What are your dyspraxia symptoms

[Louisexox]

It sounds like you have dyspraxia OP.

My symptoms are as follows:
-Can’t drive a car - if I did learn would have to be an automatic as a manual is impossible for me and even then I will struggle to learn (still trying).
- Growing up struggled to tie shoe laces, read the time, do sports catching and throwing a ball, had to have speech and language therapy and was poor at maths so had to be in special classes for maths and science.
- I eventually learned how to ride a bike but this took time and I remember struggling.
- Amazing long term memory however poor short term memory. You tell me a name of a person or an instruction say be here at 11.00am - it will go in one ear and out another - I need to write it down.
- Trouble with directions to the case where I get lost and get brain freeze and panicky and then I cannot think straight all. Causes issues with driving too.
- Not knowing my left and right unless I use my hands - makes me look silly but it has to be done!
- The typical super clumsy, banging into doors as I walk out, falling over, poor grip meaning I am constantly dropping cups of tea (etc)
-Difficulty learning dance routines
- Being a slow reader and slow processed, meaning if someone says something to me it may take a hot minute for me to digest what they say (making me look silly sometimes) and also slow reading. I struggle with drafting documents at work if there is a lot of background noise and it takes me a little longer to process what I want to say on the paper.
- Forgetful - I will lose my work fob, my lunch bag. I put something down without realising and then I’m like ‘where is this object???’ and then spend the next ten minutes ransacking my house to find it.
- Emotional, anxious and bad with people rejecting me (I am getting better with this one as I get older and don’t take things as personally)
- Time blindness - lose track of time and realising how much time has passed in completing thing
- Fatigue - we have to concentrate more on simple tasks so can come home feeling exhausted

I also have some good symptoms:

- Compassion - I have my struggles and quirks and because I struggle with little things I see friendships with people who are compassionate. I am also extremely compassionate because I understand how people can struggle. Having dyspraxia has made me more understanding and a better and nicer person in general. I am very tolerant and become friends with those who are understanding on my condition meaning I make friends with good people (like me)!
- Time blindness - while this can be a bad thing it can also be a good thing - I have hyperfocus when I can get lots done and be focussed and also means I can work long hours without realising how much time has passed.
- Hardworking and determined work ethic - Us dyspraxics have to overcome struggles other people don’t have and this gives us a great work ethic!! We are extremely determined and hardworking as a result!
- Creative - I am very creative and I feel this comes with being dyspraxic - we have to think creatively on a daily basis on how to overcome and bypass our challenges and this makes us more creatively thinking and great problem solvers
- I am great in a crisis - us dyspraxics often feel like our lives are chaos from having to get public transport, rushing to work, falling over so when something chaotic occurs out of our control we are much better at dealing with it than those who are neurotypical who will crash and burn.

Hope this helps - I would get diagnosed as it will feel like a relief off your shoulders! I cried after being diagnosed as I finally felt understood!!

[Tom fod]

The word symptoms gets bandied around and is too often misused

A sore throat, cough or a smeĺly discharge from a bodily orifice are symptoms

An inability to drive.or creativity are never symptoms

[Dannixx]

Hi, im new to this forum, ive just been reading through all the posts about the symptoms and i have about 99% of them, im struggling at the moment because ive recently got in a relationship (about 6 months) and we have moved in together, its a very small 1 bedroom flat, we have 2 cupboard in the kitchen where we put all the food and also the plates and cups, i am extremely clumsy to the point where i wont put things away in this cupboard because its stacked so full i end up knocking things out of there and plates smash etc, i walk into door frames, i get panicked crossing a busy road (i live on a busy main road). I have explained to my boyfriend why i wont put things away in the cupboard (he moans at me for leaving things out) and his response is “well just don’t be clumsy then, you can change that “ Im just looking for a bit of advise, i suffer with anxiety which he says doesn’t exist, i also have insomnia which i take medication for and he says i shouldn’t take the medication and i should just be able to sleep

[Tom fod]

