TIPS

[maria]

It just occurred to me that we don't seem to have a thread for helpful tips. Here are three of mine:-

My non-dyspraxic sister advised me to hold a pen near the bottom of it for easier grip. Trust me, it works!

Clear mascara is brilliant for longer lashes without the problem of mascara streaks.

Look out for Miracle Shine nail buffers. They get your nails as shiny as if you've used clear nail varnish without actually using any messy nail varnish. I think they vary in price but I got mine from a chemist (think it was Lloyd's) for something like 99p!

Anyone got any more...???

[Liz944]

If you walk into door frames get someone else to go first.... a) it makes it easier to judge the distance and b) if you do get it wrong and bump into the door frame the other person does not see it!

[NobodyElseWill]

Got a problem with short term memory? Memory like sieve? Find it hard to remember appointments etc and never find that huge brighty coloured bible aka the diary? Use your phone, it should come with an alarm and calendar in one, set it so it pops out and reminds you of your appointment and set your alarm clock five minutes faster than normal so that you wont be late all the time. It may confuse you for a few days, but at least it beats turning to work with no diary or pen and five minutes late.

Cannot remember where you put your pen? Use a cheap pen from tesco/sainsburys value or basic range and clip it to your diary or your bag. It always works for me.

Use a small a6 for every you need or even post stick notes. I have notes on my fridge, by the kettle and basically all over my room and it works like a treat!

Find it hard to undo locks when you are in a public loo (pub/bar/club) Take your phone and program your mates numbers into it, but keep the txt discreet. i.e "Need help upstairs in loo or stuck with makeup" it's a lot better than putting on a text message. "By the way xxxxxx I am stuck in the loo" and Then you're mate yelling out to people he/she knows. "I got to go Kelly Jones got stuck in the toilet and needs my help and then the entire pub/club laughing in hysterics. My friend got stuck in the loo in a conference and i couldn't leave her, so i yelled to one of the service users to let my manager know that my friend is stuck and i kept it discreet as possible, but then i regretted it because the service user announced over the tannoy to a 300 average Joe's

[Gina]

Here are some of my tips,

If I have appointments I put them in my phone with an alarm reminder and I use post its at home all the time to remind me to do simple things like turn heating off, switch of switches, defrost something etc.

For shopping I keep lists on the fridge and when I use up stuff I write it on the fridge list which helps a bit with shopping.

For cooking I break the recipe into bits and write out a list of what needs doing and at what time and this has worked really well for me, I also get utensils with big grips and a speedpeeler- makes everything a bit easier. My OH is also banned from the kitchen as when he distracts me he knows I a liable to cut/burn/maim myself.

For cleaning I made checklists of each room and each task and I can see what has been done and what needs to be done and its much less daunting as its broken up into rooms, tasks and days.

For conversations/ following instructions I tell people I am partially deaf ( as no one seems to know what dyspraxia is or think I ma makingit up) and that I have to lip-read and then they are not to perturbed by me asking them to repeat it.

At work I made lists of the tasks I needed to do and printed off loads of them each day I tick off what I have done (they think I am really efficient - they have no idea that without the lists I would forget nearly everything). And I ask my colleagues to proof read it for me and check the spellings/ maths.

For college work the lists again and dates on the calendar I find that by visualising the due in dates for assignments on the calendar they are less daunting than thinking about them all at once and I do a bit each day as opposed to in a whole chunk - and I reward myself afterwards with something I love doing. (i.e. 30 mins of college work = 30 mins of my fave tv show)

For my work and college uniforms I wash them as soon as I get back from college and work (so I do not forget) and my OH irons them and we put them in clear suit holders labelled with each day and include pants/ sock & bra I have different bags for each day and I have duplicate house keys in each bag and my bags have the books/ work stuff I need for each day in them - my OH helps with this and just before bed I check I have everythings with yup you guessed another list - its sounds exhaustive but if I did not do this I would not be organised and I would get more stressed and flustered and then upset so all these measures really do help me. Also I have problms switching of m brain at night so I do crossword puzzles in those trashy-prize-fictions magazines like "take a break" or "thats life" (they are about 60-80p each) I never finish them but focusing so hard switches my brain off from all the other things.

As for social things or following jokes, conversations, paranoia, feeling like the odd one out and low self esteem - I am still trying to find ways to cope :-) I hope they helped someone else.

xx

[Ldyalb]

Gina - I do some very similar things to you, phone's are a godsend

"For conversations/ following instructions I tell people I am partially deaf ( as no one seems to know what dyspraxia is or think I ma makingit up) and that I have to lip-read and then they are not to perturbed by me asking them to repeat it"

This a genius idea, I may try it sometime and see if it helps. Although it makes me feel sad that it's necessary for someone to have to do this. Has someone actually told you that they think you're making it up? That's horrible!

[Gina]

Yeah When I told someone before about dyspraxia and that it affects not just my balence but how I think, my hearing, basically my whole life is ruled by it - I find it easier to tell people I am partially deaf. Its a sad fact of life but I found it is easier.

[Alex]

If someone gives me a set of tasks to do or instuctions i sometimes find myself asking them to say it more clearly so i can understand what it is they want me to do

[Jackyboy86]

If someone gives me a set of tasks to do or instuctions i sometimes find myself asking them to say it more clearly so i can understand what it is they want me to do

I get people to write down a list of what they want me to do.
I tick 'em off as I finish them, hand the ticked list back to them to let them know it's done.