Dyxpraxia - or what else?

[nyc333]

In the course of discussing with my family the possibility that my nephew is dyspraxic, I realized a number of the classic symptoms resonate deeply with me, yet several others do not at all.

As long as I can remember, I've had poor hand-eye coordination (always last picked for team sports etc.), terrible handwriting (and minor but persistent difficulties using cutlery), awful short-term memory, low frustration tolerance, difficulty following/remembering spoken instructions, to name a few. I find it impossible to have a meal without some of it mysteriously ending up on the table, on my clothes, etc. I often speak rapidly and not clearly; younger folks usually get what I say, but older ones tend to miss half of it. I also struggle with voice modulation issues, although these may be emotionally driven, since I'll often speak too loudly when I'm with people I know well, and too softly in unfamiliar situations with strangers. In both cases, I do not realize the problem usually until someone tells me they can't hear me or that I'm being too loud.

However, I'm a musician with a very strong sense of rhythm, and certain fine motor tasks come easily. I type rapidly and play guitar quite well, although in both cases my precision could be better. Yet changing the strings on a guitar is a very daunting task for me, to the point that I avoid it until none of my several guitars have all six strings intact. It seems many dyspraxic adults have a high IQ and strong verbal skills (but I'm a far better writer than speaker, as i find it difficult to structure my words in real-time), and I fit that profile. My math skills are above average, but significantly inferior to my verbal skills. I have a very good sense of direction and of time, often finding my way around without maps or guessing the correct time without a watch.

My executive function is not at all good, and I tend to be quite disorganized, my home is generally very cluttered, and I have trouble planning and initiating projects. Yet, I tend to do well in highly structured academic situations - if I have clear written instructions and clear boundaries, I do fine, though I tend to procrastinate as much as the provided structure allows. These organizational issues have definitely impacted my ability in the workplace, and I have a history of underachieving. That being said, I'm now in a master's degree program in a field I'm passionate about, and I'm doing very well in school (while still holding down the same boring job for which I'm very overqualified and which I've been at for over a decade).

I did not learn to ride a bike until age 9, and I have never had a driver's license, although I took a few driving lessons at 17. I did not have enough time to assess my driving skills, but I've generally been anxious about the idea of driving (I live in New York City so this has not significantly impacted my life, though.)

Since I'm over 40, understanding what my "issue" is relates mostly to coming up with coping strategies and also being able to be "easier" on myself with the understanding that at least some of my difficulties are "inherent" and to some extent beyond my control.

I'm just wondering what you all might think - does this sound like Dyspraxia? If not, does it sound like another known dysfunction? ADHD, for example, does not quite seem to fit.

Thanks for your help!

[joy]

Dyspraxia can be such a diverse and complex condition that affects many people in different ways to a much more or lesser degree of disabilities,you seem to fall in the criteria from what you have written about yourself. Both myself and my son have Dyspraxia although we have a lot of similar things in common we also have different ones to ,I think Maths was one of my best subjects at school yet my son is hopeless at maths, he found other subjects that he was much better at. Because of lack of concentration and being easily distracted usually you may be diagnosed with ADD not ADHD there are different types. You usually have poorly developed reflexes and which will be accompanied with eye conditions such as nystagmus , astigmatism, duanes syndrome,squint,these will not always affect vision more perceptional difficulties .You may also be cross laterally which basically means you may be right footed ,left handed ,your listening ear might be the right one and your dominant eye might be the left one.
You would need to have all three of these conditions to have a diagnosis of Dyspraxia although getting a diagnosis in the UK you wont always be told this as they dont even give an eye examination. To get a diagnosis in greater detail you would have to go private.I don't know how it works in the USA.

[AlleyCat]

Joy is right- dyspraxia can affect people in many different ways. No two people with dyspraxia are the same as to how it affects them! Although quite a lot of people with dyspraxia really struggle to learn a musical instrument, there are others such as yourself (and myself, for that matter) who manage to achieve a decent level on an instrument through persistence and possessing an innate musical ability. You may or may not be aware of this, but Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machines) has dyspraxia! Overall, you do seem to have various issues which indicate dyspraxia, so you might want to see if you can get an assessment. Being based in the UK, as Joy is, I don't know how easy it would be to get an assessment over in the US, but you might want to ask Dyspraxia USA for advice on this (you can contact them via their website or Facebook page). Their page of adult symptoms gives an excellent overview of the condition:

http://www.dyspraxiausa.org/symptoms/adult-symptoms/

It's important to remember that no one will have all of these symptoms, but if you have a significant number of them (as it seems you do, from what you've said), it's very likely that you have dyspraxia.