Last term at Uni I had 7 modules!! so lots and lots of hard work and organising - nightmare. It really didn't help that 2 of my lecturers had never heard of Dyspraxia before! When i tried to explain they both seemed to dismiss it. One of them marked me down for the quality of this really hard surveying drawing we had to do , not because it was inaccurate ( it wasn't0 but because it wasn't very 'pretty'. I tied again to explain how hard it is for me to produce this sort of work and he said it's not a mark for how hard it is it's a mark for the quality of the end result!!!](*,)
This doesn't feel fair to me. What do you guys think?/
Also can you give me some tips on how to explain Dyspraxia to people who don't know what it is?
Lecturer ignorance aargh
Moderator: Moderator Team
Hi Ruth!
many lecturers in universities are ignorant.
I find drawing a particullay difficult area and during my first term at uni it proved to be quite a big problem since i am doing a geography degree for our course work i was asked to peoduce a hand drawn map and draw cross sections my turors comments were 'your map is rather scruffy and your cross sections are upside down'
In order to explain your Dyspraxia to others read some books and leaflet from the dyspraxia foundation.
when i started uni in september the people I live with told me with in the first few days I was wierd because I have adapted little tecniques for me to be able to do certain things for example is use a spoon to butter a slice of bread. I told the people i live with i am not wierd I am dyspraxic i tried to explain this then i put a book in the communerial room a told them if they wanted to know more they should read it and some of them have an find in quite fassinating.
emma
many lecturers in universities are ignorant.
I find drawing a particullay difficult area and during my first term at uni it proved to be quite a big problem since i am doing a geography degree for our course work i was asked to peoduce a hand drawn map and draw cross sections my turors comments were 'your map is rather scruffy and your cross sections are upside down'
In order to explain your Dyspraxia to others read some books and leaflet from the dyspraxia foundation.
when i started uni in september the people I live with told me with in the first few days I was wierd because I have adapted little tecniques for me to be able to do certain things for example is use a spoon to butter a slice of bread. I told the people i live with i am not wierd I am dyspraxic i tried to explain this then i put a book in the communerial room a told them if they wanted to know more they should read it and some of them have an find in quite fassinating.
emma
I've read several books and related literature so I feel I have a fair understanding. My difficulty is is trying to express this complex condition quickly and simply. I find if I make the description too long I loose my audience , they sort of glaze over. However if I over simplify it's not clear how much of an issue it is. It's really only lecturers I have trouble explaining it to, I get nervous which doesn't help.
I summed it up in a paragraph and tried learning it to spout at people but of course I forgot it.
I tried printing it off to show but never manage to have it when it was the right time.
How do you describe it to lecturers who have never heard of it? which book did you put out for your housemates?
I summed it up in a paragraph and tried learning it to spout at people but of course I forgot it.
I tried printing it off to show but never manage to have it when it was the right time.
How do you describe it to lecturers who have never heard of it? which book did you put out for your housemates?
When I told my teachers that I was dyspraxic and dyslexic I also told them the areas in which I encounter problems: my handwriting is dreadful, I have problems drawing as i have poor visual skills, I have a poor short term memory, i find it difficult to stay still when I am sitting on a chair, I have extreme difficulties with reading and also spelling
when I told my geography lecturers they were quite understanding and said to me why didn't you tell us sooner. However when i told the lecturer for education studies he seemed very arrigant, to him i expained dyspraxia as a coordination problem which affects my motor skills.
the book I left in the common room for the people I live with was Caged in Chaos
emma
when I told my geography lecturers they were quite understanding and said to me why didn't you tell us sooner. However when i told the lecturer for education studies he seemed very arrigant, to him i expained dyspraxia as a coordination problem which affects my motor skills.
the book I left in the common room for the people I live with was Caged in Chaos
emma
Hey Ruth; i dont think wev meet- Im Fuzzy; pleased to meet you!! The best way to explain to someone about dyspraxia is to go through a list of symtoms, and what areas it affects. If need be, go the Dyspraxia Foundation website, go to the Symprtoms section and print it out as a visaul aid/ evidence for the other person.... Hope this helps!! 
