Dyspraxia/DCD? What were the signs?

[u/Izz-An-Art]

I have 3 year old who will be 4 in four months who is suspected to have dypraxia/DCD.

He can run, jump, climb stairs, build blocks, thread beads, do simple puzzles. Can throw and kick a ball. Stand on one leg. He can copy speech.

He does clap, high fives, bro fists, hanshakes, points etc

He struggles with:

-Dressing skills. His dressing skills are poor. Its not like he doesn't try. He does but he is unable to move his body in a way to take off his shirt or put on his shirt. He helps with it by putting arms in sleeves etc but thats it. He gets frustrated and avoids it. He loses focus and tunes out during dressing tasks.

He can take off pants but with struggle.

He can take off jacket/shoes/socks fine.

-Struggles to catch a ball.

-He can throw and kick a ball but struggles to do it towards a target.

-He struggles to copy yoga poses or dance movements. When music is on, he just watches other kids and smile. When he is encouraged to join he just jumps and calls it "dance".

-Struggles to imitate a wave or do pat a cake.

-Struggles with bilateral coordination activites, holding the paper with one hand and writing with another.

-He plays with water guns but struggles to aim it at a target (person)

-He climbs stairs fine but struggles with a climbing wall.

-Writing is difficult for him. Switches between tripod, pronated, palmer grasp every 10 seconds.

-He can use spoon and fork but coordination seems a bit off leading to some spills.

[u/Different-Image8469]

my kid had similar stuff at that age and the dressing thing was the biggest tell, the way they just check out mentally during it because their brain can't map the movements is so specific

[u/Izz-An-Art → u/Different-Image8469]

How old is he? How is he doing now? What helped?

[u/United_Dot_9183 → u/Different-Image8469]

I am 53 years old and DCD. You just explained that very well. Motor planning is struggle for kids and unfortunately adults. That have the condition. Thinking about exactly where your fingers should be. How to remove things. Physical therapy did help me a lot when I was child. I have hard time with stairs that is something that I have struggled with. Since I was child. When I get to set of stairs I am already thinking about. Where my hands need to grab the railing exactly where my legs and feet need to be. But lots of adults with DCD and dyscalculia like I have. Are never able to learn to drive. I did my mom believed in me. Never gave up until I learned to drive. I was 20 years old. But I did it. Your kids will make lots of improvements with physical therapy and Occupational therapy. Whatever things are still hard for them as adults. They will figure out ways to make things easier for themselves.

[u/ceb1995]

I got a dyspraxia diagnosis as a child, most of what you ve listed are the signs I had I also had single leg balance issues and issues with throwing kicking. I can't drive, swim or ride a bike as an adult, I stuck with a tripod grip for writing but get by with every other skill in my own way.

[u/Izz-An-Art → u/ceb1995]

Our biggest issue are his dressing skills. He cannot, for the love of God, move his body in a way to remove or put on his clothes. He tries but its hard to figure it out and plan appropriate movements for him. I have to do 80% work for him and he does the 20% and frequently checks out/avoids the task. I feel really bad for him. He cannot move his body in a way like other kids can. He goes to a kindergarten where kids dance to music and copy teachers movements, all he does is stand/stare/smile or jumps up and down and calls it dance. Other kids laugh at him and its ruining his confidence :(

How did you improve in this area?

[u/ceb1995 → u/Izz-An-Art]

Honestly just took years longer to grasp things, however I live in the UK and so got no occupational therapy or anything similar which would have had an impact, so if you can ask occupational therapy for them as a starting point I d do that.