ADVICE :- DYSLEXIA/DYSPRAXIA/ASPERGERS

slig17

Hi,

Daughter diagnosed with Dyslexia privately with Educ. phscol. and from there i have been referred for O.T (she confirms dyspraxia/asper) saying she has all the signs but wont labellel her(but could and has in past but regretted it as the kids grew up just fine and were charged so much more when it came to insurance with cars etc) with it but will try and give her help to bring her on feels she wont get any more help at school and down the road labellelling her will not help her in any way.

Speech and laug. assesment - still waiting for this as she lacks the understanding for simple things and cant read between the lines + stares alot as if trying to figure out alot from facial expressions.

Also waiting to see clinical phsycol. and peadatric doc.

Any advice really is what i want from anyone who has gone through this

Thanks

How Strange

slig17 is your daughter being formally assessed for aspergers? It's not clear from your post.

My nephew is aspergers and has dyspraxia and it's very important that they're formally diagnosed as they need extra supports in school etc.

You don't say what age she is but the clinical diagnoses is the basis for everything do that should be the priority at this stage. My nephew was diagnosed around 6 years old so he hot the extra teaching supports quite early.

I'm sure if you do a google search you'll find aspergers support associations and networks where you can speak to and meet parents going through the same experiences as you.

byhookorbycrook

It's illegal to charge anyone with a disability extra for car insurance. I have explored this in depth so know what I am talking about.

What age is she? Is she getting resource hours? Does she have an SNA?

Don't look on it as a label, look on it as a key to open the door to extra help- like readers/scribes for exams, better understanding of her specific needs and strengths and so on.

slig17

Look i don't have a clue that just what the o t says but as far as i know she can only give her assement and this along with slt and clinical and pedeatric doc will make the final decision....i'm only on the start of a real long journey and was just looking for others experiences really....not trying to offend anyone

xx

How Strange

In my very limited experience with my nephew it's the clinical diagnosis that's important. An OT probably wouldn't be qualified to make a diagnosis.

My nephew had a few interviews/appointments with a clinical psychologist (I think). He was observed in many situations including playing, drawing pictures etc etc and then his parents were given a full report on his assessment including implications for the future in terms of social/cognitive behaviour, education and what types of treatments he would benefit from.

It was a very comprehensive report and made for stark reading at times. Part of the treatments recommended was OT and cognitive behaviour therapy but it also detailed what his parents had to do at home for his dyspraxia as well as aspergers

I'd really suggest you get in touch with the different aspergers associations. I know my sister and her husband benefited from speaking to other parents of aspergers children.

Bicycle

I have a son who has been diagnosed with Aspergers Dyspraxia and Dyslexia. I also suspect he has a touch of Tourettes but the diagnosis won't make any difference so it has been suggested we don't follow it up unless it deteriorates further.

The OT can only make a suggestion that the child has Dyspraxia. There's some legal issue about the diagnosis. It needs to be confirmed by others.

To make a diagnosis of Aspergers you need to have a diagnosis from a multidisciplinary team including a Clinical Psychologist, an OT and a Speech and Language therapist.

Middletown Centre for Autism run some excellent courses and they are free https://www.middletownautism.com/ The courses are a great place to meet with other parents and chat and compare notes.

Our son wasn't diagnosed until he was 9. We'd had problems when he was small - wearing only a certain type of shirt etc. But when his sister was being assessed for dyspraxia we mentioned our son to the OT and she suggested he might also have dyspraxia. When HE was being assessed by her she suggested that he might have Aspergers and the ball started rolling from there.

Some parents don't want a diagnosis, some practitioners don't like labelling the child. I'm happy for my child to get whatever diagnoses will help him going forward.

At the moment he is in primary school and gets 4.5 hours resource a week. He's very bright academically so his resource hours are used to work on his gross-fine motor skills, coordination and social skills.

He has been recommended a part-time SNA for secondary school (starting in September) but we think it is highly unlikely he will get one.

Feel free to ask me what you need to either here or via PM. Its a very difficult time starting out but it does get better.

Tony Attwood is a renowned expert on Aspergers and has written an excellent book entitled "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome" - it is well worth getting your hands on it. It was our bible for the first few months following diagnosis.

This is his website http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/

Good luck. You are not alone. There are lots of us out here. But it does feel very isolating when you do have a child with this diagnosis. Even just because you don't know how they are going to behave in a social situation so sometimes you tend to avoid them...

slig17

Hi,

OP here - i know have appointment with Pediatric Doc - not sure what to expect?


PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE SOMEONE MUST KNOW!!