Developmental Coordination Disorder -- new diagnosis

[Treasuremapper]

Our seven year old daughter was just diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder and "mild" Asperger's syndrome.

I am not concerned with the Asperger's syndrome right now, since it doesn't just run in the family, it practically gallops.  I think it would not have been diagnosed as mild except for the fact that she has had so much targeted therapy and social skills training.

But I am terribly concerned about her developmental coordination disorder. She is very clumsy.  The neurologist still has not ruled out possible causes related to her thyroid, my fault because I could not schedule the bloodwork last week and will have to do that tomorrow.

Does anyone have any experience, advice, or resources to share with me? 

She is only just now being diagnosed with it, in spite of the fact that she has had multiple evaluations by professionals. Only this neurologist was wise enough to request a PT evaluation before his first appointment with her. 

Thank you for your help.

Edited by Treasuremapper - 3/13/11 at 2:11pm

[Linda on the move]

Is OT or PT possible for her?  What about regular classes through your community -- gymnastics, creative movement, dance, swimming?

[Rose-Roget]

My SPD son was given a dx of Developmental Coordination Disorder as a description of some of his difficulties related to sensory processing.  That is an acceptable insurance code for OT services, while SPD is not (actually, though, our insurance doesn't accept "developmental disorders" so it was moot in the end).  While his coordination difficulties may not be to the magnitude of your dd's, OT has certainly helped give him body awareness and that sensory feedback he needs to develop those core engagement for balance, strength, and body positioning.

Swimming is highly recommended by OT's and PT's I've talked to.  I've found, though, that without specialized teaching - really helping him understand how his body is feeling and how it "should" feel in the water - he doesn't make much progress.  He's in lessons, but I also go with him for an hour before his lesson to help him learn how to move and how to keep him body relaxed but strong and giving him some imagery to support his learning (thinking like a dolphin). 

I've heard good things about martial arts and gymnastics, as well.  I worry about enrolling ds in just any class, though, because I don't want teachers to just teach the "usual" when I'm sure he will need more specialized instruction and support to gain the skills.  That's why I like OT at this point - it's 1-1 and they are there to support the skill development.

Good luc!  There are probably several options for you, but you'll want to be aware of gettng in with the "right" teacher, I think.

[Linda on the move]

On the swimming front, my DD (who was never given this label but several other related ones) is a very strong swimmer and swam competitively for awhile. Not all swim teachers are the same. Some cities have special program for kids with sn.

If that isn't an option, you can find coaches through USA Swimming. USA Swimming is the very high end organization that runs the most competitive programs for kids right through Olympic swimming. Ironically, it has the best coaches for teaching the basics of swimming as well -- coaches who really know how to break things down, have spent years teaching all sorts of kids. I'm not saying that every coach associated with USA Swimming is wonderful, but it's where I would start looking for someone special in a new city.

Swimming is the best outside activity we ever found for DD. It was the perfect therapy for her sensory issues, but she knew it was a regular kid activity. It is the only way she could ever have been on a team of any sort. She swam until puberty hit.

[spedteacher30]

I had a student 10 years ago now or so who wasn't given a diagnosis officially, but had extremely poor coordination (both fine and gross motor) and was incredibly clumsy and "loose" (for lack of a better term). She got OT through the schools, and had a keyboard for writing, but PE class was terrible, walking down the stairs at lunchtime was terrible, and getting on and off the bus was difficult for her.

She hated swimming (and for most middle schoolers it is not a good choice in terms of body image issues) but we did convince her parents to get her ice skating lessons and to do therapeutic horseback riding.

the ice skating was a hit mainly because it was an unusual enough activity and everyone is clumsy when they first start so she didn't really have a peer comparison that she wasn't measuring up to.

[Linda on the move]

Part of what works depends on the whole package of who the child is -- skating, either roller or ice, were nightmares for my DD. Horseback riding worked part of the time, but we had a hard time in some places finding riding instructors who were appropriate for her, who understood sensory issues, etc.

[LynnS6]

I think that was one of ds' "codes" when he was diagnosed with SPD. Essentially he had trouble coordinating the parts of his body and getting his body to do what his mind wanted him to do.  2 years of occupational therapy (from 5 to 7) made a big difference for him. He's 9, turning 10 soon, and is playing sports on teams, learned to ride a bike at 7, learned to roller blade at 7, and does very typical kid stuff. He'll never be the best athlete on any team, but he's definitely good enough to be a decent rec player and get the social bonding that the boys in the neighborhood do around sports.

[fallenangel811]

My son was originally diagnosed with Developmental Coordination Disorder, but that was removed when he was diagnosed with Asperger's a few months back...I am thinking that the DSM says you can't be on the spectrum and have DCD...Specifically that the criteria for a pervasive developmental disorder isn't met...Could be wrong though...