It has taken us 4 years to get diagnosis for our son who is now 6

by Kim Hodge
(Essex)

When our son first started walking at 14 months he was always falling over and bumping into things, which at first we thought he will grow out of this. After about 5 months this was still happening and we became concerned and contacted our GP. Upon seeing him he referred us to a pediatrician we waited about 4 months for the referral and was advised that his right foot stuck out slightly and that was why he was falling over so much nothing could be done. When we potty trained our son it took such a long time to get him clean we just put it down to him being a boy as they take longer. When finally clean he seemed to go to the toilet much more than normal, which was confirmed when he started pre school as they also raised concerns, again another appointment was made at GPs (and again referel made). This refereal diagnosis was that he must have a weak bladder and was put on medication for this (now been on for 3 years).

Our next concern was teaching our son to write seemed to be a problem even though he was trying very hard. When he started primary school they put it down to his muscles taking longer than normal to develop which is normal for boys. They agreed to give him some extra help at school to help with his writing. About 6 months into reception their was still no improvement so again another trip to GP and yet another referal made at the Child Development Centre again this appointment took some time to come through and we were told to try Eye q capsules for 6 months to help with his concentration, which we did but saw no improvement. We finally had a follow up appointment on the 18th June 2009 and the doctor was fantastic and did lots of simple tests with our son and finally he looked up and said well its not ADHD as first thought the diagnosis is our son has a Perception Deficiency and Sensory Motor Delay. We have never heard of this and need help with how we can help our son until we have a date for Occupational Therapy. Can you point us in the right direction please.