Dyspraxia vs. Aspergers

[ALADDIN]

I think it is very unlikely a person is diagnosed with dyspraxia ansd classic asperger syndrome as an adult ubless both conditions cause problems which is very unlikely.

If dyspraxia is the main condition, the ASD condition is aspergers traits or no ASD.

[coll10]

I myself have been dignose with Dyspraxia, my brother (who is my only sibling) has been dingose with Dyspraxia and Aspergers. we were both dignose by the same person few years apart and both in adulthood.
My brother is DEFENTILLY Aspergers. He does have better social skills then the "avarage Aspergers" but his social skils are fake he will pretend to be intrested in sombody topic but then will change back to his as quick as he can. the Dyspraxic side to him is his spacell awarness well he has none... and cant work maps and oviously he quite likes looking at the floor

[pinkpoll]

I am dyspraxic and believe I have some aspergers traits, for example, I like my routines, I always have a plan and like to know what is happening the next day! I sometimes struggle in social situations, especially if they are new places or involve people I don't know well! I also have some ocd mainly involving routines, particularly in the morning and at night before going to bed!

However, I am not sure how much of this is related to my Dyspraxia and how much is separate.

Family members often say they think I have some ASD symptoms and I do tend to agree. However, I know the symptoms do overlap. It would be interesting to find out more about this!

[ladycastlemaine]

I was recently speaking to my psychologist, who is being very reluctant to diagnose me with Aspergers. She claims she can't give me a definitive diagnosis because although I fit many traits of autism, I have too much awareness of how people perceive me. This is only the case because people tell me to watch myself. I've been made aware that I'm not 'normal', so I do wonder what people think.

When I was telling the psychologist about all the physical problems and hypersensitivity I have, she said this is more likely to be dyspraxia (which I'd never considered before - I always assumed my coordination problems came under the aspergers umbrella). So after a while I was referred to another doctor and diagnosed with dyspraxia. But I am not convinced I just have this alone - I am convinced it is just a part of my autism (my tests for this are still ongoing, as well as some for ADD and dyscalculia)

[Jim]

Dual or multiple diagnoses aren't uncommon... Think of it as a spectrum of learning difference.

[Mopps]

Found out last week that dyspraxia is a form of autism
(peice in papers about someone with it where he and his family were upset about a sign with the word retard on it in subway... they should have had it either out of veiw or used a different word as it was about the thaw time of their bread)

That is interesting to know Dyspraxia is a form of Autism, because one of my sisters was speaking with me tonight and she also wondered as well as me having the Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, and Dyiscalcula , if I maybe had Autism too. Do you think I might do? Mopps

[FAndrews]

great, according to online tests i have borderline aspergers , great yet more problems to with my dyspraxia!

[Tom fod]

To anyone reading this threading and feeling a bit panicky . . . I would urge a degree of caution here!

While I'm not an educational psychologist, I think assigning labels to ourselves is bad as we do tend to be all too good at using them as a stick to whack ourselves. I think we do the 'What's wrong with me' too much and it just makes us feel bad!

In my view, it's even worse if it's someone else's judgement of us from a limited knowledge-base. From my reading of the whole thread from when it started, it seems that not even all the professionals agree on categorisation. I'm not saying don't explore by reading about these other difficulties/disabilities, just consider whether you ought to seek a professional opinion if you believe another diagnosis is appropriate or will help you.

[FAndrews]

very good point, as always in life don't jump to conclusions.

[Starduster]

I'm now very confused. I've been diagnosed with dyspraxia and ADHD and I've always thought I wasn't Asperger because of the empathy issue and thought that Aspergers don't have empathy.
I've now discovered this is not true, and that it can affect women differently and that there are different types instead of the stereotypical presentation. I'm a woman.
My dyspraxia is fairly mild. I do sports, enjoy dancing, just get really confused with set things like aerobics and my problems with spatial awareness. My dyspraxia problems are predominantly on the social side, I don't have that much trouble with the physical side as do many others.
I believe I've hyperobsessed ever since I was a child on social issues. I understand that people have different reactions but I don't always feel it deep down if that makes sense. I cannot manipulate people even though I would like to occasionally (not in a bad way), I really can't figure out how people do that.
It's not because of social anxiety, I developed the social anxiety because of the stress of figuring out what I need to be doing at all times.
I act a lot (due to all my reading of body language books all those years ago)
So yea, confused over here...

http://aspergersgirls.wordpress.com/201 ... -syndrome/

http://aspertypical.wordpress.com/2013/ ... nd-autism/

http://www.aspiestrategy.com/2012/05/hi ... dults.html
"Adults on the spectrum are often too good at convincing others they are fine, have no emotions, are robotic. This is never the case, and the illusion can be dangerous to long-term mental health for autistics and their partners alike."

http://www.aspiestrategy.com/2012/06/hi ... dults.html
"Adults on the spectrum often over-empathize. To feel deeply, and fail miserably when they try to offer comfort, causes more injury than can be tolerated. Retreating offers solace. And confirms their image as non-empathic."

[shisu]

Hi Starduster

You sound very similar to myself (even though I'm male), in that the dyspraxia is fairly mild physically and I can play sports etc though not as good as I would like, socially I really struggle and am always stressed about how to act what to think and get obsessed with small details sometimes and question every decision I make over and over.

I was diagnosed with mild dyspraxia at 15 back in 1996 (33 now) and believe this was before Asperger's was well known so possible I could have it, though again I feel it would be on the mild end of the spectrum as I do empathise although only at certain levels, I think, and am somewhat aware of how to act in social situations.

In some ways it seems being on the mild end of either dyspraxia and/or Asperger's doesn't really help with diagnosis, support etc as the disability(s) are almost invisible at times but in our heads the stress levels are crippling and the only way to relax is to shut yourself away but this can lead to depression and loneliness.

