The Student Room Group

Dyspraxia.... anyone else got this?

i have recently been diagnosed as having dyspraxia (DCD) now its not something i tend to bring into conversation generally, however, its something i have been advised to inform my close friends, family and employers so they understand why i do certain things..

eg, i tend to wear sunglasses inside, or when the suns not bright. that takes some explaining. or if you come up from behind me in a pub, and chat to me, i wont even realise your there, untill you grab my arm or something, to let me know your there.

things such as above end up with me explaining i am dyspraxic, its either that or i look extremely ignorant.

now here is my problem, people will always ask what dyspraxia is. I have no idea what to tell em. "a general state of clumsyness" is a terrible answer to give, and not very accurate at all. telling people its similar to a very mild form of an ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) seems to be going way over the top..

could sum1 give me a good line or two to explain simply and quickly to people what dyspraxia actually is please... i would be ever so gratefull.. its not only kinda embarrasing having to explain it over and over again, and its also annoying. and shoving the printout of the official report in peoples faces is just silly.

anyone out there in a similar boat to me?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
My brother has this

The way we explain it is that its kinda like being dyslexic through your whole body
Reply 2
Wolla
i have recently been diagnosed as having dyspraxia (DCD) now its not something i tend to bring into conversation generally, however, its something i have been advised to inform my close friends, family and employers so they understand why i do certain things..

eg, i tend to wear sunglasses inside, or when the suns not bright. that takes some explaining. or if you come up from behind me in a pub, and chat to me, i wont even realise your there, untill you grab my arm or something, to let me know your there.

things such as above end up with me explaining i am dyspraxic, its either that or i look extremely ignorant.

now here is my problem, people will always ask what dyspraxia is. I have no idea what to tell em. "a general state of clumsyness" is a terrible answer to give, and not very accurate at all. telling people its similar to a very mild form of an ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) seems to be going way over the top..

could sum1 give me a good line or two to explain simply and quickly to people what dyspraxia actually is please... i would be ever so gratefull.. its not only kinda embarrasing having to explain it over and over again, and its also annoying. and shoving the printout of the official report in peoples faces is just silly.

anyone out there in a similar boat to me?


Is it like where you forget peoples names all the time?
Reply 3
Yes I am a fellow dyspraxic :biggrin: My parents didn't tell me until 6 months ago, so I thought I was just odd for all that time! I can't think of an explanation either, I jsut say I'm a bit clumsy sometimes, and if I do something I just say sorry Im dyspraxic, or something similar. The latest episode I had was wearing a raincoat in blazing sunshine because it had been raining that morning. Its strange, before I used to get really upset about it but now I know it can't be helped I can just laugh stuff off.
Reply 4
for me personally goodlife, yeah, i suffer from forgetting names all the time.. also putting names to faces is an issue...

but i do have a rather extreme form of it..

and yeah, thats not a bad way to describe saorise.. but it dont really cover the social or physical side of it.. but i suspect that will be my 1st line of the description..
Reply 5
Nightowl
Yes I am a fellow dyspraxic :biggrin: My parents didn't tell me until 6 months ago, so I thought I was just odd for all that time! I can't think of an explanation either, I jsut say I'm a bit clumsy sometimes, and if I do something I just say sorry Im dyspraxic, or something similar. The latest episode I had was wearing a raincoat in blazing sunshine because it had been raining that morning. Its strange, before I used to get really upset about it but now I know it can't be helped I can just laugh stuff off.


it is pretty funny tbh... me and my m8's have a bit of a giggle about it.. however frustrating it can be for us all.. it is alot easier to just laugh it all off now ya know ya got it..

i just wish it was diagnosed in primary or secondary school, maybe then i might not have gotten the boot so many times..
Reply 6
I have it as well. I have to say it's a real drag.
Reply 7
Im not meaning to trivialize it in any way...i know how tough it is when people dont understand it. Some people get impatient and think my brother is thick, whereas he is very astute and intelligent for his age (14)...they dont seem to grasp that just because he has trouble organizing and coordinating himself and his days activities hes not dim...he has severe dyspraxia too, poor hand-eye coordination, clumsy motor skills. Have you got any kind of support at uni/work?
Reply 8
saoirse
Im not meaning to trivialize it in any way...i know how tough it is when people dont understand it. Some people get impatient and think my brother is thick, whereas he is very astute and intelligent for his age (14)...they dont seem to grasp that just because he has trouble organizing and coordinating himself and his days activities hes not dim...he has severe dyspraxia too, poor hand-eye coordination, clumsy motor skills. Have you got any kind of support at uni/work?


exactly..
my school reports allways had "***** could do much better at his work if he only applied himself more" which is bull.. i dont mean to big my self up, but i was allways top of the class. dopey is a common description people give me. its just lack of understanding. i have been given some really usefull techniques on how to deal with certain aspects of it.. feel free to PM me your E-mail, and i'll send some sheets over to ya with the techniques i use..

i think in most cases, it seems to be the more intelligent people that seem to get this condition, or atleast, that it gets noticed in.. i'm kinda lucky that now i'm 22, i have had 22 years of developing my own natrual resistences to it (even if i didnt know i had it for those 22 yrs its easier for me to accept it and analyse it), i can imagine your bro has a harder time than i do dealing with it..

