Thanks - I've read Vicky's blog and her problems are more severe.

Do all school's have to have SENCO's because I really don't think there is one. Certainly no-one at the school has suggested meeting one.

[needmorecoffee]

I think all state schools have one cos you have a right to have a disabled child in mainstream. Handwriting can me a major issue with dyspraxia so if his handwriing is great then thats a good thing.
I didn't have ds2 assessed until 13 cos he was home educated so what you 'can't' do isn't such a big deal with HE children and he would type rather than write. Cos he chose to go to school his difficulty became a factor.

[VictorianSqualor]

No-one really mentioned the SENCO to me until I asked at DD's school.
There has to be someone to specifically deal with special needs issues afai am aware, so I'd definitely ask, the most they can say is 'We don't have a SENCO' then you can just ask who deals with SEN/SN statements etc. SEN/SN is extremely common just in varying strengths so chances are there will be a large number of SEN/Sn pupils in every state school.

[tatt]

Borrowed May Colley's Living With Dyspraxia from the library. I think that's going to be quite useful. Again obviously written by/for those with more severe problems but still looks useful.

There must be someone dealing with SEN because the Ofsted report says the school is pretty good at it. Looks like that only applies if you have a diagnosis when you start.

Anyway by chance another parent mentioned their son is dypraxic (and is now at Cambridge) so maybe I can pick up ideas from them.

[Romy7]

every school has a SENCo, also one of the governing body will have specific duties as the SEN governor. kids who need a little extra help in mainstream/ additional time/ coping strategies are sometimes put on the 'school action' list, and those who needs additional help from outside school agencies (such as occupation therapy etc) are often put on the 'school action plus' list. some of these children may have an 'iep' - individual education plan) which can help target certain areas they struggle with...
it's only the children whose needs are more complex that end up with statements of sen, but all of the children described will come under the broad definition of sen...
that's the theory anyway lol...

[Romy7]

sen is quite often not picked up until school, so many kids are identified at various points during school years - always important to discuss concerns with teacher (and ask for appointment with teacher and senco if you feel the teacher is not getting your point lol) - shouldn't matter if not dx before school.

[tatt]

thanks. When they started at this school I mentioned possible dyspraxia on some of the forms. No-one was interested. However at first things went well (we'd taken them there in advance so they could find their way around and its smaller than the average secondary anyway). Later they got dropped by their primary school friends and it got more difficult. I've met the head of year twice (2 different people) and got nowhere. Went to head of year as it wasn't a problem with a specific teacher but a general issue.

[tatt]

got the ed psych report and it said nothing terribly useful. But I have now discovered that the SENCO is one of the people I've met with - as they are also head of year.

Anyway have decided that unless I want to go via the gp to occ therapy I'm not going to get a diagnosis (because the ed psych said it was a medical issue). So we're back to out own devices and books. Amanda Kirby's books look promising, although they don't help with how you teach someone who is dyspraxic to peel food! I have picked up suggestions that the Alexander Technique may help with posture, be interested to know if anyone else has tried it.

[dilemma456]

Message withdrawn

[lazymumofteenagesons]

My son is dyspraxic. He does not allow the poor co-ordination it causes to hold him back. I think the social aspects which affect your daughters seem to be much more of a problem. Your daughters are obviously very intelligent. My son manages to laugh off some of his coordination problems. Walking down a street with a group means he is forever stepping on you or walking across the others. They just haul him out the way! When it comes to cricket season everyone at school knows he is crap and noone cares.
He has never used a knife and fork properly and alot of food is eaten by hand. You should however get the SENCO to allow them to use a laptop and get extra time in exams.

I can see that if my son did not have the social skills to deal with these problems then he could have ended up very unhappy.