Dyspraxic Adults

Is your Sister any good at paying you back when you need it or do you find yourself having to go without? My trouble is I'm a soft touch, people know I struggle with these things and I think some of my colleagues do try to take advantage Do you still live at home then? Me too Well, if I say I am 'between address' it makes me sound homeless but I spend 4 nights a week at my boyfriend's flat, and I contribute towards the shopping. £50 a month I try and help around the place by doing these little joblets but cos he is full time and I am only part time, I s'pose it works, cos although I have less to offer financially, but, cos am part time end up spending more time there than he does so can do these Joblets. It's not all bad really

She's not so bad, she normally pays me back. Maybe not when originally planned but she always gives me a good reason. My other sister on the other hand owes me £30 but I don't think I'll be getting that back to be honest, it's not like I have bills and what not -.- (sarcasm haha)
I have a collegue who I buy things for or lend money and she does the same for me in return. I borrow from colleagues but I always pay them back even if they've forgotten about it!

I don't really lend money to colleagues. Apart from my colleague/friend. So do your colleagues pay you back?

Yeah I still live at home, but I'm so unorganised and financially unstable that living alone feels like I have little chance of survival! Besides, I'm not the most sociable in general so I reckon I'd feel lonely :/ at work I'm great at socialising and when I'm on courses I'm not too bad though. I grew up severely shy so you can't blame me!
I guess that's kind of your home. You sound like a house keeper haha with your joblets ;P
But it's good that you do your bit, it's not like you just slob around. I on the other hand seem lazy, but I just waste time, I'm not good at organising it and I get overtired after working 9 till 5 (8-5 today) with 2-5 year olds! Keeps me busy ha but I have the week off next week

Did you have many dyspraxic symptoms/signs as a child?

Yeah, they do pay me back and are grateful, it's just I'm always the first person people come to when they want something cos I struggle with the word 'no' lol! They also try and sell me things, they see me as a way to make a quick buck I think. I am learning to politely turn them down though, slowly! Lol! It does feel like I live with my boyfriend and am his house maid/keeper at times but I am happy to do my bit I also still pay mum for council tax and bills cos am still, legally, living at her address... Mainly cos this flat has nowhere to keep my clothes, and only really built for one person. You mentioned working with children, what is it you do? I always wanted to be a teaching assistant but only have the basic level of qualification, as I found academic studying a constant struggle and didn't stay on to do the 2nd year at college. I wanted to earn money so went straight into retail work from there. Have been with a well known supermarket chain for coming up 8yrs now (the longest job I've ever been able to keep!)

Hadn't finished typing that and my phone went haywire so thought I'd better submit before losing it and having to type it all out again... lol! So yeah, just kind of feel part of the furniture where I am, it's all I know now and am definitely a creature of habit and feel very much in my comfort zone, which feels 'safe' to me
As a child, maths was always a big problem for me, and PE... Sports day was just horrific!! But, cos teachers said I excelled in other subjects, I think that's why it never got picked up. It was only really in year 8 aged 12-13 it started to show. My neuropsychologist said it was as though my frontal lobe that controls my executive function/ability to process thoughts/instructions didn't develop much past there, I can see that How about you?

Yeah, I struggle with the word no too, but luckily they don't actually ask me
Aww, that's good that you feel a part of his home I guess you could say that's your home, if it feels like home to you You've gotta put your clothes somewhere I guess!

I'm a play assistant so I just help the 2-5 year olds with their development, keep them safe etc it's not as easy as people would think. And it goes from working with 9 other women (ahaaa... ), all the writing; I've got 12 children to write about, 12 folders, organising it all is the worst! I'm always behind since I'm so slow and muddled :/ I work a lot with special needs too so thats not easy, I do a lot of communication work with the children that need it, I'm really good with communication with the children, I'm the best one there but with adults I stumble on words, forget things, over explain etc I hate talking to adults haha we do a lot of tidying, which isn't easy for me. And many more haha but I love the kids they love me luckily! Except one child who growled at me today... She hates me

College was actually a struggle for me. Made it 8 years but I hated every little but of it. I remember this one time, I was behind in my work, was told to ask the assignment tutor about it, which I did... She told me 5 things I needed to do in a row. I forgot the first thing which I attempted to remember but that caused me to forget everything else. She didn't pay any attention to me (ie look at me, stop what she was doing) just felt like she wasn't bothered. I just sat there and cried! How embarrassing! I had a bad habit of writing too much too. One assignment had 5000 words but I wrote 9000! My tutor just say their deleting half of it and pretended I had under 5000 in the end!
What do you find hard academically?

Maths? I got a C, but I needed all the examination time. Don't you just hate people that can work out maths questions in like 2 seconds! Ha
PE weren't so bad if it was rounders or netball for me.
At least you got a diagnosis are you happy to be diagnosed? I know some feel shocked or low about it? I actually wouldn't mind!

Well, of course I don't know for sure if I have it but as I kid I used to get lots of comments that I was slow, vacant etc
I daydreamed constantly. I couldn't tell the time when others could and even now I'd prefer it if others didn't ask me for it! I struggled with learning to tie my laces. Can't ride a bike. Couldn't use roller skates (my poor back...)
My mum used to say that I walked like a penguin, I never moved my arms when walking
Communicating with others, I used to nod but have no idea what others were on about ha in past pictures growing up I noticed that I never smiled (I learnt this!). I had communication support groups to help with my eye contact etc

And then more growing up but yeah, that's my essay. Even now you can see I struggle to control the amount I write and stuff haha I just go on a tangent!

