DAILY TELEGRAPH ARTICLE

A place to talk about your experience of living with Dyspraxia

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
Andrew_S_Hatton
Power poster
Posts: 213
Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2017 11:15 pm
Location: Maldon District, Essex, UK
Contact:

DAILY TELEGRAPH ARTICLE

Post by Andrew_S_Hatton »

Posted without the images

"IT BEGINS


"• Luke Mintz
4 November 2018 • 6:00pm
The return of Doctor Who has thrilled fans and new viewers alike – not only for its new wielder of the sonic screwdriver, Jodie Whittaker, but for becoming one of the first British TV shows to feature a character with dyspraxia.
The condition, which impacts physical co-ordination, and is thought to affect up to six per cent of the overall population, still remains fairly obscure for most of us.
Tosin Cole plays warehouse worker Ryan Sinclair in the series, and is shown struggling to ride to a bike, failing to climb a ladder and mocked as a result, with taunts of “I suppose you’ll be blaming this alien invasion on the dyspraxia as well?” As such, a spotlight has been thrown on the growing number of adults receiving a midlife diagnosis of dyspraxia, which is more commonly associated with children.
Mark Robinson, a trainee solicitor, had little idea what dyspraxia was when he received his diagnosis at the age of 40. For years, he’d been badgered by teachers about his poor handwriting and teased by friends about his clumsiness. He’d always assumed he suffered from dyslexia, and as he embarked on a new career in law, decided that he needed to seek help once and for all.
He visited an educational psychologist near his home in east London and, on picking up the psychologist’s report, was surprised to read the word ‘dyspraxia’ printed next to his name. But the diagnosis quickly began to make sense, Robinson says. Whilst his verbal reasoning skills had been placed in the top five percent of the country, he had always struggled to keep up in time-pressured exams, which required him to rush through reams of text. He thought most vividly of his abysmal physical coordination: as somebody with Jamaican and St Lucian ethnicity, he says, there was a stereotype that he should be great at dancing and sport – but he was “useless at both”.
Indeed, dyspraxia is very much the “Cinderella” condition; the misunderstood relation to better-known dyslexia, according to Dr Sally Payne of the Dyspraxia Foundation. It is up to three times more likely to occur in children than adults, she says, and normally affects large body movements as well as fine motor skills. "


==================


AND CONTINUES


=========================================
"Dyspraxic people might find it difficult to balance themselves on a wobbly bus, throw or catch a ball, and handle pens, scissors, and cutlery, with speech affected in a small number of cases. The causes remain a mystery, although the condition is more likely to be found in children who were born prematurely or with a low birth weight, Dr Payne says. At a ratio of about two to one, it’s far more likely to affect men than women.
But it’s the more subtle, emotional impacts of the condition that are often forgotten, she says, which apply particularly to adult dyspraxics. After leaving school, it’s easy to avoid scary situations; dyspraxic adults aren’t forced to endure a humiliating PE lesson every week, or a brutal written exam every summer. Instead, it’s the fear of looking “clumsy” or stupid that bites most harshly. This fear can flare up in high-pressure situations, Dr Payne says, pointing to scene in Doctor Who where Ryan, trying to escape from an alien, freezes while rushing up a ladder.
It’s also easy to forget just how new dyspraxia is. The term ‘clumsy child syndrome’ was not abandoned by researchers until 1989, and dyspraxia did not gain mainstream medical recognition until the early 1990s. Doctors now believe there could be a whole generation of adults who have lived with dyspraxia for their entire lives without having a clue, leaving them written off as stupid, accident-prone or – the word with which all dyspraxics will be familiar – clumsy.
It’s a term Mark Robinson recognises well. At his sports-mad school in Forest Gate, east London, teachers called him lazy for his poor handwriting, and classmates mocked him for his seemingly sub-par football skills. He remembers bribing one classmate 20 pence to let him play on the football team. His adoptive mother, meanwhile, was convinced that he’d been hit on the head as a baby. He left aged 16 with no GCSEs and became a DJ, although spending his time dancing behind the decks in nightclubs did little to rectify his physical co-ordination issues.
“You might be dancing away to your tune but you look like you’re listening to something completely different to the music that you’re actually playing,” he recalls with a chuckle."