Goodbye, and have a pleasant tommorrow!!
I swear to drunk im not God.....
I swear to drunk im not God.....
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mr_mallow
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Aswell as stuff from Dyspraxia Foundation I'm sure I gave some people a leaflet that was on Matthews Hideout, that was more aimed at parents, but had a good explanation of Dyspraxia on it.
I've had sour experience with lecturers though. Just quit my course as they just aren't willing to give me the support needed. But at the end of the day anyone with a disability - as Dyspraxia is legally classed - is covered under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act 2004) so all the lecturers are doing is getting themselves into trouble.
As for explaining Dyspraxia in a sentance or so... I always go for the quick simple "Dyspraxia is basicly the brain having trouble sending messages to the body, so I can think of a sentance but have trouble physically writing it down". Seems to work. Being up front with unis/jobs is always a good plan too, in my opinion.
I've had sour experience with lecturers though. Just quit my course as they just aren't willing to give me the support needed. But at the end of the day anyone with a disability - as Dyspraxia is legally classed - is covered under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act 2004) so all the lecturers are doing is getting themselves into trouble.
As for explaining Dyspraxia in a sentance or so... I always go for the quick simple "Dyspraxia is basicly the brain having trouble sending messages to the body, so I can think of a sentance but have trouble physically writing it down". Seems to work. Being up front with unis/jobs is always a good plan too, in my opinion.
THaks for the suggestions guys. I like your descrioption of dyspraxia mr mallow. Anyone else got any one liners?
The problem with the symptoms bit of the dyspraxia website is that it's for children and it seems inappropriate for someone like me. Also I feel embarassed about not being able to do laces STILL and I don't really want them to know. Maybe I chould go through my assesment again and pull out the areas I find hard.
But then the problem is that I don't actually understand the assesment fully. It's all Weicher this ans cognitive that. So I'll need an appointment with my psychologist to find out.
Right can you check up on me to see if I've done it? I keep putting this off because it feels uncomfortable and I really need to do it.
fingers crossed
The problem with the symptoms bit of the dyspraxia website is that it's for children and it seems inappropriate for someone like me. Also I feel embarassed about not being able to do laces STILL and I don't really want them to know. Maybe I chould go through my assesment again and pull out the areas I find hard.
But then the problem is that I don't actually understand the assesment fully. It's all Weicher this ans cognitive that. So I'll need an appointment with my psychologist to find out.
Right can you check up on me to see if I've done it? I keep putting this off because it feels uncomfortable and I really need to do it.
fingers crossed
If you got your assessment done at Reading uni they didn't really explain it to me either... My return visit is booked for the 24th and I'm now armed with at least 10 questions or so. As far as I could work out, I did a battery of tests similiar to IQ style tests and I was also tested for my English and coordination skills ( well more fine motor skills ), and they compared to see how the two matched. So they test for your potential ability to do XRuth wrote: But then the problem is that I don't actually understand the assesment fully. It's all Weicher this ans cognitive that. So I'll need an appointment with my psychologist to find out.
Right can you check up on me to see if I've done it? I keep putting this off because it feels uncomfortable and I really need to do it.
fingers crossed
then they compare with how good you are at X maybe?
The problem I had was that I wasn't warned of the information I needed
to provide... So I had no idea of whether I was walking early or late, so I simply just nodded and said there were no problems because I was told that it was going to be a hurry to get everything done ( and I tend to be very waffley when I talk because I'm not very good at getting what's in my head out ). All I could remember was that I had speech therapy and that
I was talking late.
If you can think of anything to ask and my appointment is before yours maybe I could ask? Plus if you get everything you want answered then
you don't have to go? *wink*
*nod*Ruth wrote:Hi arthmelow
Are you at Reading too? I went and say a study advisor yesterday and she's on the case fo rme. She said she'll set up an appointment with my psychologist Angela and that i need to see the Disability oficer. THat will be hard for me but must be done
Apparaently they give you loads of helpful tips to work round weaker skills... I don't think I've brought a pair of shoes that require laces since I was 12 and could pick myself! They also suggested a cooking timer to help with time management which I liked, and the colour coding of formulae really helps me remember my course material. Since I'm doing 8 modules I found it hard to find 8 different colours of folders in staples and it worked out really expensive which put me off for now...
