Dyspraxia

Alkranite

hi, I have dyspraxia and i'm proud of it :biggrin:

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Reply 1

Fuzzpig

Hi five!

(Though as we both have dyspraxia, chances are we'll miss)

LOL because its true

Hey guys, i think i may have dyxpraxia. I am 16 and i have poor handwriting. I have poor fine motor skills and i am told i walk funny. I also cannot ride a bicycle and i am unorganised and fail to meet deadlines. I also feel a bit stupid sometimes even though i am academically quite clever. (Predicted 5As for GCSE.) What should i do?

Reply 4

pipsi

Original post by chelseafan

Speak to the relevant person in your school, possibly start with your form tutor or head of year, and ask them to organise for you to have an assessment with an educational psychologist who will be able to diagnose whether you have dyspraxia or not. It's worth getting it done now and keep your report handy as it will be invaluable in you go onto university. I had to pay £350 to have my assessment done because the university don't fund the tests, whereas I'm yet to hear of a school that doesn't cover the cost.

Reply 5

Sapphire_Eyes

Original post by aliluvschoc

Hi five!

(Though as we both have dyspraxia, chances are we'll miss)

LOL cause its true from a fellow dyspraxic :tongue:

Reply 6

Tiger Rag

Original post by chelseafan

GP might be able to help if school can't.

Reply 7

shyamshah

I used to have very bad dyspraxia when I was younger, but it has pretty much gone and I am fine now! I still consider myself as having dyspraxia though.What does dyspraxia limit you to?

Reply 8

Skip_Snip

Original post by chelseafan

All this applies to me, I've never really thought about the possibility of being Dyspraxic ...

Reply 9

Tom26070

I'm expecting a dyslexic to come on this thread and say, "Me too" :colone:

Reply 10

pipsi

Original post by OU Student

GP might be able to help if school can't.

Probably not. I attempted to go down this route when uni told me I'd have to pay £350 to get tested. My GP said that it is something that is either done through schools/colleges/universities or by privately going to a psychologist.

It might be that the school have a teacher who has done a course which qualifies them to carry out the assessment in place of a psychologist. I forget the term used for these people but they apparently are cheaper than a psychologist if you need to pay. At school level though the cost of the test should be covered by the school or the Local Education Authority.

My youngest brother is also dyspraxic but to a much higher degree than I am, he also has other learning difficulties and because of these now goes to a special needs school. When he was in a normal school all of the costs of tests and additional help etc were all covered by the LEA. The school he goes to now is a private special needs school but the LEA also cover the cost of the fees.

I'm annoyed that my learning difficulties weren't picked up on in school, the signs were all there, but in the mid to late 90s when i was in school, teachers barely knew what learning difficulties were never mind how to deal with them. Generally they knew what dyslexia was but I doubt any had even heard of dyspraxia.

Reply 11

Alkranite

Why has my first post been down rated???

Reply 12

Sapphire_Eyes

Alkranite - I gave it a positive now :smile:

Reply 13

joey11223

Probably down rated because saying you're "proud" of being dyspraxic makes..little sense. How does it make you proud to have a disability? It just..is, you have dyspraxia or you don't...I can't see how you'd be proud. :s-smilie:

( I didn't neg you btw, but it make me think "...come again?" when I read your opening post)

Anyway I was diagnosed with pretty bad developmental dyspraxia as a child. It's gotten a lot better, I'm not the sort who literally cannot dress themselves or anything. If I don't mention it people don't really have much of a reason to notice beyond me being a little clumsy, I've always been thought of as the clumsy one in any group of friends, but it's been a light hearted thing. The main issue I have is forgetting what I'm doing in the middle of a task, forgetting steps I've been told in a task, or deciding to do something, going to the place to do it, then not knowing why I'm there.

I suppose academically the only thing which could effect me is short term memory (though I cannot compare my memory to someone not diagnosed, so how accurate claims are that memory is impacted is unclear.) and hand writing ability. I hold my pen poorly and my hand gets very painful during exams, I had to stop writing completely in my A-level history exam for 10 minutes, then after that it really was a scrawl, probably cost me marks.

I've never thought about applying for anything like extra time though. No point now since I've got through my academic career without mentioning it, only in primary school was I in special classes.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 14

Alkranite

Original post by Sapphire_Eyes

Alkranite - I gave it a positive now :smile:

Thank you i still; wonder why it was doen rated - is it wrong to be proud of it?

Reply 15

Morgsie

I have it aswell as Aspergers

Reply 16

NJones

To get a diagnosis of dyspraxia you will have to attend a number of sessions/ assessments both with an educational psychologist and a GP or specialist. Dyspraxia cannot be diagnosed by an educational psychologist alone, it has to be multi disciplinary (to look at psychological and physical aspects)

Reply 17

pipsi

Original post by NJones

Yes it can, that is how I was diagnosed! In fact when I attempted to speak to a GP about it they said it was something a psychologist would assess.

Reply 18

Matthew_Lowson

Original post by Tom26070

I'm expecting a dyslexic to come on this thread and say, "Me too" :colone:

I'm apparently 40% dyslexic,

And greetings fellow dyspraxics :smile:

Reply 19

Nynyflower

I am dyspraxic, it mainly affects my handwriting and organisational skills, and I am absolutely shocking at all sports. I was only diagnosed last year (and I was diagnosed by an occupational psychologist) but it explains pretty much everything about why I had such a bad time at school, from being accused of being lazy to why I've always struggled a bit with making friends.

I think the worst thing about it is that because I can't do those tests where you need to choose the next picture/pattern in a sequence I'll never be able to do medicine or join the civil service.