Could I have dyspraxia?

[XTant]

First of all, hello!

I'm a 29 year-old female, and I recently began to suspect I may have dyspraxia. I always realised there was something wrong with me, but I wasn't able to tell exactly what. I've always performed very well in school, always at the top of the class, never had issues with theoretical learning. The problem has always been practice. Sports were an issue from the outset, as I could never coordinate or follow instructions properly, and I was also overweight as a child (had hypothyroidism). Another problem was drawing, which I was never able to do because I couldn't manage an accurate representation of surrounding objects and beings. Other than that, I was clumsy, I would bump into people on the street, I couldn't accurately estimate things like distances or sizes, I had problems with spatial orientation, I would lose and forget things, have difficulty concentrating etc. (and all of this still applies today). My strategy for dealing with these issues was avoiding problematic activities. I never learned how to cook. I never learned how to drive. I never learned how to learn a bike until a few years ago, and even now I'm afraid and I tend to lose control. I never learned how to swim until a month ago, and I haven't managed to actually learn yet. And the thing is, I didn't realize the extent of or verbalise these problems of mine until recently. There was an episode where I was in with my boyfriend in his car and I was trying to give him directions, and failed, because I couldn't tell the distance between point A and point B, and that's what really. I'm unsatisfied with my life and I want to do things and learn new skills, but I just can't seem to be able to. Swimming lessons went well until we actually started to swim, now I can't keep myself afloat because I can't coordinate my arm and leg movements properly and I panic. I enrolled in a kangoo jumps class but I find it difficult to synchronise with the rest. I am thinking of taking driving lessons, but I'm scared I might not be able to cope. I have poor timing, poor management skills, poor short-term memory, poor spatial awareness. I work as a translator, and I have serious difficulty with interpreting, because I can't remember what was said if the speaker doesn't stop every 10-15 seconds or so. I can't organize myself, I can't speak properly, I can't do a lot of things. However, I've never had problems (not that I remember anyway) with finer motor skills, like washing or brushing my teeth or tying my shoelaces.

So my question is, could this be dyspraxia? If yes, what should I do?

[Tom fod]

Hi and welcome

Many people here would be able to relate to the difficulties you experience. To get an official diagnosis as an adult can be a struggle but there are a couple of options you can pursue: firstly spek to your GP. It may also worth speaking to your employer specifically Human Resourcess or occupational Health

If you have any questions you want to ask here or elsewhere please don't be afraid to ask. The Dyspraxia Foundation also has a helpline and website which may be helpful.

[XTant]

Would a psychologist be able to help?

[Tom fod]

Potentially yes but most educational psychologists seem to focus on children and/or may not have the breadth of knowledge re the physiology side.

A lot of people who take the GP NHS route get referred to neurologists, presumbably (and probably quite sensibly) to rule out other causes first.

Provision is patchy and post diagnosis support is even less easy to find IMHO but hopefully we can help you here a bit

[screengreen]

You may find some interesting reading on the sensory integration network website ... they also have discussion forums not much posted by adults but if you do post you may get some answers

[Tom fod]

http://www.sensoryintegration.org.uk