Hi, im new to this forum, ive just been reading through all the posts about the symptoms and i have about 99% of them, im struggling at the moment because ive recently got in a relationship (about 6 months) and we have moved in together, its a very small 1 bedroom flat, we have 2 cupboard in the kitchen where we put all the food and also the plates and cups, i am extremely clumsy to the point where i wont put things away in this cupboard because its stacked so full i end up knocking things out of there and plates smash etc, i walk into door frames, i get panicked crossing a busy road (i live on a busy main road). I have explained to my boyfriend why i wont put things away in the cupboard (he moans at me for leaving things out) and his response is “well just don’t be clumsy then, you can change that “ Im just looking for a bit of advise, i suffer with anxiety which he says doesn’t exist, i also have insomnia which i take medication for and he says i shouldn’t take the medication and i should just be able to sleep

Hi Dannixx

His behaviour and attitude are unacceptable and He needs to accept that.

I hope you can make things work.

[Dannixx]

I have tried that, things have become worse because I am told not to be clumsy or forgetful I am walking round like a nervous wreck and end up being more clumsy

[Emmajane55]

For me the classic childhood symptoms included:
unable to tie shoestrings (until the very last day of Kindergarten. Since then it's been a struggle. I miss velcro)
could not ride a bike until age 10.
I was the worst player on the worst baseball team in little league.

Speech
Had to attend speech therapy from 3rd to 5th grade. They called it 'lazy tongue' back then. That was a confidence booster LOL.
I was very loud - unable to modulate my voice for volume.
Terrible singer - I lack the ability to have any control over singing.
speaking voice - same thing; I run flat/monotone; mumble words when tired.

Taste
Super finicky/picky eater from day one. As an infant if the food wasnt covered in chocolate pudding I didnt want it
certain food flavors are way too intense. I have no idea how anyone can eat Bananas. The consistency and flavor is nasty to me. I haven't eat the most basic food items from cottage cheese, pineapple, Mac & cheese, etc. Cooked/boiled vegetables I cannot eat. the texture of most foods creep me out.

Smell
Certain smells overwhelm me. I have to put a towel at the foot of my bedroom door if anyone cooks flavor intense foods. It's easier for me to let them cook their food and I'll manage my own issues.

Eyesight
I have amazing eyesight (Im 50 and wear reading glasses only for ease)
but spatial awareness & map reading etc I score myself super low. I get lost a lot while driving and add in extra time.
I dont use GPS for fear it'll cause me to have accidents
**I didnt even want to learn how to drive until 18.

Fine Motor Skills (for these I have gotten better at age - but still struggle from time to time.)
buttoning a shirt took at least two attempts. I always had one more button at the top and an extra loop at the bottom
putting on a belt - I would miss a loop all the time; not even realizing it.
Zippers on jackets - those things are a menace. I jammed them up all the time.
tying a tie - I couldn't do it until early 20s. And I couldn't do it by watching myself in a mirror. I nearly failed Cub Scouts due to my lack of knot tying skills
Penmanship - my handwriting is atrocious; especially cursive. I quit cursive by 12th grade. No teacher ever scolded me for that.
Shop class - I was a solid D student. I cannot draw the same thing twice - meaning I could never be a cartoonist.

Personal Hygiene
By hair is very wavy/curly/tangly if I grow it long. And In the 1970s/1980s we all did. My hair looked like a rat's nest. I couldn't comb my hair at all. I wish I had kept it short & tight as I do now.
Dental hygiene - also terrbile. I cant floss due to small motor skills. And teeth brushing skills are rather subpar

Balance
I rode a skateboard once for two feet if that
I put on rollerblades and couldn't even stand up
I fell about 50 times on cross country skies the one afternoon I used those
when the escalator is not working I hold on to the rails for dear life (and vertigo is a real thing)

Executive Functioning
I can cook two things at once maximum. Would never contemplate doing a thanksgiving dinner
at work I have to write out and screenshot every step possible to be able to do processes (habit forming is super important.)
video games - I put those at super easy difficulty level. I love RPG games and those help me on how to navigate menus & accounting systems in fast hectic paced situations. That helps with me being an accountant.

