*waves* hi
Moderator: Moderator Team
*waves* hi
Hey. I've been lurking around here for a while and thought I might as well introduce myself. I'm going by Skifflet. I'm a 22 year old dyspraxic, Scottish, queer woman. I only got a diagnosis last year. My older brother's dyspraxic and the physical side of things have always been pretty obvious with him. I'm clumsy, but less clumsy than he is and a lot of my dyspraxic issues are more on the mental/perceptual side of things (there also seems to be a bit of overlap with autism spectrum traits) so I guess it was more subtle and my parents and teachers didn't pick up on it when I was a kid. But I know now and it makes a lot of sense. Anyway, hi.
Re: *waves* hi
Skifflet welcome to the forum, its good to say hi and introduse yourself.
I can realte to your issues with dyspraxicia as mine are defuntaly more assosated to the mental side of things but i am verry oppersit to the aspergic types.
When and why did you get digignosed.
I can realte to your issues with dyspraxicia as mine are defuntaly more assosated to the mental side of things but i am verry oppersit to the aspergic types.
When and why did you get digignosed.
The real Mr Potato Head
Re: *waves* hi
Hi, thanks for the reply. My decision to seek a diagnosis is a bit of a long story, sorry for the impending ramble.
I have always been pretty clumsy, forgetful, disorganised, socially awkward and weird in other ways (like hating bright light, loving the texture of walls, walking on my tip toes, constantly fiddling with something or twitching a leg). Until recently, I had always put that down to just being thick or, if I was feeling generous, quirky. It was a field trip in summer 2011 that made me wonder if I was really dyspraxic. I spent 6 weeks sharing a cabin with about 5 other people, I had to do a lot of walking about over rough ground while carrying a lot of equipment- I fell over about 10 times a day, which, obviously, other people picked up on and commented on. I had to get myself between the sites using maps and a GPS thing- still managed to be lost and confused most of the time since my sense of direction is really bad. I was responsible for cooking some meals for myself and the rest of the research team- something I usually avoid because it really stresses me out and I know I'm useless at it for co-ordination, sequencing, time management reasons and the added stress of letting other people down. I was also planning and carrying out my own honours project at that time, or trying to. It was a very difficult 6 weeks for me. I also suffer from some anxiety and depression-type issues, I was obviously visibly upset a lot and found some things incredibly difficult for reasons the others couldn't understand- in particular I struggled with some communication and social issues. One of the other people there commented on my clumsiness. I mentioned that my brother was dypraxic. (At that point, all I knew of dyspraxia was that it caused co-ordination issues and that my brother had it). The research team member sort of suggested I get myself tested for that. I assumed that if I really had the same problem, my parents would have got me checked out at some point. I decided to do a little research anyway and came across all the other physical, mental, social and sensory issues that can be due to dyspraxia or related conditions. Reading the list of symptoms was like reading a description of myself. I made an appointment with my university's educational psychologist who did some tests with me and asked some questions and decided that I was, in fact, dyspraxic. I know my issues spill over out of what's purely dyspraxia, I'm not entirely sure what's accepted overlap and what is a different condition. Definitely dyspraxic anyway, and getting the diagnosis has really helped me accept, explain and work with my problems rather than just hating myself for not being able to do the things everyone else seems to find incredibly easy. I wish this had been picked up much, much earlier.
I have always been pretty clumsy, forgetful, disorganised, socially awkward and weird in other ways (like hating bright light, loving the texture of walls, walking on my tip toes, constantly fiddling with something or twitching a leg). Until recently, I had always put that down to just being thick or, if I was feeling generous, quirky. It was a field trip in summer 2011 that made me wonder if I was really dyspraxic. I spent 6 weeks sharing a cabin with about 5 other people, I had to do a lot of walking about over rough ground while carrying a lot of equipment- I fell over about 10 times a day, which, obviously, other people picked up on and commented on. I had to get myself between the sites using maps and a GPS thing- still managed to be lost and confused most of the time since my sense of direction is really bad. I was responsible for cooking some meals for myself and the rest of the research team- something I usually avoid because it really stresses me out and I know I'm useless at it for co-ordination, sequencing, time management reasons and the added stress of letting other people down. I was also planning and carrying out my own honours project at that time, or trying to. It was a very difficult 6 weeks for me. I also suffer from some anxiety and depression-type issues, I was obviously visibly upset a lot and found some things incredibly difficult for reasons the others couldn't understand- in particular I struggled with some communication and social issues. One of the other people there commented on my clumsiness. I mentioned that my brother was dypraxic. (At that point, all I knew of dyspraxia was that it caused co-ordination issues and that my brother had it). The research team member sort of suggested I get myself tested for that. I assumed that if I really had the same problem, my parents would have got me checked out at some point. I decided to do a little research anyway and came across all the other physical, mental, social and sensory issues that can be due to dyspraxia or related conditions. Reading the list of symptoms was like reading a description of myself. I made an appointment with my university's educational psychologist who did some tests with me and asked some questions and decided that I was, in fact, dyspraxic. I know my issues spill over out of what's purely dyspraxia, I'm not entirely sure what's accepted overlap and what is a different condition. Definitely dyspraxic anyway, and getting the diagnosis has really helped me accept, explain and work with my problems rather than just hating myself for not being able to do the things everyone else seems to find incredibly easy. I wish this had been picked up much, much earlier.