Greetings, Fellow Earthlings!

[Shambles]

Hello all.
My name is Sharon, I am 19 years old and from England.

I accidently stumbled upon the term 'Dyspraxia' when I was Googling the possible reasons for my terrible sense of direction. As I did further research into Dyspraxia, I found that I could relate immensely to some of the symptoms on the checklist.

Firstly, I read that dyspraxic infants 'bum shuffle' as opposed to crawl, and are often flat footed. I suck at sport and didn't learn to walk until I was nearly two! Then there was the clumsiness - I've always had problems walking into straight line, I walk into things all too often and when out and about I am always walking into people. It is a wonder that I am still alive, as I also have difficulty crossing the road.

In addition to this, I find it difficult to organise myself when doing particular tasks such as Uni work, cooking and cleaning. I often find myself confused when expected to do such things. This may also be because my short term memory is dreadful, I often forget instructions as soon as I have been given them - much to the annoyance of my parents as something that should only take me an hour or so will take me all day.

The thing that affects me the most though is Social Anxiety - which has been an issue since I was very young. I was a very withdrawn child, preferring to play by myself as opposed to other people, and would scream hysterically if put in a room with others. Even now, I can barely hold a conversion - especially as I do not think of answers fast enough and feel as though my voice is awkward when I speak.

I have always been very good with written language. That's the one thing I have excelled at and have always exceeded the average reading age - Although I do have issues proofreading and finding mistakes in my work, even after reading it 10 times. I tend to miss words out often too, or see words that aren't even there!

Mental maths (or maths in general) is something I have always had major difficult with and had to undertake extra-curricular lessons for it at school. Even now it is difficult for me to add numbers together such as when counting money... there is much more I could list but will spare you the anguish and end this post sharpish.

You've probably heard this all before, however I wanted to ask - what is the best way to approach my doctor about this?
I am fed up of being called 'thick' by my parents, who also tell me that I am idle and lazy. I've been struggling for so many years, have always felt apart from everyone else, felt so much hatred for myself and - until now - I have never really found a possible reason for my problems.

I hope this wasn't too lengthy and apologise if it was.
Thanks for reading.
- Sharon.

[Tom fod]

Hi Sharon

Welcome to our online community.You're welcome to write as much as you need here.

If you want to discuss dyspraxia with your doctor go armed with as much info as you can, about Dyspraxia in general (not all GPs will be aware) and about how it affects you in your day to day life, Since you're in full time education, it is also worth speaking to the student support people to see/ask what assistance they can offer.

Our brains work differently so other peoples' ways of doing things won't necessarily work for us, we need to give ourselves/be given the time and encouragement to find our own ways of doing stuff and not dismissed as thick or lazy. To do that is in itself a prime example of a lack of intelligence and laziness in not accepting that some of us think differently. Try not to hate or be impatient with yourself it doesn't help.

Hope this helps don't be afraid to ask further questions here if my suggestions aren't of great use to you.

[Moot]

Welcome to the forum, Sharon. I hope you find it useful here.

[Shambles]

Hello, Tom and Moot.
Thank you for the replies, they are much appreciated!
I am planning on talking to my doctor about it this week.