msjones Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 How physically uncoordinated would a child have to be before you tried to get help for him? My 11 year-old son is bright, well-behaved, friendly, happy, and easy to have around. We love him very much and think he's terrific. However...he is very, very poorly coordinated. He has trouble throwing, kicking, catching, swinging a bat, shooting a basketball, bowling, hitting a tennis ball. He can't run very fast without tripping. He trips occasionally even when jogging slowly. It took him a very long time to learn to dive into the pool, struggles with flip-turns at swimming, and he has very poor posture. As a baby, he was a later walker (16 months or so). He was a very sloppy eater for a long time. He still has trouble cutting with a knife or the edge of his fork. He had some speech articulation issues that are now corrected. We've been thinking he would grow out of all this. But he hasn't (except the speech issues, thanks to therapy). And now he's growing so quickly (he's already about 5' 1" and has size 8 feet) so it all seems worse. He is good at some physical activities. He like to skateboard, and is a very good inline skater and ice skater. He likes swimming and jogging and ran a 5k recently (although not too quickly ;)). He can hike or swim or run for a long time without getting tired. I just wonder sometimes if there is anything we could do to help him be more coordinated. Or, if he's just a normal, happy guy who'll never be an all-around athlete. Although we are an active family, team sports aren't a big priority with us, so it's not as if we're trying to make him into An Athlete. Does what I've described sound like "normal" uncoordinated? Or does it sound concerning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 It might not hurt to have a physical therapy consultation just to be sure. At first I would have pushed it more but then later you say he is good at other things. Have you had his vision checked---complete with depth perception, etc. That can throw off coordination as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonshine Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 It's possible that he hasn't matured past his infant reflexes, and/or has kinsethetic issues - his brain doesn't do a good job of letting him know where his body is in space. A very very good occupational therapist should be able to test and treat for this, but most don't (said by an occupational therapist). As a mother of post teen sons - the sooner you correct this the better as the older he gets the more resistive he may be to treatment, as well as the sooner something is treated the better for making improvement. For the reflexes look for Kathy Johnson's site - she's an educator in New York, not an OT, but it's OT type stuff. For the kinesthetic issues, lots of swinging is good. Swimming is good too, but not as good as swinging. Does he seem to have any other sensory issues (poor awareness of his body is a sensory issue) - look on the special needs board here for descriptions of sensory issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonshine Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I second the idea to have his vision checked - just make sure it's with an optometrist who is listed with a site recommending docs who do therapeutic vision therapy. The opthamologists are the ones with the MD degree and they don't address this at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 DS is terribly uncoordinated, also. He falls so much that we call it 'crash and burn'. He has been evaluated (twice) by OT and PT as well as having his vision checked. Not enough problems on either evaluation for special therapies and no vision problems. DS is now taking TaeKwonDo and it has helped immensely. Not quite as much falling, but it is still quite evident. (His jumping jacks and push ups could win us a place on America's Funniest Home Videos!) His pediatrician attributes his problems to two things: he spent the first 27 months of his life in an orphanage on only hardwood floors so never had the opportunity to experience the differences in texture of walking surfaces that we take for granted AND he is growing so fast. Every time DS seems to finally be able to get things all going together, he hits a growth spurt :svengo:which just makes him have to get it all coordinated again. We've just learned to take it in stride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 As a mother of post teen sons - the sooner you correct this the better as the older he gets the more resistive he may be to treatment, as well as the sooner something is treated the better for making improvement. This is what I've been thinking -- that if something can/should be done it should be done now. We're past thinking he'll grow out of it. Just not sure if it's a real problem or just my worrying self. For the reflexes look for Kathy Johnson's site - she's an educator in New York, not an OT, but it's OT type stuff. For the kinesthetic issues, lots of swinging is good. Swimming is good too, but not as good as swinging. Does he seem to have any other sensory issues (poor awareness of his body is a sensory issue) - look on the special needs board here for descriptions of sensory issues. By swinging, do you mean swinging as in swinging on the swings at the park? That's another thing that was hard for him to learn! He can do it now, but not like other kids his age... Thanks, too, for the Kathy Johnson suggestion. I'll be checking that out at my next break in the school day. I know nothing about what an OT would do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Sounds like my daughter. I would go with an OT consult. The OT we had was nothing short of a gift from God. She worked with Piper probably longer than she should have. Piper had dyspraxia and SID. the SID affected how she ate. She picked her food apart and made an absolute. mess. She was a late walker. She walked at 18 mos. At the time we put it to previous injuries. (I won't go down that road right now...she was adopted at 12 mos though...) She did alot of swinging in OT, which seemed to help. We would swing for about 20 minutes, and then get down to work. The swinging help her with vestibular and