its hard work, but i think aslong as the people around you understand the basics of it, most are willing to.... not support you as such, but maybe give ya reminders.. its just a shame there are very few teachers trained in the subject..
Seems I went all the way and got both Dyspraxia and Dyslexia so my life been a right joy for me :biggrin:! Honestly I dont think anyone should worry about having something like this. For me it just means I dont have the best grammar in the world or spelling. However thats not my problem hey? :P
If you have Dyspraxia it is said your meant to be gifted in other areas...Just hold on to that lol! Anyway like said, just say you dont have the best of hand-eye coordination.
Reply 10
i like that "Special in other areas" fuzzy... but yeah, both the dys......ia's is a bit of a kick in the teeth.. however, we dont know how much we actually suffer tbh... as we know no different...

but i do agree with you on the better in other areas idea... funny thing is... i'm supposedly not able to ride a pushbike... which i can, and i ride motorbikes extremely well which is the same principle.. kinda.. however i cant throw with accuracy at all.. nor kick anything with accuracy.. however common logic excells.

its nice to know i'm not the only one with it... i not met anyone else who has till i posted here... tnx guys.. the self confidence has risen..

also, if ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE ME TO E-MAIL THE SHEETS REGARDING THE ASPECTS OF DYSPRAXIA AND HOW TO INTERVENE WITH THEM. JUST pm ME YOUR E-MAIL.. i'm happy to send em over..
Reply 11
Yup, I have it too, to the point I can't actually write anything more than my signature. Everything else gets typed now :smile:

It was hell taking 4 hours in school to write a 300 word essay.....

But it certainly shouldnt ruin your like :smile:

If you have Dyspraxia it is said your meant to be gifted in other areas


Unfortunately, this is just a myth told to make sufferers feel a bit better about it :smile:
Reply 12
Wolla
but i do agree with you on the better in other areas idea... funny thing is... i'm supposedly not able to ride a pushbike... which i can, and i ride motorbikes extremely well which is the same principle.. kinda.. however i cant throw with accuracy at all.. nor kick anything with accuracy.. however common logic excells


Aha, this is another common error in things they tell you.

Dyspraxia affects actual physical motion and control in space. ie. if you try to kick it one way you'll be kicking it slightly off or whatever.

It does NOT affect spacial awareness; that is judging distances and times etc :smile: Interestly enough, I'm better at riding a bike than driving a manual car, probably due to the tiny amount of manual input needed for a bike!
samba

Unfortunately, this is just a myth told to make sufferers feel a bit better about it :smile:


LOL dyslexia meant to faze out the gifts so was fair play for me ever way.:biggrin:
Reply 14
samba

It does NOT affect spacial awareness; that is judging distances and times etc :smile: Interestly enough, I'm better at riding a bike than driving a manual car, probably due to the tiny amount of manual input needed for a bike!


i'm afraid i have to differ... the concept of time is a factor in dyspraxia, i have no idea of time... hence the reason i'm still sat here at 0438.. omg... its actually one of the things the specialist picked up on during the diagnosis.. she asked me how long i thought we had been doing the diagnosis, i said about an hour, maybe a little longer..... it was actually over 3 hours i had been there.. but then, as i said above, i do have an extreme case of it..
Reply 15
Hey omg ive never met anyone else with dyspraxia before!!!! Ive never been diagnosed properly as my mum is a special needs teacher. Fuzzy Hamster ive got dyslexia too which was really severe when i was little but my mum has been great and we did literally hours of work a day.

People usually notice im quite clumsy which when they mention, i tell them im dyspraxic, which most people think is a condition i have made up!!! Especially as i tell people im dyslexic and dyspraxic they're like whatever fake condition. I usually explain it that i cant throw or catch a ball and im clumsy.

I would say i am mediumly dyspraxic. I just had a talk to my mum about it and she gave the example that when i poor water into a glass i will always rest the bottle on the glass instead of pooring from above. I dont let it stop me though like i drive a motorbike but i recently fell of and broke my wrist which is probably partly due to my dyspraxia.

Wolla ill PM you for those sheets which sound that they could help.
Reply 16
I suffer from a very mild form of this. It dosn't really effect more than the fact I find driving very hard and thus have given up for now.

However I run a computer repair business and I can do some extremely fiddely things with them, I can can also do mains wiring, plumbing etc. It just means some stuff may take me al ittle longer to do.

Spacial awareness was my big proiblem I would bang into people in shopping centres because I didn't know they were there, but since I started having driving lessons this improved massively.

I've always been avid cylce rider and used to so some crazy stuff as a kid, but I have zero confidence on the roads so tend ot stick to off road tracks now.

I have little awareness of how I look as well as a direct result, I could go out with my collar out and not notice :biggrin:

Basicaly dyspraxic people can be decieved as simple if people don't know, so you really should tell your friends.
Reply 17
woohoo... i still awake...

i just thought... it must be easier to ride a motorbike then drive a car, cuz on a bike, you dont have to change pedaly, or move yer hands for the gears... all the controls are at your fingertips/toes... lol only issue is balance.. but once movint, thats no longer an issue.. and i wont change it as an example, but i typing... i keep missing keys... i feel like homer simpson, when he got himself fat.. lol

i'll send em over in a sec blone..

nice to hear of other bikers... sorry to hear bout your spill..

i also just noticed then that a "dyspraxia treatment" link is at the bottom of this page. above the quick reply box... was that there b4?? strange.. lol
Reply 18
Mild. Meh.

It's alright. Being drunk is more fun.
Reply 19
my good friend suffers from it mildly. i think it just means he's mildly uncoordinated when it comes to sports etc.