Also I did worse in the assessment where I had to sit opposite the psychologist because she had so much stuff behind her to look at!
I kept feeling that I would have done better if I'd been at a computer
screen ( manipulating the little cubes with my hands I found really difficult ) rather than listening or working with my hands. I completely screwed up
on the mental arithmetic because I couldn't decipher what she was saying ( not that it was difficult English ) AND work out the sum in my head, so I kept saying pass because I was too embarassed to say "pardon" for the 3rd time ( oddly enough thats replicated often in real life outside of assessments! ).
What subject are you studying?
I'm doing landscape Management with the school of Biological Scioences. I'm in the sacond year and I'm loving it.
It's good to say that actualluy bacause sometimes I need a reminder. It's a great course with mostly fab lecturers.
What are you studying?
I spoke to Angela today and she was very nice.(Iforgot to ask about non-uni assesment though sorry guys. She did say I could e-mail her so I'll try to do that)
I don't understand the assesment any better but possibly hat's because I'm nit a psychologist. Good luck on 24th
It's good to say that actualluy bacause sometimes I need a reminder. It's a great course with mostly fab lecturers.
What are you studying?
I spoke to Angela today and she was very nice.(Iforgot to ask about non-uni assesment though sorry guys. She did say I could e-mail her so I'll try to do that)
I don't understand the assesment any better but possibly hat's because I'm nit a psychologist. Good luck on 24th
At Uni, you are paying for a service the same as If you went into a shop and brought something. If you aren't happy complain. The lecturers are there for you, you have forked out the money that pays their wages, if they aren't doing their job probably by helping you, then say you are not happy.
In terms of crtieria an A grade piece of work is an A grade, it may be the easiest piece of work you ever did, but if it ticks the boxes on a lecturers guideline sheet, you get the grade. You can try really hard and only get a D, but unfortunately thta means the work doesn't cover the aspects needed to get a higher grade.
Grading is frustrating, as you can try really hard and end up with a grade you are not happy with, but it is also in the lecturers interests to see you doing well, as it makes them look good.
In terms of crtieria an A grade piece of work is an A grade, it may be the easiest piece of work you ever did, but if it ticks the boxes on a lecturers guideline sheet, you get the grade. You can try really hard and only get a D, but unfortunately thta means the work doesn't cover the aspects needed to get a higher grade.
Grading is frustrating, as you can try really hard and end up with a grade you are not happy with, but it is also in the lecturers interests to see you doing well, as it makes them look good.
That is very true and I got an overall good mark 64% I think. It's just that I get a sticker to puy on my ciurse work to say don't mark me down for the dyslexic traits like spelling and grammar ( and I'm not dysplexic) but there isn't one for Dyspraxic traits, but then I don't really know what would be on it. They would need to taylor them to each individuals needs.
It's one thing to moan to you guys, quite another to moan to Uni. I like the idea that I'm paying for the service!! I always think people are being kind even though they don't have to be, but like you say it's actually their job.
It's one thing to moan to you guys, quite another to moan to Uni. I like the idea that I'm paying for the service!! I always think people are being kind even though they don't have to be, but like you say it's actually their job.
The sticker iirc just states not to mark the person down due to spelling, punctuation and grammar as well as hopefully reducing the negativity that comes across when I get my work marked ( "messy!" etc ). Its not a specific dyspraxia/dyslexia sticker, just a general one for anyone with specific learning difficulties. I would prefer it this way - anything more specific and the lecturer could identify the student through the sticker, and the marking isRuth wrote:That is very true and I got an overall good mark 64% I think. It's just that I get a sticker to puy on my ciurse work to say don't mark me down for the dyslexic traits like spelling and grammar ( and I'm not dysplexic) but there isn't one for Dyspraxic traits, but then I don't really know what would be on it. They would need to taylor them to each individuals needs.
meant to be anonymous, plus it would be somewhat difficult for people who are not educational psychologists to tailor the paper they were marking appropiately with the difficulties denoted by the sticker.