Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

A place to talk about your experience of living with Dyspraxia

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
firemonkey
Power poster
Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:02 am
Location: Wiltshire

Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by firemonkey »

As you grow older do you actually become less dyspraxic or is it merely a case that you avoid the things that accentuate your dyspraxia ?
MusicL22
Getting settled in
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2018 9:09 pm

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by MusicL22 »

That's an interesting question, it's a bit tricky to answer. I think you may become a bit less dyspraxic as you grow up and develop because you're developing mentally and physically up to adulthood. So as you are growing up you may be able to do some tasks with a bit more ease. I was told when I was 14 either "sounds like a childhood dyspraxia" or "mild dyspraxia" based on breaking things, more so as a younger child.
These days I just continue to make a mess, I find it a bit easier to groom myself, I used to not be able to do my hair very well at the start of secondary school and it got greasy easy. I still struggle with putting socks on nearly, plucking face hairs is a bit hard without marking my face. I knock things over easily and my shoulders bang into the metal part of the door.

I think it varies, some days it can be as though you're like you used to be. Other days you don't have too many problems, you may have a day where you do everything correctly. Like today I may not bump into anything, tommorow I could be bumping into things and getting bruises. I personally have learnt to avoid certain things I know I can't do properly despite every effort. I think it's a cross between avoidance, laziness and just not being able to do things in my case.
Tom fod
Administrator
Posts: 2946
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: SW UK

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by Tom fod »

I think you get better at coping strategies and caring less about what others think.
Equally significant change for which we’re unprepared can cause us.signigicant pain and land us back at square one again.
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)
Dan
Power poster
Posts: 186
Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:35 pm

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by Dan »

I've definitely improved significantly. I think it's a lot like how a stroke victim's brain rewires itself in order to adapt to deficiencies it has caused. Obviously it's not as serious in our case, but my writing has improved to a partially legible standard. Typing a great deal and playing piano has also been unconscious physiotherapy, and I think that's made a big difference under the surface.
grissom2984
Getting settled in
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:11 pm

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by grissom2984 »

I honestly think it's a case of you learn and grow into how your brain works. When you can accept your brain has a wildly different process of getting to the answer than most of the population, and can accept there's nothing wrong with that process (despite what others may say or think, and regardless of the frustration it can cause), that goes a long way to reducing the outward manifestations of dyspraxia. I thank God everyday for my wife, but especially when I need to have a meltdown. I liken it to the old "blue screen of death" in Windows, and a hard reboot. Meltdowns aren't fun. They're not fun for me, and they're painful to watch, but my wife will allow me the space and safety to meltdown, and will only intervene if she can tell I'm going to severely hurt myself. If she's there, she stands by to provide the much needed hug after the main blow up, and she doesn't shame me for having it. What's helped with those is as an adult, I'm aware now why I have those and am learning the specific triggers. I can tell her "I need a meltdown day" and I'm given the space to do it. Dyspraxia will be with you your whole life, but we can learn to accept how our minds work. I don't look at dyspraxia itself as a problem or a disorder, or a health issue. I look at it as I'm wired differently than most of society, and therefore don't fit in. Because of this, there will be challenges I face, and I may have more struggles than most, but I'm made all the stronger for it. I have dyspraxia for a reason and I'm happy about that.
otis_b_flywheel
Regular Poster
Posts: 70
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2016 3:01 pm
Location: Strathpeffer
Contact:

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by otis_b_flywheel »

In a word, no. But we do develop coping strategies as we get older, and our improved self-knowledge helps us to anticipate what we are likely to do in a given situation. All this coping is increasingly tiring and I really have to work hard to try and pace myself, which as an active person who loves breaking sweat, is difficult.
Regards
Tim

"I may not be perfect, but parts of me are pretty awesome."
Jim1983
Getting settled in
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 2:22 pm

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by Jim1983 »

Yes, coping strategies improve. I find the physical aspects improve with practice. My family never had a car so rode bikes everywhere, although I was a slow starter I'm a capable bike rider now. Yet, introducing a new physical skill still faces the same difficulties as a 35 year old as it would have done as a child. I make excuses if friends ask me to go ice skating or dry slope skiing etc.
Short-term memory never gets any better, nor does spatial awareness. As you get older you get more comfortable in your own skin, which leads to the confidence to inform people about your dyspraxia, which helps as people don't think your rude for avoiding eye contact etc.

Completely agree with Tom.
Jim1983
Getting settled in
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 2:22 pm

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by Jim1983 »

Correction *you're rude
AdiB47
Getting settled in
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:42 pm

Re: Do you become less dyspraxic the older you get?

Post by AdiB47 »

I agree with the gist of the answers above. Repeated coping strategies can lead to an improvement in some aspects but, at the same time, as we get older the effort required to apply strategies can sometimes be more short-lived and therefore cause things to feel worse. That's before you account for external changes, like new jobs or life changes that require new skills or strategies to be created. Some days are excellent and feel almost effortless. Other days are the complete opposite.
Post Reply