5 yo lacks coordination - what could be causing it?

[MittensKittens]

Hey,

Can I get some thoughts or input?

My 5 year old DD is a wonderful kid, who is smart, independent and always exploring. She can remember things that happened years back and often pays attention to details on the street that I don't even notice. But, there are these things that make me wonder how I can help her. She lacks coordination and often does things the wrong way round.

For instance, she consistently puts her shoes on the wrong way round. I recently figured out that it was because she was putting the sole of her shoe against the sole of her foot, and if it fit she would then put the shoe on. After she learned to look at the top of the shoe rather than the sole, she did it right for a while but has now reverted to putting shoes on the wrong way round. She also consistently turns around vowels in some words, like "methoring" instead of "mothering" (I have to say this is a random example because her primary language is not English) and she peddles her bike backward. 

My two year old doesn't do any of that. Dyslexia and dyscalculia run in the family, so I am wondering whether this could be connected. 

Thanks! 

[LynnS6]

Have you heard of dyspraxia ? Our son had some mild dyspraxia and couldn't do things like pedal a trike, orient his clothes to get dressed, figure out how to pump on a swing, etc. When he got dressed, he'd lay out his pants on the floor, and then walk around to wherever the top of the pants ended up, sit down and put them on. He couldn't figure out how to orient the pants to him, he had to orient himself to the pants.

I never noticed the little things like that until we took him in to get an evaluation for sensory processing disorder, and the OT spotted the dyspraxia & motor planning issues that he was having. He spent 2 years in occupational therapy - the first focused on sensory issues + motor issues, and the second largely on the motor planning. It made an amazing difference for him. He'll never be an elite athlete, but he can do most things well enough to keep up with the neighborhood kids and enjoy himself. (And he puts on his pants normally!)

[MittensKittens]

Originally Posted by LynnS6 

Have you heard of dyspraxia ? Our son had some mild dyspraxia and couldn't do things like pedal a trike, orient his clothes to get dressed, figure out how to pump on a swing, etc. When he got dressed, he'd lay out his pants on the floor, and then walk around to wherever the top of the pants ended up, sit down and put them on. He couldn't figure out how to orient the pants to him, he had to orient himself to the pants.

I never noticed the little things like that until we took him in to get an evaluation for sensory processing disorder, and the OT spotted the dyspraxia & motor planning issues that he was having. He spent 2 years in occupational therapy - the first focused on sensory issues + motor issues, and the second largely on the motor planning. It made an amazing difference for him. He'll never be an elite athlete, but he can do most things well enough to keep up with the neighborhood kids and enjoy himself. (And he puts on his pants normally!)

Thanks for mentioning this. I have thought about it, especially because it is in the same family as dyscalculia (which I have) and dyslexia (which my mother has). We are also all gifted in the family, most twice exceptional, so a learning difficulty along these lines as well. 

The things that don't match up are - DD was clearly left-handed almost from birth, has huge concentration spans and has no trouble at all following sequential instructions. The things you mention about getting dressed are very familiar, though. 

You're a speech therapist, right? DD, and this may be connected to dyspraxia if she actually has it, is not able to pronounce the letter "L". I show her where to put her tongue to make the sound, and also showed her videos for Asians who want to learn to say "L" the English way. She is able to point her finger towards the spot where the tongue should go, but then can't put that into practice with her tongue. It seems like her finger and tongue see totally different things, and she will actually place her tongue between her teeth and lips, outside of the roof of the mouth, when I try and force it. 

Now I just read online that this is not uncommon is kids with dyspraxia. We are living in a developing country and homeschooling. There are no adequate medical services available here at all. Do you perhaps have any concrete suggestions as to what we could do? I know that when I was in remedial teaching for my math issues, it was just torture and I learned nothing, because the problem is in my brain. Therefore, from personal experience, I lean towards "not forcing a wheelchair user with poor muscle tone in the legs to walk", because it's Mission Impossible. 

On the other hand, if this is what she has and I CAN do stuff to help her, I want to know all about that. 

More thoughts appreciated!

[MittensKittens]

I thought it may be relevant to add that DD did not start talking at all until she was a little over 2 yo, which I thought was due to multilingual issues. Even then, it was only a few words she was saying - her speech took off at about 3.5. Now, she has a rich vocabulary in several languages, but poor pronunciation.