Do I have dyspraxia?

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alert
New member - welcome them!
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2021 12:47 pm

Do I have dyspraxia?

Post by alert »

Hi All,

I'm L from the US and I only recently learned about dyspraxia. When reading about the mild forms it sounded so much like my childhood that I was shocked. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that it's possible I wasn't just clumsy and/or lazy growing up but that there could be an actual diagnosis. I don't even know where to start at the moment. I'm not even sure if an adult can be diagnosed with dyspraxia or if that can only be done in childhood. I'm not really even sure why having a diagnosis would be important to me at this stage except that emotionally it might make me feel, heard? or whole?...I'm not sure. I guess maybe it would be nice not to feel at fault with my "issues".

Ok...enough about that...here's a little about me.

I currently work with adults with barriers to employment to help them find and retain work. Most often this is a disability but in the past it's also been people who were homeless, single parents, etc. I currently specialize in the area of blindness but my true love is when I get to work in a broader field with clients with a greater variety of challenges.

I'm not sure what else to write, so I guess I'll sign off for now. Look forward to meeting everyone.

L
Tom fod
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Posts: 2946
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: SW UK

Re: Do I have dyspraxia?

Post by Tom fod »

alert wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 12:58 pm Hi All,

I'm L from the US and I only recently learned about dyspraxia. When reading about the mild forms it sounded so much like my childhood that I was shocked. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that it's possible I wasn't just clumsy and/or lazy growing up but that there could be an actual diagnosis. I don't even know where to start at the moment. I'm not even sure if an adult can be diagnosed with dyspraxia or if that can only be done in childhood. I'm not really even sure why having a diagnosis would be important to me at this stage except that emotionally it might make me feel, heard? or whole?...I'm not sure. I guess maybe it would be nice not to feel at fault with my "issues".

Ok...enough about that...here's a little about me.

I currently work with adults with barriers to employment to help them find and retain work. Most often this is a disability but in the past it's also been people who were homeless, single parents, etc. I currently specialize in the area of blindness but my true love is when I get to work in a broader field with clients with a greater variety of challenges.

I'm not sure what else to write, so I guess I'll sign off for now. Look forward to meeting everyone.

L
Hi L
Welcome and glad you've found us. Great to hear you're doing very worthwhile work in helping others find and retain work. Before I learned about Dyspraxia, I thought a lot of my difficulties were not adequately explained by my visual impairment.

It seems as though awareness of Dyspraxia is regrettably poorer in the US and some people seem to be more commonly, but possibly incorrectly labelled as autistic, sometimes ADHD. All are neurodivergent conditions and can and do occur together or individually. People present differently so it can be tricky to a) find an appropriate assessor and/or b) tick all the boxes. While a lot of the expertise in the UK is in the paediatric sphere, quite a few adults slip through and only learn/discover they're affected in adulthood.It's a lifelong condition so whilst we can't 'grow out of it' we can become adept at masking through coping strategies meaning it can be harder to isolate, - if you can find someone who assesses adults! Too much change/stress can sometimes cause our hard-won coping strategies to break down and/or become obsolete.

Often growing up we're told try harder, be more careful, don't dither etc so we're often very tenacious, but that is not always sustainable. I do think we generally do need the confirmation so that we can start on the journey of processing and accepting this information about ourselves. So often it is only our perceived faults that are pointed out and too often no one sees or looks to identify and nurture our unique talent(s) of approaching things differently. I think we can also be too quick to be camapred and/or to compare ourselves to our Neurotypical peers only to come off as second best/worst every time
Tom
Moderator/Administrator

With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Lettiejp
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Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2021 6:23 pm

Re: Do I have dyspraxia?

Post by Lettiejp »

I'm shocked how many are screened for different things I think the problem are the tests/assessments, they don't see people in their actual lives but in a clinic and they misdiagnose so many they end up with unsuitable treatments
Tom fod
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Posts: 2946
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: SW UK

Re: Do I have dyspraxia?

Post by Tom fod »

Lettiejp wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 7:06 pm . . . so many they end up with unsuitable treatments
and/or the wrong label and no understanding as how to understand that label and not be forced into being defined by it (or them)

Part of the difficulty is Dyspraxia was (still is) considered (by some) to be a childhood condition people can generally overcome/grow out of. It's true in a sense that we can and do find ways to adapt and mask. However, Dyspraxia and anxiety so often can go hand in hand. The challenges of being an adult are different from those we may face in school school is quite regimented while once you reach adulthood you can avoid PE and handwritten copying from the board, you're now faced with a new set of challenges, such as finding work and building and maintaining professional relationships and holding your own in a competitive society. Not everyone is able to sustain and/or adapt well. Sometimes change tears the ground out from beneath our feet.

Dyspraxia is not something you can medicate, though some may need/or benefit from intervention such as a course of anti-depressants and/or access to talking therapies. Many carry the scars of merciless bullying having always being told/felt they were /are different and not understanding why and that being different should not be seen as an aberration.

Folk with dyspraxia can and do have other co-occurring conditions that are easier to recognise and where there are existing options to manage those conditions.
Tom
Moderator/Administrator

With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
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