===========================================


AND carries on


=========================================


"After his diagnosis he embarked on a law degree at Birkbeck University in London and, with the help of disabled student support, eventually graduated with a 2:1. He’s now training to be a solicitor, having already won a training contract. “Dyspraxia needs to be embraced, and we need to stop being labelled as disruptive or stupid. People just learn things differently - we have a slightly different perception of the world.”
As a longtime fan of the BBC show who remembers Tom Baker whizzing around space in the 1970s, Robinson is delighted to see the programme give dyspraxia a look-in, and others seem to agree. Theatre director Josh Seymour, who was diagnosed at 11 after his parents noticed he couldn’t write in a straight line, spoke on Twitter of the “inconveniences” of the condition, such as asking for help with opening an unfamiliar window, and the hours of anxiety he endures before he has to find his way to a new place. He said he was “really excited” that Cole’s character might “open people’s eyes to this often invisible condition”.
Eddie Argos, a musician, also chimed in: “I have dyspraxia. I was diagnosed with it pretty early and went through all my schools with teachers not understanding it or claiming that dyspraxia wasn’t actually a disability. Pretty amazing to see it portrayed in Doctor Who.”
Robinson sometimes imagines how his life would have turned out had his dyspraxia been recognised as a child. But he must move on, he thinks. He’s now preparing for his Law exams in February, and married his schoolteacher wife Stephanie five years ago, who nicknamed him an “oaf” after he repeatedly trod on her feet during the first dance at their wedding. But since the diagnosis she has taken it upon herself to seek out advice on adult dyspraxia and is now very supportive, he says, even exempting him from various household chores.
“We occasionally go out and have a dance but she insists I practice my moves at home with her first,” he adds."
======================================




AND concludes


========================================


"Robinson thinks there is still a stubborn cynicism about dyspraxia among some people, who refuse to believe that it is anything more than mere clumsiness. But he’s determined to ignore the cynics.
“We’re as good as anyone else, but our brains function in a different way. I just wish people would accept it.”
Do you suffer from Dyspraxia? What do you think of Tosin Cole's portrayal in Doctor Who?

EDITED FOR CLARITY

They can be contacted here: dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The article and link to comments page can be accessed here I hope

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitn ... 5BvPyCki50
Tom fod
Administrator
Posts: 2947
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: SW UK

Re: DAILY TELEGRAPH ARTICLE

Post by Tom fod »

Must I admit I wasn't overawed by title as to me, I felt it trivialises it a bit too much for my liking. We don't magically grow out of it I feel it is something we can learn to cope with but sometimes change and stress can negate our coping strategies. Equally avoidance for an adult is unfortunately not by any means always a sustainable strategy.

Do they mean 3 x easier to spot in children?

Pretty sure I tread Mark's story in DF Newsletter some months ago and it's great that it's going wider and keeps debate alive and ongoing.

Andrew_S_Hatton wrote: Mon Nov 05, 2018 12:30 pm Posted without images
4 November 2018 • 6:00pm
"• Luke Mintz

What it's really like to suffer from midlife dyspraxia - the invisible 'clumsiness' condition

The return of Doctor Who has thrilled fans and new viewers alike – not only for its new wielder of the sonic screwdriver, Jodie Whittaker, but for becoming one of the first British TV shows to feature a character with dyspraxia.
The condition, which impacts physical co-ordination, and is thought to affect up to six per cent of the overall population, still remains fairly obscure for most of us.

Tosin Cole plays warehouse worker Ryan Sinclair in the series, and is shown struggling to ride to a bike, failing to climb a ladder and mocked as a result, with taunts of “I suppose you’ll be blaming this alien invasion on the dyspraxia as well?” As such, a spotlight has been thrown on the growing number of adults receiving a midlife diagnosis of dyspraxia, which is more commonly associated with children.

Mark Robinson, a trainee solicitor, had little idea what dyspraxia was when he received his diagnosis at the age of 40. For years, he’d been badgered by teachers about his poor handwriting and teased by friends about his clumsiness. He’d always assumed he suffered from dyslexia, and as he embarked on a new career in law, decided that he needed to seek help once and for all.

He visited an educational psychologist near his home in east London and, on picking up the psychologist’s report, was surprised to read the word ‘dyspraxia’ printed next to his name. But the diagnosis quickly began to make sense, Robinson says. Whilst his verbal reasoning skills had been placed in the top five percent of the country, he had always struggled to keep up in time-pressured exams, which required him to rush through reams of text. He thought most vividly of his abysmal physical coordination: as somebody with Jamaican and St Lucian ethnicity, he says, there was a stereotype that he should be great at dancing and sport – but he was “useless at both”.

