Could I be "a bit" dyspraxic?

Getting assessed for your dyspraxia, getting help, disability allowance etc.

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JHVD
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Could I be "a bit" dyspraxic?

Post by JHVD »

I'm curious and a little worried because I've been reading up on dyspraxia, and half of the symptoms seem to apply to me. However, I have always been the sort of person to brush off symptoms of disorders etc. because I don't know how badly they affect me in comparison with the rest of the population, if that makes sense.

I'm 20, and nobody would have said or noticed that I had any struggles with school work etc, or at home either. However these are the things I have noticed (and for the most part spent my life trying to compensate for):
  • I have good cursive handwriting that I am often complimented on, which doesn't fit the "mould" for bad handwriting. However, it is very irregular (none of the letters are formed the same way twice in a sentence), and also I hold my pen in a very strange way (which is often commented on) - close to the nib, and tighter than it needs to be.

    I would be disorganised if I didn't spend half my life trying to be organised - writing lists all the time because I don't remember to do things otherwise; and forcing myself to remember everyday, often essential things by gradually incorporating them into my routine. I am awful at keeping track of time because I get distracted, and because my perception of how much time has passed isn't very good.

    As I have just mentioned, I get distracted very easily and can tick most of the symptoms of ADD (though I haven't been officially diagnosed). I also have a tendency to procrastinate, and to avoid doing tasks.

    I have never been particularly clumsy, but I am a bit if I'm not concentrating. Also, like many people I have read about, I was bad at P.E. at school, especially things like dance that required co-ordination. I seem to have very little co-ordination and find it difficult to do more than one thing at once.

    I have always enjoyed reading, but it has occurred to me lately that for a good deal of my childhood I raced through books and often didn't read them properly. Recently I have realised that this is in part because when I try to read every line on a page my eyes wander elsewhere, and sometimes I can't concentrate on the words. Also I can sometimes read a paragraph over and over without actually understanding it.

    I often trip over my words, though I seem to have "articulate days" when my articulation is almost cut-glass. However, I make mistakes a lot of the time when I speak or read aloud - mispronunciation and issues associated with individual words; and also organisation of speech - I tend to expel all of my thoughts at once, and sometimes it doesn't make sense to anyone, even me.

    My short term memory is awful, as is my ability to concentrate in any but the most absorbing situations. I get bored really quickly, or try to change the subject when the others aren't finished.

    My spatial awareness is also quite terrible.

    I have also read about increased sensitivity; the first thing I thought of was my sensitivity to the cold. Sometimes I find that I have to wear a cardigan and dressing-gown inside, or sit all day next to the radiator, when everyone else is fine. However, I could just have inherited poor circulation from my mother.
I realise, and have always realised, that all of these could be chalked up to another cause, or indeed nothing at all. However it is the cumulation of them, and my recent reading into dyspraxia, that has led me here. Please could someone advise me? Feel free to ask more questions about symptoms. That might help to make things clearer for me.

Thank you in advance! JHVD
Tom fod
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Re: Could I be "a bit" dyspraxic?

Post by Tom fod »

Hi and welcome

I think its fair to say that no one person with Dyspraxia/dyspraxic tendencies is exactly same as another. We're affected to different degrees and have varied degrees of success in developing coping strategies that can mask the fact we're affected. We do have people who only realise they have the condition in adulthood.

If you're in full time education/at University it may be worth asking the welfare disability people about an assessment. Alternatively your employer or GP might be able to offer some ideas. You may also wish to look at The Dyspraxia Foundations Website or contact their Helpline.

Obtaining confirmation is a bit of an emotional roller coaster as you will likely have loads of questions about what the label means for you and others' opinion of you. Remember it's your decision on how and who you disclose to. Don't forget you will have strengths as well as weaknesses as is the case with anyone.

I hope these forums prove helpful to you. HAve a read and don't be afraid to ask any questions.

All the best
Tom
Moderator/Administrator

With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
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