Memory
I dont know if this is related to dyspraxia; but if I am stressed out with people demanding answers I completely blank. They tend to get frustrated so my brain decides I better say something and hope for the best. People have thought I was a liar. It's more that Im playing the odds I might be right and they need to go on their way.

Touch
I hate people touching me. A simple gesture from a friend or co-worker makes me recoil. (the recoiling is very slight - but I know it's there.). I do not initiate touching or hugging. both due to the way it feels and impaired social skills from having this.
In infancy if I was sick my parents left me alone in the crib - if they picked me up I was only worse.
As a kid I hated corduroy pants. Certain fabrics I steer clear from. I prefer rough/thick clothing.
I layer clothes and I am frequently cold. I run a heater at work in the summer.

Strength
I was and still am very physically weak for my body size.
I dont lift to quote Dr. Niles Crane
I hate shaking hands due to the strength issue and holding hands (as above)

Frustration Level/Emotions
I am considered 'easily frustrated' - yet with Dyspraxia we all burn through our daily allotment of frustration way sooner than everyone else. (Remember that if you have a child with Dyspraxia. They dont quit trying - they just have hit their limit for the day)
Self-esteem/Self-confidence was obviously super low through life.
The Filter - if I am super stressed; off goes the filter and curse words and insults flow freely!

I discovered I have dyspraxia about 6 years ago. It has made me far less hard on myself. Im more accepting. When I have a bad day when things pile up I now know why. Writing alot helps. And talking to myself outloud. It's the main ways I've learned to organize my thoughts.

You've just held a mirror up to my life. I'm debating wheteher a private assessment is worth it.

[Emmajane55]

If I have Dyspraxia (still debating whether an assessment is worth it at 55) then my symptoms have reached into every aspect of life.
I struggle with hair styling, make up and tying laces, buttons and zips.

At school I was acdemically poor especially in maths and hard sciences. I was never picked for team sports, terrible at gymnastics and running. Had dreadful posture(one bunch of kids used to call me the gorilla because of the way I slouched). I couldn't roller skate, skate board or ride a bike. I still can't ride a bike.

I struggled differentiating my left from right and used my knife and fork the wrong way around. I even struggled with reading a clock face for a while. I had a weird pen grip and on the rare occasions where despite it being the computer age, I have to write, it is slow and painful for me. My hand writing is execrable. I cannnot draw a straight line. I struggle cutting wrapping paper neatly for presents and don't ask me to fancy it up with a ribbon.

I'm permanently scruffy and wear pull on T-shirts and elasticated trousers with slip on ballet flats or sandals purely because this ensemble is easy for me.

My flat is not noticeably a mess but I also don't maintain it very well. An attempt at decorating a few years ago was badly botched with messy, poorly applied paint, which still shames me as I sit here looking at the wonkily painted door frames and botched feature wall. My kitchen cupboards are not neatly stacked rather they are jammed in a creative manner. I struggle with executive functioning in many things. Cooking? Forget it. I use ready meals where ever possible.

I prefer to wash sitting down in a bath rather than standing in the shower because when I need to lift a foot to apply shower gel and lather it I struggle to balance.

I have never tried to learn how to drive. My dad, in my mid teens, put me in the driver seat of his car, in our yard. He showed me the right pedals and everything then instructed me to gently apply pressure to the correct pedal and move the car slightly forwards. I got confused immediately. Used the wrong peddle, applied way too much pressure and shot backwards, pranging the wall. I knew right there and then that I was not going to be safe behind the wheel.

I stuggle to regulate volume of voice often, either I'm too loud or too soft. My family used to ask me not sound so monotone.

I brush my teeth way too hard to the constant chagrin of my dentist, and struggle to floss.

I don't noticeably struggle with walking and I don't feel especially clumsy but I do have a lot of bruises, often catch my clothes on door handles and frequently stub toes and bark shins. I have had a couple of spectacular falls in public places. The last one, I smashed my nose into a carpark tripping over nothing, I now have a lovely scar on the bridge of my nose.