Do others have these problems with dyspraxia?

[janetp]

I can relate to the time watch thing I have never gotten better at digital time reading I have to count to work out the time, and for some strange reason I put the odd letters in the middle of other words, actually Ithink they put themselves there, they seem to get there of their own accord.

[LuluBoo]

I've never been able to read an analougue clock I have a lovely analougue watch my great aunt and uncle bought me but for the life of me I can't read it, I can read digital clocks though so it's all good
I can never find my dad's car when he picks me up from somewhere and i'm walking aimlessly round a car park for ages
with light it depends on the brightness
writing is an issue for myself and will put a word i'm thinking of onto paper (I accedently almost put the word feet in maths coursework at school before )
i was awful at handing things or remembering to do homework at school and up until year 8 I was quite good at handing things in 'the hamster ate it' never worked though

[littlemadangel]

Hi,

I know what you are talking about with a lot of these things.

I dont have a car, but if I go camping and there's lots of tents there, I find it hard to pick out which one I'm staying in! I have to really really concentrate when I'm going away from it and coming back to it!
My sense of direction is horrible and I'm always afraid we're going to end up lost, I dont realise when we're going round in circles in an unfamilar place!

I've been writing my name since I started school but yes there is times I get my letters all muddled up or I put a letter in there thats not supposed to be there, or try to turn one word into another.

[Tim G]

About the tint in glases, what could also help is to go to a optition that does colourontery tests and get tested with the colourometery tests. They will work out the best colour for reading, working at the computer etc, this should help reduse the glare but also help you to read better and hopefully have less migrains as this is probably due to a oversensitivitie to light.

I did the colouromtery tests and got sorted some blue lenze glases - I find them verry usefully for all times as I am light sensitive and the glases help to reduse the ushal glare etc as well as for reading and computer work.

Update - I am now using my watch all the time, its quite a clear choice if I want to stand any chance of being on time for things.

I know what you mean about the whole getting lost thing - I got kinda lost finding my gf's house even though I was practicly out side it lol

[feufollet]

I find digital time much harder to read than an anologue display, but also prefer to say 'ten to' or 'quarter past' ; also have problems finding car in car parks . Words are forever getting muddled up on computers which don't automatically correct, my fingers work at a different speed to my head and its often the same words, 'you' almost always is oyu and I find if I'm writing at speed that bits of words run into others. Probably not helped by poor typing style as have never learnt to type.It also happens when i'm speaking though, 'hearts and minds' becoming 'marts and hinds' etc
I can't do anything much with background music, hate loud background noise, can't even park if anyone talks to me or the radio is on, loud noise and lots of flashing lights plus crowds are my worst nightmare so never got into clubbing needless to say.
I may just be more aware of all this but seem to be much less tolerant than when I was younger.

[Jim]

I think my problems with noise have always been there... I remember using noise as an "excuse" at school, but it phases me out today just the same if not worse.

[Somerset82]

I have severe Dyspraxia, which causes me problems in particular with sense of direction, controlling my speech organs, judging distances, co-ordination and crossing over the road, which resulted in me being hit by a car in January last year and suffering severe injuries in the accident and needing 2 major operations. I broke both my shoulders and my ring finger in the accident. I should have been in absolute agony because of how bad my injuries were, but because of my severe Dyspraxia, I hardly felt any pain at all. I'm a lot more nervous of crossing over the road these days, but am also thankful for still being alive because I was told that I was very lucky that I wasn't killed in the accident I had. Anyone else on here have problems with crossing over the road?

[Jim]

A few... But more because of me idiocy of some drivers than any problems caused by dyspraxia. I know my co-ordination and spatial awareness is slightly out so I take care give myself that margin of space if at all possible.

[dragontail]

Interesting. I have some of the problems people mentioned: I get headaches from fluorescent lights and serious eyestrain if I use a computer more than about an hour at a time--and I'm completely unable to read long blocks of text on a computer screen. If the text isn't broken into blocks of no more than seven or eight lines each, I can't read any of it.

Identifying cars and faces... I have some problems there. I tend not to recognize people I've only met once or twice, even if I see them again in the same place, and if someone I know fairly well makes a very drastic change to their appearance--like, say, getting a new hairstyle that's very, very different from their old one--I may not recognize them at all.

Recognizing my car... I don't have that problem, but maybe that's because I have some very distinctive bumper stickers on my car. I also have my license number memorized, and now that I think about it, I realize that every time I've gotten a new license plate, I made myself memorize the number right away, probably so that I would recognize my car when I'd parked it somewhere. I've had three different license plates: I owned one other car before my current one, and sometime after I got my current car, I moved to another state and had to get a new plate (here in the US, license plates are issued by the state, and if you move from one state to another, you have to reregister your car in the new state and get a new license plate).

I don't have the problems with writing other people have mentioned, but sometimes when I'm speaking, I move ahead a few words, so that what I say comes out not making sense. It doesn't happen much, but it's happened enough in my life to stand out for me.

[nickye]

This is amazing - I often think this forum is like reading about myself!

I can't get on at all with watches that have no numbers, especially if they don't even have dots to indicate the nubmers and just have the 12, 3, 6 and 9. Although I imagine a lot of people might struggle with that. It took me ages to learn to tell the time as a child, and even now I sometimes have to stop and think about it.

My sense of direction is terrible, I've been known to get lost in a fairly small pub or restaurant if I go to the toilet and can't find my way back to the table! As for map reading, well, things might as well be in ancient Hebrew for all the sense I can make of them. I'm perhaps slightly better than I used to be - I find the anxiety of it all is tiring though, and it holds me back from doing things. In a way I'm happier going somewhere alone then no one else can see what a fool I'm making of myself!

I also quite often bump into things and although there's nothing obviously wrong that other people can see, I've always struggled walking along, especially somewhere I don't know. I can't really explain it, but I often feel a bit wobbly and can't concentrate well.

It's been great finding this forum because at least it explains all these things I find hard. I find I don't beat myself up about them so much any more now that I know about dyspraxia. I don't expect so much of myself, and strangely, that often means I do end up doing better.

[nickye]

I also find I have problems recognising people - sometimes I panic that I'm not going to remember someone I know quite well and it's embarrassing. But as soon as someone says their name I remember all about them - dates of births, brothers and sisters names and birthdays etc. I seem to have a good memory for words, but not a good visual memory.

[ALADDIN]

If I am tired, when driving, if there are a lot of cars, the lights make me stressed.

If I am stressed, when I read, I get stressed, so that I miss interpret the information. I have to read the information repeatedly.

[Alice1]

I can totally relate to most of these issues. At school we used to get picked on to tell the time from the clock on the wall, i would stare at it for so long the teacher would move on or another student would shout out the answer and i would just copy. I knew how to work it out i just need that extra time to process what i was looking at. I often get the 'so wheres the car then?' in a car park as i have awful direction and can have been sitting in a car for an hour and get out and forget what colour, make etc it is. Alot of my energy goes into remembering these things so dates, friends, family dont think im stupid, although im sure they are laughing with me most of the time.

[always_elan]

I find the anxiety of it all is tiring though

The extra effort needed every day to just walk without falling over, dress properly, listen to others without interrupting etc is tiring. It can help to be aware of this extra strain on our energy, and give ourselves rests through the day. I've found meditation is good for ensuring I have even just 5 minutes a day when my mind and body are at rest. Deep relaxation, or/and progressive relaxation, tracks can help with tense muscles - it's suprising how regular relaxation can actually improve energy.