Turning 29 next week - I want more control over my Dyspraxia
Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:10 pm
28 year old male, turning 29 next week. From a young age I struggled with some of the motor stuff, went to High School and just ''didn't get'' the practical subjects such as woodwork and technical graphics and had to get an exemption, also extremely poor at Maths.... so at the age of 13 I had an educational assessment and got told I had dyspraxia, on the mild-moderate(ish) scale.
From the age of 13-24 it didn't really impact me too much as I had an exemption from practical subjects in high school and then I did Sociology in college. Also in college dorms everything like bills etc was organized through the college. However I knew the dyspraxia was there and that it would manifest again eventually. It was when I started to house-share at the age of 23/24 when the problems arose again.
Whether it was remembering bills or to put the bins out, trying to fix stuff in the house with my hands, failing to make connections (i.e. how leaving a key out for a cleaner would mean that the cleaner could also just take our key and rob our house at any time). One example was from last summer where my room-mate told me to have my phone beside me as he needed to ring me to check something important, I was listening to him and told I would, completely forgot about it and he rang me like 15 times and I missed each call. Naturally he was annoyed at me, but I think he understood I didn't do it on purpose.
Poor hand and motor co-ordination which means things take me a long time to do, terrible at remembering instructions and minor details, poor attention to detail, poor organization skills. These are the main manifestations of my dyspraxia.
Furthermore, there is the external perception from others that it is laziness, which is extremely frustrating and isn't true for a lot of instances. There are some instances where it is laziness - such as when it comes to cleaning my room - but for the most part it's a genuine struggle.
Any ways the good news is that I am already taking control of it through certain actions:
- Writing everything down. Either on notes or on my phone, so I don't forget anything. It's a way for things to register with me or to be in another location apart from my head so that I don't forget them.
- Going slowly as possible. For example when completing a task such as opening a tin of beans. Don't worry about taking ages to do it, and what other people will think. If people lose their patience with you for not doing it quickly just tell them upfront ''some of these things for me take a bit longer, okay, so it's gonna take me a few more minutes. If you need to get it done quickly then you can do it and I'll sort some other stuff out''. Furthermore, if you're not sure you're able to do something, don't be afraid to admit it. I wish I implemented this approach when I was younger.
- Practicing mindfulness. I struggle with Insomnia also, and I'm reading a sleep help book with many useful mindfulness techniques. I am going to start implementing these techniques on a daily basis in the next 5 weeks. I think it will benefit me not only with sleep, but also with my Dyspraxia. Indeed it firmly ties into my 2nd action of 'going slowly'.
I guess the reason I posted this though is that I want to see are there any other things which can help.
Are there any online occupational therapy courses, or online courses for people with Dyspraxia which some of you use and which you can recommend for me? Or any other tips or advice at all?
Thank you for reading!
From the age of 13-24 it didn't really impact me too much as I had an exemption from practical subjects in high school and then I did Sociology in college. Also in college dorms everything like bills etc was organized through the college. However I knew the dyspraxia was there and that it would manifest again eventually. It was when I started to house-share at the age of 23/24 when the problems arose again.
Whether it was remembering bills or to put the bins out, trying to fix stuff in the house with my hands, failing to make connections (i.e. how leaving a key out for a cleaner would mean that the cleaner could also just take our key and rob our house at any time). One example was from last summer where my room-mate told me to have my phone beside me as he needed to ring me to check something important, I was listening to him and told I would, completely forgot about it and he rang me like 15 times and I missed each call. Naturally he was annoyed at me, but I think he understood I didn't do it on purpose.
Poor hand and motor co-ordination which means things take me a long time to do, terrible at remembering instructions and minor details, poor attention to detail, poor organization skills. These are the main manifestations of my dyspraxia.
Furthermore, there is the external perception from others that it is laziness, which is extremely frustrating and isn't true for a lot of instances. There are some instances where it is laziness - such as when it comes to cleaning my room - but for the most part it's a genuine struggle.
Any ways the good news is that I am already taking control of it through certain actions:
- Writing everything down. Either on notes or on my phone, so I don't forget anything. It's a way for things to register with me or to be in another location apart from my head so that I don't forget them.
- Going slowly as possible. For example when completing a task such as opening a tin of beans. Don't worry about taking ages to do it, and what other people will think. If people lose their patience with you for not doing it quickly just tell them upfront ''some of these things for me take a bit longer, okay, so it's gonna take me a few more minutes. If you need to get it done quickly then you can do it and I'll sort some other stuff out''. Furthermore, if you're not sure you're able to do something, don't be afraid to admit it. I wish I implemented this approach when I was younger.
- Practicing mindfulness. I struggle with Insomnia also, and I'm reading a sleep help book with many useful mindfulness techniques. I am going to start implementing these techniques on a daily basis in the next 5 weeks. I think it will benefit me not only with sleep, but also with my Dyspraxia. Indeed it firmly ties into my 2nd action of 'going slowly'.
I guess the reason I posted this though is that I want to see are there any other things which can help.
Are there any online occupational therapy courses, or online courses for people with Dyspraxia which some of you use and which you can recommend for me? Or any other tips or advice at all?
Thank you for reading!