My son is currently waiting to be assesed for ?? dyspraxia ?? aspbergers......... any help or advice?

Question

how long do the assessments take? what do they inolv? any techniques for helping with irrational behaviours?? please????

Answer 1

Well, here are some of the behaviors they are looking for (from the DSM-IV TR):

A. Social Impairment

  - Marked impairment in use of nonverbal behaviors such as eye contact, facial expression, and body language.

  - Deficit in development of peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.

  - Lack of spontaneous sharing of things or activities with others.

  - Lack of social or emotional recirprocity.

B. Communication Impairment

  - Delay in or total lack of spoken language without attempts to compensate by nonberbal gestures.

  - In those who have some speech, marked impairment in ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with another.

  - Repetitious or idiosyncratic language.

  - Lack of developmentally appropriate play.

C. Characteristic behaviors

  - Abnormal preoccupation with objects or activities.

  - Rigid adherence to certain rituals.

  - Stereotyped mannerisms.

  - Abnormal preoccupation with parts of objects.

This is an incomplete list, but I think it covers the major points.

As for irrational behaviors, such as obsessive preoccupations with things, trying to "break" the child from the behavior will not avail you.  I have in my professional experience (as limited as it is) seen many preoccupations redirected, only to have them replaced with a new one.  Use the preoccupation as a strength: Incorporate the preoccupation into skills-building and education!

If your child is too rigid on schedules, or cannot change from one activity to another, it's time to begin working on transitions.  These are general "heads ups" on what is coming next - not right before you do it, but a good 5+ minutes before it happens, and with reminders every so often until the change happens.  Some accomplish this verbally, others visually (with picture schedules).  Experiment and see what works.  Good luck to you.

Answer 2

I am 11 and when I was in year 2 my teacher referred me for a dyslexia exam- I was diagnosed with dyspraxia, they said I was just going to get worse and worse, and said that my handwriting and spelling would be so bad that I would have to do my year 6 sats on a laptop. They said that there was nothing my parents could do to help me and that I was only going to get worse.

However don't rest all your hopes on this, because I proved them wrong, my parents did nothing to help me overcome my symptoms, the problem just fixed itself. I am top of my class every year, I have won academic prizes, I have an IQ of 138 and I now go to a selective private school. And my school told me that I needed special needs classes.

Olivia

(age 11)

Answer 3

I have a son who is also on the Autism Spectrum.  We got our results within 2 weeks of testing, but that is here in Utah.  I'm not sure how long it takes everywhere else.  We immediately got him in a special needs pre-school class and his teachers met with us to discuss the things they were doing in the class that we could incorporate at home.  We had things like a picture schedule for him and we worked on ways to get him calmed down when he was upset or overstimulated.  He really responded to having his arms and legs rubbed or brushed lightly with a makeup brush.  He is now 6 and a joy everyday.  

I have really learned to appreciate the small miracles that happen (like when he makes eye contact)  ;)

Take a deep breath.  It will be a very bumpy ride, but the view at the end is worth it!!!!

Good Luck and God Bless!