Hello every one, I’m not sure if I am dyspraxia because I have not done much research... All the info I found was from this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyspraxia (Gives a lot of good info about it but anyone can edit pages from that site so it wont be all spot on)
The part which I feel applies to me is
Problems with spatial awareness, or proprioception
Any way... How would you guys go about explaining this to your doc, Should I just tell him the symptoms or tell him the symptoms and make him/her aware I think I have dyspraxia?
Im feeling pretty dizzy/drunk at the moment so im sorry if I don’t make much sense.
They are the doctor, so they should know the symptons, just say to your doctor, you have been experiencing the symptoms you have and you have done some research that has lead you to believe you may have Dyspraxia. It is then their job to rule it in or out.
GP's don't really deal with that sort of thing - its educational psychologists and occupational therapists that have the training to diagnose and work with dyspraxia. Besides, the NHS don't pay for that sort of thing. Even as a child its the education authority or the school itself that would pay for a diagnosis.
Im like you, i just realised in december that I was dyspraxic. About a month ago i went to my doctors. doctors are only general practitioners so they only really know the basics of the most common ailments. Dyspraxia isnt really a well know condition. Because the doctors dont really know about dyspraxia, what i did was go onto the dyspraxia foundation website. here they list all the main symptoms. The list is very comprehensive, but very easy to read quickly. So i printed this out and took it along to the doctors. I knew what the doctors answer would be when i asked him if he knew anything about dyspraxia, but just to be polite i asked him if he knew. the answer was no. so then all i had to do was present him with the printed list of symptoms. this impressed him. he knew i was well informed and that i had found out a lot of information on the net. i just told the doctor what my main symptoms and concerns were. next he said to me that he would refer me to a neurology hospital. thats what doctors do. they will refer you to someone who knows about dyspraxia. There are quite a few different people he could refer you to, he will know the best one for you.
you will find the symptom list at the dyspraxia foundation website. just go into the about dyspraxia heading, a list will pop down, just click on the dyspraxia in adults bit and you should get the list.
My doctor was great, but i hear that some doctors are a bit difficult to persuade about dyspraxia. My memmory is very bad and even worse in stressful situations, i get forgetfull and tongue tied. So i wrote down my own list of symptoms i was most worried about like poor short term memmory. then underneath this brief list put the same headings in more details, like giving examples of difficulties. like for poor short term memmory i put loose things easily. so making lists could make you feel more confident. Plus you could always take somebody you trust and somebody who knows you very well, along too. they could help you out.
I have to say, that when it comes to being assesed/ diagnosed, i have a pretty negative attitude towards the NHS. This however, does not mean that everyone will have this experience- you may find your doc really helpfull; it really varies on how much your GP knows about dyspraxia. Writing a list of symtoms is certainly a good idea, as is practicing what to say/ how to phrase stuff before going to see her/him.
Good luck and let us know how you get on!
The Fuzz
Goodbye, and have a pleasant tommorrow!!
I swear to drunk im not God.....
david456: Yes you would assume it is down to a doctor to help us wouldn’t you, But with them only being human maybe they wouldn’t be aware what dyspraxia is because it’s not a common thing.
mr_mallow: So my school failed to have me tested? Well I don’t know, it’s not like it’s easy to know if some one has dyspraxia is it? It’s not like I knew I had it when I was younger.
The cats whiskers: May I ask you how you came about realising you had dyspraxia please? Yes I agree that doctors will tend to only know common things, How true is it that 10% of people have it then… =S. Ah so you took the easy way about it and did a copy and paste jobo =P that’s a good idea because I really don’t want to think about all my symptoms as it will hammer my low self-esteem (I woke up today just thinking about how much this has affected my life). Thanks for your help Maria, It didn’t help a bit, it helped a lot.
Fuzzy: Ok so I wont take it to heart if things don’t go so well for me but where should I go from there if they doc cant help me? Ill think about it after if that does happen. Thanks
If your doc doesnt know that much about the condition, youll have you list of symtoms and perhaps a dyspraxia foundation print out of them to teach him/her! If they are unsure of what to do, either asked to be referred to an occupational therapist (if it is help and support you want for your difficulties) or an educational physcologist (if you want to be tested and diagnosed). Remember that the NHS is providing a public service- you have a right to go to your doctor and be asked to be reffered somewhere/ given information, so be assertive! Also- remember that the waiting lists to see specialists can often be quite a few months, so be prepared to wait
GOOD LUCK
Goodbye, and have a pleasant tommorrow!!
I swear to drunk im not God.....
There's been some good advice here. I went to my GP who referred me to neuro-psychologist. The details are in the assessment part of the forum, but let's just say I wouldn't bother going down that route!
(the cats whiskers - you seemed to have been referred to a neurology department for assessment; did that work out for you?)
Occupational Therapists / Educational Psychologists do generally seem get a better write up for doing assessments for dyspraxia, although even then it can be a bit hit and miss.
I recall reading on one forum that someone got assessed through going via the dyscovery centre, while I also know that Mary and DANDA can help find an OT/EP for you too, and having spoken to many people with Dyspraxia and other ND disorders has plenty of experience of which work and which don't.
QS84 - regarding your own situation, there are some people who do just have poor spatial-awareness. This doesn't always necessarily mean that the person in question has dyspraxia, but it sounds as if it would be worth you looking into getting an assessment to put your mind at rest one way or another.
QS84 - regarding your own situation, there are some people who do just have poor spatial-awareness. This doesn't always necessarily mean that the person in question has dyspraxia, but it sounds as if it would be worth you looking into getting an assessment to put your mind at rest one way or another.
mr_mallow: So my school failed to have me tested? Well I don’t know, it’s not like it’s easy to know if some one has dyspraxia is it? It’s not like I knew I had it when I was younger.
You're twisting my words. I said that it is the school's responsabillity to pay for the test, not the NHS's, when you're a child.
mr_mallow: So my school failed to have me tested? Well I don’t know, it’s not like it’s easy to know if some one has dyspraxia is it? It’s not like I knew I had it when I was younger.
You're twisting my words. I said that it is the school's responsabillity to pay for the test, not the NHS's, when you're a child.
I did not insinuate anything about your school.
I know you aren’t insinuating anything about my school, I know they failed me with out any one else’s input.
Unfortunately Danni this seems to be all too common. When I went to see a GP they admitted never having had someone come to them before about dyspraxia and resultantly I got referred to someone who couldn't help. What is it you're wanting from the GP? Is it an assessment or something else? Perhaps some people on the forum could help with alternative suggestions for getting the information you need.