I find it easier communicating with children too, is it because we can relate more to them d'ya think?? Lol @ one Lil girl growling at you, what was that all about?!? Lol! I think it's the focus/concentration necessary in a classroom environment I found hard. I was shocked AND low when I got my diagnosis, which was only December last year!! It only got picked up when I moved to a much larger store and struggled to keep up with the fast pace expected of me... My manager suggested I go to see my GP I did, and told him exactly what the problem was (I was in the café I wanted checkouts cos it was what I knew but still) I had trouble organising my time/bringing the components of the meal together at the same time (timing was a big issue) and having to do more than one thing at a time just drained me. I ended up in flood of tears before the end of every shift. I quite simply could not grasp it. I am currently having counselling to try and accept it
Lol @ nodding/smiling when you have no idea what others are going on about, I still does this!! Lol! Going off on a tangent is one of my speciality (have a notepad and pen and make bullet points to remind me

Damn it, my phone does not like letting me type long replies.
. Lol! So, yeah bullet points remind me what I want to say in reply to a post else I will forget/go off on a tangent! Lol! People find it quite hard to keep track of what I am saying, and I'm told I talk at speed too, and jumping from one topic to another as I do, tends to confuse people Well, it's only really close friends and family I.do that around I think cos I am so comfortable/relaxed around them. I'm not like it customers or colleagues cos I'm more aware of it. Still can't do laces, wear velcro where possible or slip on/off shoes Nope to riding a bike too! Skating yet, but not in-lines, only the 4 wheelers!:D Bless, walking like a penguin... Did your school/mum try getting you diagnosed or anything? Do you want a diagnosis? and what lead you make that connection between your symptoms and dyspraxia in the first place/when?? Sorry for the questions there!

Sorry for not replying in so long! Had sooo much going on!

Maybe. I do find that I'm quite childish when it comes to the children, maybe that's why they love me haha. I really don't know why she growled at me, my manager thought it was hilarious. I always tried comforting her when she was upset, I tried playing with her but nothing improved our bond, except when I gave her food haha. Hopefully she will like me more when we come back on Thursday but who knows!

Yeah, experiences where you have to sit down, think, remember, listen, concentrate and understand are difficult for me too. There's a lot going for us in class environments!
Aww, don't feel to hard up on it I'd be happy to be diagnosed as then I could say 'look, this is why I do this'. But I do understand that it's not easy for everyone. I hope you are able to accept it soon I too had a little experience in a large store, but I only had to do a certain variety of things as I was only on work experience. I had to move at a very fast pace too, and everyone was way faster than me! My first day was hard as they only want me to sort through things and make sure they were tidy and in the correct place. Sounds so simple! But I struggle to do that in my own home. The little tedious jobs really get me.

Bullet points when replying is a good idea. I try section them out as my friend doesn't reply properly when I send lots haha
I hope from one thing too another too. I'm not sure who my main targets are, I guess anyone that I have a deep conversation with really!

I fell over with skates twice when I was young so I've never tried since! Nope, I don't think my school noticed anything. Don't think my mum knew what dyspraxia was until I told her not long ago either! It was the college that told me to talk to this man that deals with learning difficulties to see if he could help with my concentration and what not, and then he said that he thinks I have symptoms of dyspraxia but he thought it would be mild. He said that he'd sort a diagnosis out but he never got back to me in the end.

One big reason is work. I forget a lot, I'm slower than others, I don't do as much cleaning and I can be very disorganised and muddled. I think that some people can think negatively of this. Telling my manager about this is useless as she doesn't listen well and it really irritates me so that's why I wouldn't mind a diagnosis just so I can say that I'm struggling with certain things and so everyone else can be aware. We're getting more and more paperwork to do on top of all the other paper work that we have to do and I'm struggling to keep up with it all.

Also at home, I'm so disorganised that I barely ever do anything. It's frustrating. And I get overly bored so I really should plan things but I struggle with planning. Also financially it might help too?

I'm always tired and have been since I can remember, I struggle every day and it's a constant fight to keep my eyes open through different parts of the day, over the years I've tried different things like vitamins, energy drinks and relaxation CDs and I'm even on iron tablets for my anaemia which doesn't really help with the tiredness, I'm constantly yawning and it does get me down, I'm wandering now if it to do with my dyspraxia.

Welshcakes11 wrote:I'm always tired and have been since I can remember, I struggle every day and it's a constant fight to keep my eyes open through different parts of the day, over the years I've tried different things like vitamins, energy drinks and relaxation CDs and I'm even on iron tablets for my anaemia which doesn't really help with the tiredness, I'm constantly yawning and it does get me down, I'm wandering now if it to do with my dyspraxia.

Or sleep apnoea? Check it out on the internet, it's where I first read about it as my (non-dyspraxic) sister in the States was diagnosed with the condition a couple of years back. I guess if you do think it could be the reason you could visit your GP and see if he/she can help.