Does the condition worsen with age?
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:21 pm
Hi
I'm 50, I flunked school as, although I could read at 3, I could never write by hand and had a shocking short term memory so in the cram and regurgitate education system of the 70's and 80's I didn't stand much chance! When I bought a word processor at 23, it was a liberation, I could finally do written communication in some form. I tried to do a degree in my late 20's, by recording and transcribing lectures to overcome the difficulties I had but couldn't finish it.
Subsequently, I taught myself IT skills (trial and error and google and books with good indexes!), put a portfolio of work together for friends businesses and now 20 years on am running the IT for an adult social care programme, as well as developing a number of websites for various clients (inc council projects) and I taught IT in adult education for 7 years. All without many formal qualifications at all, I'm quite proud of what I've managed to do.
When I was 45/46 I made my last 3 attempts to pass my driving test (out of a total of 13!) and the examiner had to intercede to prevent an accident on each test (and this had happened during instruction too), and that was the first time that I really became aware that I had a specific issue with my spatial awareness and motor skills. I asked my GP about this when I visited on an unrelated matter and he said that I could be dyspraxic, but that diagnosis via an OT could take a very long time and there was no substantive treatment available on the NHS in any case. Following this I researched dyspraxia online and found I ticked most of the "symptom boxes", especially recognising things from growing up, never being able to balance on a bike or hit a tennis ball! The social aspect is something I had never thought about, but that certainly strikes a chord too. It's helped me make sense of some of the difficulties I've had and raised my self-esteem, especially around education.
The only worry I have is that the symptoms seem to be worsening. This is why I've joined this forum. I had, until a couple of years back really good eyesight and this seemed to compensate for issues around balance and spatial awareness but like most folk, this has got worse, and I've found that my spatial awareness, coordination, balance and fatigue (I guess from concentrating more) has got a bit worse since I started to have to wear glasses.
Is it common for symptoms of dyspraxia to worsen with age? And if so, what do people do to compensate for this?
I'm 50, I flunked school as, although I could read at 3, I could never write by hand and had a shocking short term memory so in the cram and regurgitate education system of the 70's and 80's I didn't stand much chance! When I bought a word processor at 23, it was a liberation, I could finally do written communication in some form. I tried to do a degree in my late 20's, by recording and transcribing lectures to overcome the difficulties I had but couldn't finish it.
Subsequently, I taught myself IT skills (trial and error and google and books with good indexes!), put a portfolio of work together for friends businesses and now 20 years on am running the IT for an adult social care programme, as well as developing a number of websites for various clients (inc council projects) and I taught IT in adult education for 7 years. All without many formal qualifications at all, I'm quite proud of what I've managed to do.
When I was 45/46 I made my last 3 attempts to pass my driving test (out of a total of 13!) and the examiner had to intercede to prevent an accident on each test (and this had happened during instruction too), and that was the first time that I really became aware that I had a specific issue with my spatial awareness and motor skills. I asked my GP about this when I visited on an unrelated matter and he said that I could be dyspraxic, but that diagnosis via an OT could take a very long time and there was no substantive treatment available on the NHS in any case. Following this I researched dyspraxia online and found I ticked most of the "symptom boxes", especially recognising things from growing up, never being able to balance on a bike or hit a tennis ball! The social aspect is something I had never thought about, but that certainly strikes a chord too. It's helped me make sense of some of the difficulties I've had and raised my self-esteem, especially around education.
The only worry I have is that the symptoms seem to be worsening. This is why I've joined this forum. I had, until a couple of years back really good eyesight and this seemed to compensate for issues around balance and spatial awareness but like most folk, this has got worse, and I've found that my spatial awareness, coordination, balance and fatigue (I guess from concentrating more) has got a bit worse since I started to have to wear glasses.
Is it common for symptoms of dyspraxia to worsen with age? And if so, what do people do to compensate for this?