With reference to your recent coverage of Dyspraxia (the hidden handicap) I am writing to confirm that the dyspraxia awareness week has highlighted the illness not only in Comet country, but Hertfordshire as a whole. I would personally like to thank The C

With reference to your recent coverage of Dyspraxia (the hidden handicap) I am writing to confirm that the dyspraxia awareness week has highlighted the illness not only in Comet country, but Hertfordshire as a whole.

I would personally like to thank The Comet for coverage they gave and the people who alerted them to the handicap and the problems sufferers and their families face on a daily basis.

I have a four-year-old son who has recently been diagnosed with speech and oral dyspraxia as well as general dyspraxia i.e. coordination, balance, sequencing, temper tantrums and social interaction, etc. He is also showing some signs of dyslexia. We have attended many different professional people who have been very helpful when you get to the correct person, but it is a real minefield to get there. We have seen podiatrists, speech and language therapists, paediatricians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and neurologists to name but a few. We have had to fight all the way through the NHS and privately and it has been a long uphill battle not to be pushed aside as "he will grow out of it syndrome."

He has now been recognised as a dyspraxic and thankfully has received learning support, but I know that I would not have got this far if it was not for the help and support of the dyspraxic foundation at Hitchin, and the Hertfordshire support group, both of which I am an active member. Contact details: Dyspraxia Foundation, 8 West Alley, Hitchin. Tel: 01462 455106, help line 01462 4554986.

www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk.

Jocelyn Eldridge, Matthews Close, Stevenage