Dyspraxic Adults

Hi everyone!

I'm really interested to know if any of you have had contact with Occupational Therapists?
If so how do you come into contact with them and how did they help you?

Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks

I had a lot of OT when I was younger (around 5-11 years) which my Mum arranged. Whilst I believe they did help with me with things like writing and using cutlery I absolutely hated going and am still mentally traumatised from the appointments.

Thanks for your reply Jelly1000 sorry to read you hated it Haha!
I'm trying to find out what settings they might work in to help with Dyspraxia.. do you remember what the service was? Was it NHS or via school or a private service. Thanks

Yeah I absolutely hated having to do things I knew most kids didn't. In terms of the service, first off someone came to my house, that was definitley private and then when I got older I went to a centre run by a Jewish charity (I'm Jewish). Not sure if they charged for that or not.

Weird fact: I believe I was having one session of OT at the Portland Hospital in London whilst Katie Price was having a baby there!

Jess Your GP in theory should be able to refer you, privately or via NHS.

I was not keen on the extra help I've been offered as I'm fiercely independent and don't want to be seen to be treated differently from my peers and I am deeply mistrustful of the notion that by giving us fancy tech our difficulties will magically disappear forever.

Thanks for the replies guys! Love your random fact too haha.

Yes I understand that you feel you want to be equal to your peers.
For me I am struggling to keep up with my work and really need some support (I'll take any tech going if it will help me) except no one knows what is available in the workplace so I'm kinda starting from the bottom. Will share what I find!

Hi again Jess
JobCentre Plus Disability Employment Advisors might be able to advise. You could also contact Access to Work

I'm sadly deeply suspicious that some employers might be lulled into believing that paying for assistive tech will cure all ills. I firmly believe that changing attitudes is what really counts. The Dyspraxia Foundation do a usefull employers guide that suggests some ideas.search these Forums/my posts for Hidden Asset and you shd find it.

Thanks for the reply..

I need to contact Access to Work and see what they say.
Also, I did see on the Dyspraxia foundation site that there are workers who can come in to see you at your workplace and provide 1:1 sessions. Possibly this is to see where support could be offered and any emotional guidance on how to manage with the fast pace of a workplace?

Anyone ever taken this opportunity?

I can't see that this would be funded by my workplace

Access to Work is funded by central Government but depending on how long you've been with your employer and their size they may be required to meet some of the cost. They have a number of regional offices and your JobCentre Plus could help or you can contact them via the You Gov website https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work.

If you've disclosed that you have dyspraxia they should consider what reasonable adjustments they should offer you and this is where having an expert can help explain some of the reasons about what you struggle with and why and suggest some strategies/adjustments to help . It's in there interest to be able to get the best from you.

The Dyspraxia produced this Guide for Employers and you may find this interesting/helpful. (It's near the bottom of the page this link takes you to. I understand they have plans to update it.)
http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/d ... ia_1.0.pdf

Brilliant thanks for that Tom. I shall give it a good read over

In a mental health setting-yes, but never for dyspraxia or any other form of neurodivergence . They weren't much help.