Dyspraxia

[Shipton]

Hi there
My name is Sara Shipton and I have joined this group to share my experiences of being a mother who has the physical side of dyspraxia and of having two sons who were diagnosed at 3 years old. They are now 31 and 33. They both have verbal and physical dyspraxia the younger one having a moderate learning difficulty as well as being on Epilen for Epilepsy and medication for an underactive thyroid. Dyspraxia has come down through the males primarily my father and grandfather. I was a little slow at school while both my sons were referred for speech and language therapy at 2 and a half starting therapy at three. My older son was in a language department at primary and secondary school going to the equivalent of sixth form in a special school to improve his Literacy and Numeracy whilst his brother went to a special school. They both had statements of SEN and support although the older one wasn't happy at secondary school getting bullied in year 11.

It is much harder for them now they are adults because most employers do not have a clue what being dyspraxic means. My older son does not necessarily want to tell an employer that he is dyspraxic which can make life difficult for him in the workplace at times. I do believe that employers should be educated/made more aware of what being dyspraxic means. It affects so many things from processing slower than somebody who isn't dyspraxic, organizational skills, memory difficulties because you rely so much on visual clues, misunderstanding what somebody says to you and a host of other things.

[Tom fod]

Hi Sara and welcome

The whole question of whether to disclose and how, is something of a minefield. An organisation can say all the right things about inclusion but if its' managers aren't on board and are not willing to be flexible and value neurodiversity we can be on a hiding to nothing. We're often brought up that difference or showing vulnerability is wrong and we'll sometimes turn on ourselves and be our own harshest critics. Being compared to well known dyspraxics (Daniel Radcliffe, Florence Welch, Ellis Genge et al) can also put additional and unfair pressure on us!
Is there such a thing as a typical dyspraxic? We identify with a common set of challenges but can have very different journeys.