Do professionals not believe in the diagnosis?
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Do professionals not believe in the diagnosis?
Ok..so have been trying to get a diagnosis for over a yr..sent to a neurologist..who did not believe in "dyspraxia"- unhelpful word apparently for "clumsy". Then got an MRI scan anyway..no brain damage but I do have a birth diagnosis of asphyxiation..could this have affected it? The occupational therapist am seeing told me this. However believes I have struggles, but does not think they are down to dyspraxia. When I asked what then, is it just me? She said no,, but I cannot explain why. I thought I was seeing a psychologist, which I did but it was trainee. Not getting to see anyone else from that dept. She just took case notes. They seem to agree I struggle, but not interested why or in giving me a proper assessment. I have written a letter, but is there some reason they don't like to diagnose or is it genuinely they mean what they say, if they say they do not believe u have it. I have already been told I may likel not get it, but I want to just ask is that cos you refuse to assess me or I won't get it because u so firmly believe there is no evidence? Just seems from all the stories, some reason the NHS do not want to get involved. But I fail to see why, unless it's got something to do with benefit claiming?
Re: Do professionals not believe in the diagnosis?
I have to say that the neurologist you saw was being highly irresponsible by claiming that there's no such thing as dyspraxia, just clumsiness. From having read various posts on this forum, it's blatant that it's about so much more than that (having issues with speech, writing speed, organisation of thoughts, sequencing of activities etc- the list could go on and on) and therefore deserves to be recognised as a specific condition. I think it is significant that you suffered from asphyxia during birth, as anything which goes wrong during birth or pregnancy can affect brain development. Just because no brain damage as such has shown up on the MRI scan, it does not mean that there is not an issue with brain function. A current theory as to the cause of dyspraxia, is that the two halves of the brain aren't coordinated well enough- IMO what could actually be happening is that the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain, may not have developed as it should (again, this may not be obvious on an MRI) due to something going wrong during birth or pregnancy. You might also be interested to know that people with learning problems such as dyspraxia, dyslexia and ADHD usually have a working memory which isn't up to scratch- this could also be explained by problems during birth or pregnancy, as the hippocampus (which is responsible for working memory) is especially vulnerable to not developing as it should due to something going wrong, such as a baby not getting enough oxygen. Again, the hippocampus not having developed as much as it should have done is probably not something which would particularly show up on an MRI scan, as it is not damage as such.
It sounds as if you are being fobbed off by the NHS. As far as I am aware, there isn't a policy of not diagnosing someone with dyspraxia, but, from what I've seen on this site and elsewhere, it can be notoriously difficult to get a diagnosis on the NHS. I'm not sure this has got anything to do with benefits, as only people who have been diagnosed with particularly severe cases of dyspraxia seem to be approved for the receipt of disability benefits (although, in reality the Government would probably like it if no one got these). GPs don't know enough about dyspraxia and, from what you've said, it appears some neurologists don't either. You might be interested in signing this petition to increase awareness amongst GPs:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-roy ... ic-pathway
There's also a mental health petition, if you're interested in signing it:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-bri ... fessionals
Unfortunately, you might find that you have to go private to get a diagnosis. I've posted a link for this several times before, but here it is again if you want to find a psychologist who's fully qualified to carry out an assessment:
http://www.bps.org.uk/bpslegacy/dcp
The psychologist will most likely carry out the WAIS assessment- he/she should be able to diagnose you with dyspraxia on the basis of that (which is how I was diagnosed), but it can also identify other issues such as dyslexia and problems with working memory. Unfortunately, an assessment is likely to cost a few hundred pounds. Having said this, you have received poor treatment from the NHS, so I would definitely write a letter of complaint. You should also let the Dyspraxia Foundation know, as they need to be made aware of this kind of poor treatment at the hands of so-called 'professionals.' Sending you to see a trainee psychologist is just ridiculous, as there is no way a trainee is qualified to make an official diagnosis.
It sounds as if you are being fobbed off by the NHS. As far as I am aware, there isn't a policy of not diagnosing someone with dyspraxia, but, from what I've seen on this site and elsewhere, it can be notoriously difficult to get a diagnosis on the NHS. I'm not sure this has got anything to do with benefits, as only people who have been diagnosed with particularly severe cases of dyspraxia seem to be approved for the receipt of disability benefits (although, in reality the Government would probably like it if no one got these). GPs don't know enough about dyspraxia and, from what you've said, it appears some neurologists don't either. You might be interested in signing this petition to increase awareness amongst GPs:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-roy ... ic-pathway
There's also a mental health petition, if you're interested in signing it:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-bri ... fessionals
Unfortunately, you might find that you have to go private to get a diagnosis. I've posted a link for this several times before, but here it is again if you want to find a psychologist who's fully qualified to carry out an assessment:
http://www.bps.org.uk/bpslegacy/dcp
The psychologist will most likely carry out the WAIS assessment- he/she should be able to diagnose you with dyspraxia on the basis of that (which is how I was diagnosed), but it can also identify other issues such as dyslexia and problems with working memory. Unfortunately, an assessment is likely to cost a few hundred pounds. Having said this, you have received poor treatment from the NHS, so I would definitely write a letter of complaint. You should also let the Dyspraxia Foundation know, as they need to be made aware of this kind of poor treatment at the hands of so-called 'professionals.' Sending you to see a trainee psychologist is just ridiculous, as there is no way a trainee is qualified to make an official diagnosis.