Trying to help dyspraxic child with severe anxiety

[cake_jake]

Hello, sorry, I realise that this is 'Dyspraxic Adults'! I came here by googling "dyspraxia forum", there doesn't seem to be a forum on the Dyspraxia Foundation website that I can find.

So firstly I am trying a forum that covers dyspraxic children...?

My daughter age 8 seems to be fairly severely dyspraxic (she has been diagnosed), she has always been quite anxious but it is getting worse all the time. Now she is very anxious about upcoming events ('anticipatory anxiety') eg visits to friends etc, travelling on public transport. Recently she has suddenly developed a fear of dying (triggered by a distant relative that she'd never met and a neighbour's cat dying). It's bad in the evening and at bedtime and she spends hours saying things like 'I just scratched my forehead, will I die?, I just touched my feet together, will I die?' We can rationalise with her that she won't, but the anxiety itself doesn't go away.

So I'm trying to work out to what extent I should be viewing this as a dyspraxia issue or whether I should be viewing it as anxiety in it's own right?

And if anyone has any tips on how to approach these kinds of anxiety? Private therapy would be beyond our means and I doubt she would be considered serious enough for NHS help as I gather that they are under a lot of strain.

All advice gratefully recieved, thanks!

[Tom fod]

Hello, sorry, I realise that this is 'Dyspraxic Adults'! I came here by googling "dyspraxia forum", there doesn't seem to be a forum on the Dyspraxia Foundation website that I can find.

So firstly I am trying a forum that covers dyspraxic children...?

My daughter age 8 seems to be fairly severely dyspraxic (she has been diagnosed), she has always been quite anxious but it is getting worse all the time. Now she is very anxious about upcoming events ('anticipatory anxiety') eg visits to friends etc, travelling on public transport. Recently she has suddenly developed a fear of dying (triggered by a distant relative that she'd never met and a neighbour's cat dying). It's bad in the evening and at bedtime and she spends hours saying things like 'I just scratched my forehead, will I die?, I just touched my feet together, will I die?' We can rationalise with her that she won't, but the anxiety itself doesn't go away.

So I'm trying to work out to what extent I should be viewing this as a dyspraxia issue or whether I should be viewing it as anxiety in it's own right?

And if anyone has any tips on how to approach these kinds of anxiety? Private therapy would be beyond our means and I doubt she would be considered serious enough for NHS help as I gather that they are under a lot of strain.

All advice gratefully recieved, thanks!

Hi Cake_Jake

Thinking back a hell of a number of years I did have a very active imagination. My best advice would be to try to find ways to direct her thinking into other things. Have you broached Dyspraxia with her? - Difficult topic and the name 'Dyspraxia' and lack of info/proliferation of poor and even downright wrong info out there doesn't help. Not saying you should have or should not have. I would look at addressing the anxieties first but you do need to determine to what extent her dyspraxia may be a contributing factor.

Could fear and uncertainty re the current pandemic have caught and invaded her imagination. It can often be difficult for us to convey what we are thinking and not be able to find the words or if we can, them not coming out correctly, in the way/order we want them to, can cause much frustration and anxiety. Is she worried about the return to school? Have you spoken to your GP? Dyspraxia and anxiety so often go together and feed off each other, especially once you start comparing yourself to your peers and you see yourself as being different and wonder why.

There are some Facebook-based forums (appreciate you've here and not there on Faceache!). Other sites like Mumsnet where parents share info and tips might also provide some ideas/avenues. Beware there are some individuals and organisations that advocate all kinds of diets and excercise programmes to try to relieve desperate parents of hundreds of pounds or more by quoting pseudoscience.

Hope above gives some possible avenues to explore.

https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/su ... s-anxiety/

The Dyspraxic Doctor site and Resource Bank may also be worth a look. She used to be a GP and trained in Psychiatry. Link on page here linked below.
https://www.dyspraxicadults.org.uk/foru ... =13&t=7385