Indeed, dyspraxia is very much the “Cinderella” condition; the misunderstood relation to better-known dyslexia, according to Dr Sally Payne of the Dyspraxia Foundation. It is up to three times more likely to occur in children than adults, she says, and normally affects large body movements as well as fine motor skills. "

"Dyspraxic people might find it difficult to balance themselves on a wobbly bus, throw or catch a ball, and handle pens, scissors, and cutlery, with speech affected in a small number of cases. The causes remain a mystery, although the condition is more likely to be found in children who were born prematurely or with a low birth weight, Dr Payne says. At a ratio of about two to one, it’s far more likely to affect men than women.

But it’s the more subtle, emotional impacts of the condition that are often forgotten, she says, which apply particularly to adult dyspraxics. After leaving school, it’s easy to avoid scary situations; dyspraxic adults aren’t forced to endure a humiliating PE lesson every week, or a brutal written exam every summer. Instead, it’s the fear of looking “clumsy” or stupid that bites most harshly. This fear can flare up in high-pressure situations, Dr Payne says, pointing to scene in Doctor Who where Ryan, trying to escape from an alien, freezes while rushing up a ladder.

It’s also easy to forget just how new dyspraxia is. The term ‘clumsy child syndrome’ was not abandoned by researchers until 1989, and dyspraxia did not gain mainstream medical recognition until the early 1990s. Doctors now believe there could be a whole generation of adults who have lived with dyspraxia for their entire lives without having a clue, leaving them written off as stupid, accident-prone or – the word with which all dyspraxics will be familiar – clumsy.

It’s a term Mark Robinson recognises well. At his sports-mad school in Forest Gate, east London, teachers called him lazy for his poor handwriting, and classmates mocked him for his seemingly sub-par football skills. He remembers bribing one classmate 20 pence to let him play on the football team. His adoptive mother, meanwhile, was convinced that he’d been hit on the head as a baby. He left aged 16 with no GCSEs and became a DJ, although spending his time dancing behind the decks in nightclubs did little to rectify his physical co-ordination issues.
“You might be dancing away to your tune but you look like you’re listening to something completely different to the music that you’re actually playing,” he recalls with a chuckle."

"After his diagnosis he embarked on a law degree at Birkbeck University in London and, with the help of disabled student support, eventually graduated with a 2:1. He’s now training to be a solicitor, having already won a training contract. “Dyspraxia needs to be embraced, and we need to stop being labelled as disruptive or stupid. People just learn things differently - we have a slightly different perception of the world.”

As a longtime fan of the BBC show who remembers Tom Baker whizzing around space in the 1970s, Robinson is delighted to see the programme give dyspraxia a look-in, and others seem to agree. Theatre director Josh Seymour, who was diagnosed at 11 after his parents noticed he couldn’t write in a straight line, spoke on Twitter of the “inconveniences” of the condition, such as asking for help with opening an unfamiliar window, and the hours of anxiety he endures before he has to find his way to a new place. He said he was “really excited” that Cole’s character might “open people’s eyes to this often invisible condition”.

Eddie Argos, a musician, also chimed in: “I have dyspraxia. I was diagnosed with it pretty early and went through all my schools with teachers not understanding it or claiming that dyspraxia wasn’t actually a disability. Pretty amazing to see it portrayed in Doctor Who.”

Robinson sometimes imagines how his life would have turned out had his dyspraxia been recognised as a child. But he must move on, he thinks. He’s now preparing for his Law exams in February, and married his schoolteacher wife Stephanie five years ago, who nicknamed him an “oaf” after he repeatedly trod on her feet during the first dance at their wedding. But since the diagnosis she has taken it upon herself to seek out advice on adult dyspraxia and is now very supportive, he says, even exempting him from various household chores.
“We occasionally go out and have a dance but she insists I practice my moves at home with her first,” he adds."

"Robinson thinks there is still a stubborn cynicism about dyspraxia among some people, who refuse to believe that it is anything more than mere clumsiness. But he’s determined to ignore the cynics.
“We’re as good as anyone else, but our brains function in a different way. I just wish people would accept it.”
Do you suffer from Dyspraxia? What do you think of Tosin Cole's portrayal in Doctor Who?


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The article and link to comments page can be accessed here I hope

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitn ... 5BvPyCki50
If you don't have a Telegraph account you can create one for free so you can access story and public comments.
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)
Andrew_S_Hatton
Power poster
Posts: 213
Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2017 11:15 pm
Location: Maldon District, Essex, UK
Contact:

Re: DAILY TELEGRAPH ARTICLE

Post by Andrew_S_Hatton »

Thanks Tom - shall I post Jerry's mate again?

Yes we need more conversations in the media so whilst I too am critical over all it is good.

Yes - I had no idea that eyes can flash - via an Image link

Image
Post Reply