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[quote=Anonymous]Sounds a lot like my son (13) with hypotonia and dyspraxia. Both of these conditions just "are." Hypotonia means the muscles are floppy at rest, meaning that it takes more effort for people with hypotonia to move their muscles, and it can affect strength, too. For my son, he gets tired more easily, has no core strength (so even sitting in a desk is hard), and he really struggles with fine motor skills like handwriting.

The dyspraxia is basically a motor planning/coordination issue, but comes along with lots of other sensory things. It's hard for him to figure out how do things, or he doesn't feel safe doing things because he lacks some physical awareness that most people have. He could trip and fall in an empty room! While he learned to ride a bike early on (unusual), he hasn't learned to swim yet and couldn't tie shoelaces if you paid him. It can even be hard for him to organize his thoughts to tell a story coherently. SUPER picky eater all his life.

He was a preemie, so we did a lot of PT for the first 12-18 months. Later on, OT was great for him in many ways--it helped integrate some of the sensory stuff (not eating, sadly) and helped him use his brain in a unified way (for example, learning to jump with both of his feet leaving the ground at the same time), walking up steps one after the other (rather than stopping on each step leading with the same foot).

I think I'd get an OT assessment, but go in with an idea of what you think he needs the most help on, or with a particular goal in mind--working on balance or a particular sensory issue. We started OT later (around age 8), so we did some summer intensives (an hour 5 days a week for 4-5 weeks) which helped a lot.

With that said, OTs shouldn't give you a diagnosis, period, so you may want to seek out a developmental pediatrician. Of course, these are like unicorns in this area, but you might be able to get more traction or help getting an appointment through your regular pediatrician.

I will also say that it has affected him socially, particularly as play got more boisterous--it was harder for him to keep up and fit in, and so he gravitated away from big groups and sports. He does better one on one. For us, it's really about finding supports/modifications and not overscheduling him--he legitimately is more tired at the end of the day. 
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