Things can work out for dysrpaxics!

[David]

Heya,

Just found this forum, great idea and thankful to however put it together. I have been diagnosed with dyspraxia and have known since I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. I never felt that different but at school it was very hard, kids obviously noticed and I ended up getting in fights a lot and pretty much didn’t get an education as an average school day was kill or be killed for me, and thus I was expelled, they said I was a nut and they sent me off to a school where the pupils burn things and maim cats to finish my education … so I left school at 16 with nothing.

However I refused to let society get the better of me, and started building and repairing computers and running my own business around that whilst doing various other work to help finance it. I did this until my early 20s when I was called in to repair some computers at a local political party’s office. I asked questions ect.

One thing lead to another and .........a year later I stood for election as a local Councillor and won and started work as a campaign manager for elections as well as working as a caseworker for a Member of Parliament. Sadly they are getting rid of me this May after 5 years and it’s not been a pretty end (long story) but I have achieved a lot and have made decent money, enough to help bail out my close friends and family during these hard times as well as having enough money to survive on without work for the next two years. Anyhow I did this on my own back, as a dyspraxia and proved that anything is possible even with the problems I have.

I also play in a successful up and coming band, I learned guitar and got good and I also sing. Another thing I wasn’t meant to be able to do, it’s harder for me but I just work really hard at it and it pays off.

Sports were always a struggle for me as my coordination is not great and like many of us get tired easy, but once again I have worked hard and played football and rugby at a respectable level too, so just proves further what can be done with a little hard work.

My message to you is that it’s not all bad and even though I get stressed, I can’t count for toffy and have to organize every minute detail of everything I do and spend hours getting things right … if not they end up a mess! Everyone can achieve and don’t let the annoyance of dyspraxia hold you back, or let so called experts say what you can and can’t do because I have proved them wrong. They also said I had an IQ of 80 ha! And that I was a crackpot… total nonsense!

Not to say I don’t struggle when others find things easy, I just don’t give up and that’s what helped me get through this.
Anyhow just thought I would introduce myself with a nice positive message. That aside…I am David, I am 24 years old I am currently working in politics and playing in a band and I live in East Anglia in the UK.

Love and Respect

David

[Daniel]

Hi David,

Welcome to the forum. It's good to hear that things can work out. Sounds like you're taking a good, positive attitude towards everything you come up against, which I know is something I need to keep trying to do. I wouldn't worry too much about finishing as the caseworker, as who knows what will happen in May anyway!

I'm also finding that I need to keep myself well organised - although I'm naturally not very strong at it. Are there any techniques you can share for organising your work?

Sounds like you've got some interesting projects on the go - keep us in touch with how they go.

Dan
Forum Admin

[Evasura]

Dan,
I also need to keep really organised. The only technique that works for me is: I have an A5 calendar book (smaller gets lost and bigger takes to mch space) that I call "my brain" and where I write absolutely everything that I have to do everyday. In teh morning I start doing the things and crossing them out. It's such a pelasure to see the hole list crossed out at the end of the day! Hope this helps

[David]

Thanks folks. My systems are blindingly simple, I keep a calendar with important stuff on, at work I have a white board which I write down my tasks and tick off the ones I have done.

I also keep excel spreadsheets of tasks which I blank off once they are completed and I also manage my budget with an excel spreadsheet so I stay on top of expenses.

Nothing wrong with over organisation!

My main way of getting round this purely repetition, keep at whatever it is you want to do, and you will do it. Sure it’s harder for us but once you brainwash yourself you can achieve, its just about getting over the initial rough stages and building self confidence. I have confidence blips, but I tend to just try and relax, sit and think before acting on negative feelings. After a while I cool down, realise I am being an idiot and get on with the job.

As Ray Mears says you can achieve a lot by just having a positive mental attitude.

[David]

Oh this is my band rehersing for our first EP, I am the singer and rhythm guitarist... now that was hard work for me! Singing and playing guitar is a massive challenge though, I spend about a month and half working on a song on my own before singing and playing it with my band but atleast by that stage it is perfect!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti_1tjkgsJc

Hope this acts as an example of dyspraxics looking to get into music and might of previously be frightened off by it, I have found it has helped greatly with my problems.

[agsiul]

I do that too.....the thing with the lists. Have to write absolutely everything down cause I'll forget. One of the jobs I worked in I used to do it and someone wrote Breath on the list! I've actually forgotten what I was going to say.....oh yes. I've just transfered a load of tapes to CD and hadn't listened to them in 10 /12 years. It just dawned on me today that although I have a very poor memory that not alone could I remember the running order on the tapes form listening to them 12 years ago I could actually remember what track number the song/tune that I really wanted to listen to was! How competely useless is that skill!

[Evasura]

I know!
last week I went to a conference and I saw a guy that I had met in a conference the year before: I told him: I met you last year in a conference, we had lunch together. I remember you had chocolate cake for dessert and you girlfriend is Frencha dn other stupid silly details that i don't know how/why I remembered. He said: "wow! you have an amazing memory!". Well, if he knew...

[brian]

David, it is very nice to see someone with the same views as my regarding Dyspraxia; 'It is not an excuse, just a case of you having to work harder at' because I have found alot of dyspraxic people just quit particularly when they are bad at sports and develop a strong disliking for sports as a result.