Helping my son with dyspraxia as I have it too

[Sheryl]

Hi I'm a 38 year old female and growing up I always thought I was different to other children and found it hard to do things other children found easy to do. In secondary school I always found my self blagging my way through or staying behind at the end of a lesson and asking teachers to try and explain things in a different way for me.
I have 3 sons and my youngest son took way longer to achieve milestones even though the input activities and encouragement was there just the same as my first 2 sons.
I fought for a diagnosis I did not know my son had dyspraxia at the time , I just wanted to know what it was so I could help him to get on with life. I was even told at one point before diagnosis that as my husband spoke Welsh and my self English we were confusing him and that's why he did not form proper words etc. Which I knew was rubbish.
Once he had been diagnosed and I was reading up on everything only then did I peace together my own struggles and realise that's what I have too. No sense of direction , touch sensitive , emotional, depressive , unable to keep friendships , worrying , needing routine and taking verbal instruction literally is just to touch the surface.
I was annoyed my parents had not got the help for me but at least I had my wits about me to keep me off the 'thick table' in school !!!! Could you imagine such a table in schools today !!!
I try to look at it's positives that I understand what my son goes through that I can pass on tips for him to cope in situations etc. Even when you tell people about dyspraxia that don't understand.
Professionals said my son would not ride a bike tie his shoes etc
My son does do all these things I just brake instructions down for him. We learn things step by step. We don't move in to the next step till we have mastered and are confident in what we have learned.
I have masses of patience for my son with an insider understanding. But I have no idea how parents who are going by what they told and read up on etc how they manage and truly understand x x

[Ram]

Welcome to the site, Sheryl. Reading about what you're doing to help your son has been really heart-warming!

[Sheryl]

Thank you for reading and the comment

[Tom fod]

Hi Sheryl and welcome

Quite a lot of people come to the same realisation and end up here after learning one of their children is affected.

It's probably still 'unofficially' the 'thick table' or whatever more politically correct term is in vogue these days. Being clumsy and awkward is all too often associated with low intelligence but people who treat us as if we are thick do so very much at their own peril. Awareness has improved but there's still massive room for improvement and sadly ignorance will always exist. We've heard of some frighteningly stupid things from the mouths of so called experts too!

[otis_b_flywheel]

I was even told at one point before diagnosis that as my husband spoke Welsh and my self English we were confusing him and that's why he did not form proper words etc. Which I knew was rubbish.

Absolutely right Sheryl. For one thing dyspraxics are often better at languages than others (high sensory sensitivity = better ear?), and for another it has been shown that kids who learn entirely through Gaelic medium in schools here in the Highlands (and elsewhere in Scotland) are actually brought on in other subjects by their multi-lingual skills.

[Ram]

I was even told at one point before diagnosis that as my husband spoke Welsh and my self English we were confusing him and that's why he did not form proper words etc. Which I knew was rubbish.

Absolutely right Sheryl. For one thing dyspraxics are often better at languages than others (high sensory sensitivity = better ear?), and for another it has been shown that kids who learn entirely through Gaelic medium in schools here in the Highlands (and elsewhere in Scotland) are actually brought on in other subjects by their multi-lingual skills.

The attitude of the so called expert who told Sheryl this is also symptomatic of the pitiful attitude throughout most of the UK towards learning foreign languages. I could go on about this, but I shouldn't hijack the main purpose of this thread.