Finding a hobby(for dyspraxics!!!)

[poodlelover81]

Hi,
I need help finding a hobby. I just graduated from university and live with my mom and aunt. It is so boring and dull. All my life I've written. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only hobby I have. My aunt's friends' and my grandma keep on saying "why don't you sew?" Or "Why don't you knit?"; and it's like I can't, I have dyspraxia. Also have ADD and a short attention span. Any hobbies you can all recommend?

[Tom fod]

Hi

I really think this needs to be driven by what you are personally interested in and needs to push the boundaries of your dyspraxia and other constraints as much as possible.

By all means start a thread on hobbies in the Lounge section here or look back at previous ones for some inspiration.

[Captain_Ludd]

Hi,

As Tom says its a hobby you should do it because you think you'll enjoy it don't let the dyspraxia dictate what you do for fun.

[OneClumsyDragon]

I'm quite good at sewing actually, it's been my specialist craft for years; you do whatever you want to do, dyspraxia be damned

[DanAu96]

i do electronics because it's interesting, but i am terrible at soldering (especially prototype circuit boards) it's easier when the boards have been made by a circuit board fabricator. so the message is don't let the dyspraxia stop you from doing something that is interesting.

[Max Malini]

When I was a kid I struggled finding a hobby. Sport was a struggle as most of you will know.

I found my hobby and life passion in magic. It helped me speak to others. And thanks to being obsessive I got pretty good quickly. A lot of the movement stuff was hard work. But I pushed through.

I highly recommend magic as a hobby maybe even a job. You may think I can't do card effects because of cordanation. But I found because I move in a different way this has been an asset.


Max

[Tom fod]

Hi and welcome Max

I believe you're our first Magician, though we dyspraxics pop up in all sorts of jobs even some you'd never expect. We're a determined bunch and If we're passionate about something we'll find a way.

[Jim]

Personality defines your hobby not the perceived difficulty.

I'm pretty sure we have members here who things like fencing and martial arts which dyspraxia is less than ideal for.

But fun is where you find it.

[skyebison]

[redacted]

[Hedgepig]

Everyone's said it already, but don't let being dyspraxic get in the way of trying new hobbies. My after-finishing-uni hobby was making beaded jewellery, which I got more and more into until it actually became my job.

In fact, trying out crafts as a hobby can be a safe space to practice movements and tasks you find difficult and work out how to get around them. I can't cut or draw a straight line to save my life unless pouring in every ounce of concentration I have, but one of my hobbies is origami. Go figure.

[otis_b_flywheel]

No disrespect, Poodleover, but I didn't think that this thread was going to get very far, partly because, as others suggest, it may not really a dyspraxia issue, but also because a hobby is something you have to be passionate about and feel that you can't live without it. It is, however, no crime just to have one, and in fact that makes life a lot easier!
Anyway, the thread seems to have developed into a sort of competition to see who has the wackiest pastime from a dyspraxic perspective, and in this spirit, I shall join in. Beat this somebody ;-)

Consider this quote from Mary Colley's book Living with Dyspraxia:

"- Team games usually require instant responses to the actions of other team members and quick reactions.
- Team games usually require participants to be doing more than one thing at the same time - watching the ball, monitoring movements of other players and organising your own movements.
- Activities which involve competition can affect your self-esteem. You may find that co-operative pursuits are more beneficial."

I train with a local shinty team. Shinty is a very old sport (the first written record of a game was one that took place in Ireland in 12th century BC!) that is a bit like hockey but faster, more dangerous and much more fun. Unlike hockey you use your feet to stop the ball and there is much aerial play e g catching a ball of about 6 cm diameter with a thin wooden stick in mid-air! The pitch is bigger than a football field and the ball can travel from one end to the other in seconds, so as you can imagine it is a very fast game. These days it is very much a speciality of the Scottish Highlands, though it is played in the lowlands too and there is a team in London that used to play on Wimbledon Common!

I would be lying if I wrote that I can carry out all the things that Mary lists, certainly not all the time anyway. I throw up many divots as I often miss the ball and sometimes there are frustrated shouts of "Jesus Tim" as I commit another gaff on the pitch. But the team members, on the whole, accept me, give praise and constructive criticism when due and seem to treat me as one of them even though I will probably never get a real game, am English and am old enough to be grandfather to most of them. They seem to appreciate that I love the game just like they do and always try my hardest. I do get injured sometimes and so do they. I find playing this game improves my self-esteem.

Any dyspraxic ice hockey players out there???

[Tom fod]

I see most of the reponses as being demonstrative of 'please don"t let dyspraxia be a veto for you trying things, my passions include . . .'

I wasn't particularly enamoured with Mary Colley's book since generally I don't like to be constrained by other peoples notions of what I can or cannot do. I hope she'd be impressed that Dyspaxic people aren't necessarily accepting her work as definitive in terms of what they are prepared to consider trying for the hell of it.

[Ram]

I wasn't particularly enamoured with Mary Colley's book since generally I don't like to be constrained by other peoples notions of what I can or cannot do. I hope she'd be impressed that Dyspaxic people aren't necessarily accepting her work as definitive in terms of what they are prepared to consider trying for the hell of it.

I note that several members are not particularly fond of Mary Colley's book, Living with Dyspraxia. I think I skim read it yonks ago, so I can't comment too much on it. I suspect that it's a book that was useful back in 2006 for adults who'd been recently diagnosed in that it quantified some of the common problems that dyspraxics faced (even if it overgeneralized at times for the sake of simplicity). However, it was probably not that helpful for those who were diagnosed as children because it contained nothing they knew.

You might be interested to note that in the article Neuorodiversity and Dyspraxia that Mary Colley wrote one year before her death, she stated "...it is necessary to remember that very few dyspraxics or ADDers will experience all the challenges mentioned above. They should all be treated on an individual basis."

I think it would also be fair to point out that Mary Colley had ADD herself. However, prior to her diagnosis, she had been able to obtain a degree in Medieval History and a post graduate Diploma in Librarianship. Therefore, I'm sure the last thing she wished to do was to constrain anyone because of their diagnosis.

[otis_b_flywheel]

I didn't find Mary's book particularly helpful either, and I think readers may have picked up on the somewhat defiant nature of my last post! Nevertheless, I know she wrote the book with the best of intentions and equally am sure that there are many who have found it useful.

[Ram]

I rather like this thread because it's brought together a good range of interests. The main things that I look forward to at the weekend are sailing and kayaking. I also enjoy hiking.