proprioceptive issues. Does he have any other 'issues'? piper also has PDD (asperger's, if you ask me!) but it is mild. How about sensory; clothing that feels funny, noises, too much or too little stim? foods, bothered by playdough or finger paints, etc? Piper also had some depth perception issues. She was having double vision for a short time. We did some vision therapy and now that's pretty much taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfcartmama Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I would get an OT evaluation. My DS counldn't do a jumping jack...and I never knew b/c I assumed he could. Also, whether you get one or don't, karate has been a God send to my ds for balance, coordination and fine tuning some of those gross motor skills. You only compete against yourself, so it's a confidence booster as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Definitely OT. Find someone experienced and knowledgable about sensory processing disorder, in particular motor problems. See e.g., http://www.spdfoundation.net/library/how_do.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'll agree with the others. Get an evaluation just in case. Taekwondo has done wonders for DS's balance and coordination. He is awesome at his forms, punches, kicks, etc. He has an awesome flying side kick...he took out his competitor in sparring practice with one. On the other hand, the boy trips while standing in one place and falls off the couch while sitting on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 This can happen with visual processing problems. This is different from visual acuity. You may want to see if there is a developmental optometrist in your area that will give him an assessment. I would definitely look into this if he also gets headaches after reading, is a slower reader, or has low comprehension. Exercises that cross the midline are great. Martial arts, baseball, golf.... Football, basketball, swimming, track, not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Sounds like my daughter. I would go with an OT consult. The OT we had was nothing short of a gift from God. She worked with Piper probably longer than she should have. Piper had dyspraxia and SID. the SID affected how she ate. She picked her food apart and made an absolute. mess. She was a late walker. She walked at 18 mos. At the time we put it to previous injuries. (I won't go down that road right now...she was adopted at 12 mos though...) She did alot of swinging in OT, which seemed to help. We would swing for about 20 minutes, and then get down to work. The swinging help her with vestibular and proprioceptive issues. Does he have any other 'issues'? piper also has PDD (asperger's, if you ask me!) but it is mild. How about sensory; clothing that feels funny, noises, too much or too little stim? foods, bothered by playdough or finger paints, etc? Piper also had some depth perception issues. She was having double vision for a short time. We did some vision therapy and now that's pretty much taken care of. No, no other 'issues.' At least, I don't think of them as 'issues.' He startles more easily than other kids and doesn't like really loud noises (i.e. Imax movies), but I'd say that's stuff that only a mom would notice. And by "swinging" do you mean on a swing-set? Like swings at the park? I've never heard of that for a therapy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 I would get an OT evaluation. My DS counldn't do a jumping jack...and I never knew b/c I assumed he could. Also, whether you get one or don't, karate has been a God send to my ds for balance, coordination and fine tuning some of those gross motor skills. You only compete against yourself, so it's a confidence booster as well. I've been considering karate or something like that. I see that other posters here also recommend it. Forgive my ignorance, but what would an OT actually do for a kid like my son? I know almost nothing about these kinds of therapies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 This can happen with visual processing problems. This is different from visual acuity. You may want to see if there is a developmental optometrist in your area that will give him an assessment. I would definitely look into this if he also gets headaches after reading, is a slower reader, or has low comprehension. Exercises that cross the midline are great. Martial arts, baseball, golf.... Football, basketball, swimming, track, not so much. I know that hand-eye coordination tasks are very hard for him. (The poor guy really struggled with basesball...luckily there were nice kids on his teams. We're done with baseball now.) His reading is great, no headaches or anything like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnitaMcC Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I have a son who is very uncoordinated. He is now 15 1/2 and has been doing Kung Fu for about 3-4 years. Kung Fu helped him alot!!! He does a lot of balance and coordination exercises and it made a huge different. He still has poor posture and has an awkward walking/running gate but he doesn't trip himself anymore (ie... he hasn't knocked out anymore teeth from doing faceplants-LOL). Ds learned to even do jumping jacks finally. He doesn't fall over standing on one foot anymore, he can throw straighter and actually hit what he aims for (they do a a lot of skill drills to help improve eye-hand coordination, gross motor coordination, and balance). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 My son has always had some coordination problems and did OT for a while to try to overcome some of those. His was not very successful, but I know other kids now with similar problems who are enjoying some success with OT. T he thing that helped my son the most was swimming. I think it might be because it uses all the little muscles of the body and in an even way, over time, as you work through the various strokes. And I'm talking about daily swimming on a swim team over a period of years, not just occasional swimming.... The first time I ran into his old OT after he was in high school, I mentioned that and she acknowledged that swimming was very good OT.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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