[Tom fod]

Hi Starduster.

Please be careful about trying to categorise yourself based on other peoples snapshots of themselves/others posted online.

I appreciate you need and want to understand why you struggle and I appreciate we are all comparing ourselves to others but sometimes we need to appreciate ourselves and not try to look too deeply and critically. In my opinion (please feel free to disagree8-) even with an additional diagnosis there's sadly very little, if any, guarantee it would open any more doors.

[Peardrop]

It's very interesting to read what everyone has said. In fact it's made me want to reply so much, I've just signed up!

When I was about 10/11 yrs old I was diagnosed as being borderline for both AS and Dyspraxia (if you can count borderline as diagnosed - it sometimes makes me feel a bit of a fraud!)

For past 3 years or so I've considered myself barely affected by either condition - other than being a little shy and clumsy.

Recently though at nearly 19 years old, I've realised I may be more affected than I'd convinced myself for the past few years:

- Been having driving lessons for nearly 2 years and not ready for my test yet (learning manual - which I want to drive), I am able to all the co-ordination for gear/pedals/wheel etc. but it was only after my instructor stopped me from hitting a lollipop man I realised I may be struggling due to spacial awareness issues

- I'm always late to everything, even when I think I'm organised or allowed plenty of time

- I'm finding my office working environment a bit difficult to concentrate in with background noise, too easily distracted by colleagues conversations. (I'm trying cope with this by having my ipod on which, my manager is totally cool about)

- I can prioritise, but find it requires real effort and can find lots of things at once, e.g. emails, overwhelming and it difficult to know where to begin until I break them down into categories/folders. I swear by a 'to do' list as well.

- My memory doesn't even rival that of a goldfish, if I don't write it down I'm screwed (and then I've got to remember where I wrote it!)


I can feel like I have no 'brain to mouth' filter at times and a bit awkward in social situations and other times I can be fine and confident - so I think my problems around this are a result of the above list rather than part of it.

This and what other people have posted about it being rare to have both has lead me to believe that I'm more Dyspraxic than affected by AS.

Pear Drop x

(P.S. Anyone else find it funny that the spell checker doesn't recognise Dyspraxic/Dyspraxia?)

[Starduster]

Hi Tom Fod, I just need peace of mind.It's not doors that I need opened. Just that there's something else going on. I've been researching this a bit more and finding lots of aha moments. If I'm diagnosed, it will help explain a lot since childhood. It's not about other people, it's about me. And I still can't find a distinct difference between having Asperger's and dyspraxia or perhaps my form of dyspraxia. Someone earlier stated in the thread that they were told that Asperger's was dyspraxia without the empathy. All I've read indicates that a lot of Asperger's people and other autistic people have too much empathy.
Which is what happens to me, I get so overwhelmed that I have to hide from people. And the stereotypical Sheldon image is not always the only one. So you can understand why I'm confused. I cannot seem to find a definite difference and suspect it depends on the person who makes the diagnosis. And in my case, like I stated, social issues have caused me so much stress throughout my life.. Reading people , always being misunderstood etc, I don't seem to have as many issues on the physical side as many people on here. The only issue that has cropped up for me more significantly is drawing when I was doing an architecture degree.

Hi Starduster.

Please be careful about trying to categorise yourself based on other peoples snapshots of themselves/others posted online.

I appreciate you need and want to understand why you struggle and I appreciate we are all comparing ourselves to others but sometimes we need to appreciate ourselves and not try to look too deeply and critically. In my opinion (please feel free to disagree8-) even with an additional diagnosis there's sadly very little, if any, guarantee it would open any more doors.

[Tom fod]

Hi Starduster

I feel I owe you an apology for not having been as open minded as I should, and my thanks too.

With my own dyspraxic tendencies I do seem to share some common Aspergers traits and I have spent a bit of time (probably not enough) this afternoon reading the NAS website.

I can suffer with having too much empathy at times [Please see the two links below to threads you may find interesting elsewhere on this forum] It’s a very interesting point that whilst there is a generalism that those with Aspergers don’t empathise as well, you have found some strong (anecdotal?) evidence that they can and do and that it may actually be a case of their being overly empathetic.

http://www.dyspraxicadults.org.uk/forum ... %2A#p23778
and
http://www.dyspraxicadults.org.uk/forum ... %2A#p21317

I find that it's the emotional aspects of my dyspraxia/dyspraxic tendencies and being different to what is considered normal that have caused me the most pain. It’s very sad that the attitudes and unwillingness to accept of some can make life for others so much more difficult and miserable. I'm far from athletic or sporty but have been reasonably successful in not worrying about my lack of interest even though some people are incredulous that I don't really have any interest in sport. I can at least feign a polite interest for a short while (though rather less than 90 mins).

I do and have suffered anxiety about what people might think of me and my efforts in trying to meet a partner have been unfruitful though I have some great female friends I’m still trying to find one who would like to be in a relationship with me. I do worry that people, particularly women, will judge me on this lack of a relationship history. Although maybe I’m worrying too much and not giving them the credit that they will not solely judge me on this aspect alone. The other thing I struggle with is a need for lots of info but at times finding that having too much becomes well, all too much!

I'm not going to seek an official diagnosis of AS for myself for my own reasons, mainly because I was dragged to see a large number of doctors, and various consultants and specialists throughout my childhood and early adult life and those I did see were never able to give me any answers I understood or liked. I guess I have inherited a certain amount of mistrust of doctors (and so-called experts) from my mother though inclined to say I'm more able to accept that they can be right, they still aren’t walking a mile in my shoes.

All the best