Hello and welcome to a blog which I hope will raise awareness about dyspraxia a disability which is fairly common but largely unknown. My name is George and I suffer from a mild form of dyspraxia and over the course of this blog series I will write about my own and others experiences living with the disability as well as the physical and mental problems the condition is responsible for. When I told people I was planning on writing this blog the response was incredibly positive, I emphasize here as I did to them, I'm not doing this to ask for sympathy, just awareness and understanding I really hope not only the blog succeeds in these aims but also you all enjoy reading it, any feedback is welcome so feel free to get in touch at any time.
The Diagnosis
I had always been a touch chaotic and more than a little clumsy as a child, nothing to unusual there most kids are not far away from the next debacle however mine seemed to be just a little to frequent, a little to spectacular. I had never been able to master the art of what should be relatively simple childhood activities such as playing with Lego, skipping ropes were a recipe for disaster, sports day activities such as the sack race were limited in their success, I played football for many years poorly and to this day I can't ride a bike and continue to take more than the one attempt to successfully tie a tie. So one day during school I was taken out of class for an assessment for the disability, as a nine year old my understanding was limited as to what was going on but an excuse to get out of class sounded good to me. I can clearly remember the kind assessor patiently encouraging me through each task ranging from a handwriting evaluation to more dexterous tasks such as putting cubes and other shapes back together, a task which caused similar problems to the ones caused by an earlier nemesis of mine Lego. Regular comments such as "well done" led me to genuinely believe I was doing well. With hindsight I can see that square shapes are not going to be fitting into round holes any time soon, but I just couldn't see the logic needed and even now when required logical tasks often cause me large amounts of difficulty and usually frustration and a bit of embarrassment as well. After the assessment I was told that I had been diagnosed with dyspraxia, which at least provided an answer for the difficulties I had faced in the past. Dyspraxia has been responsible for some of the lowest moments in my life as well as some of the highest when determination to succeed and overcome it has provided some memorable moments and I will write about this in more detail in future issues.
So what is Dyspraxia ?
Below is the explanation given by the charity the Dyspraxia Foundation, the disability affects suffers not just physically but also mentally as the condition can lead to large amounts of insecurities.
"Developmental dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. It is an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. The term dyspraxia comes from the word praxis, which means ‘doing, acting’. Dyspraxia affects the planning of what to do and how to do it. It is associated with problems of perception, language and thought".
I have below attached links for symptoms pages for children and adults as they vary through age ranges. Unsurprisingly I can relate to many of the highlighted areas and needless to say some affect me more than others, I despite my best efforts I am prone to being unorganized, have absolutely appalling sense of rhythm which has lead to some simply atrocious dance moves and clumsiness has been a problem which has frustratingly plagued me my whole life often in situations when I could of really done without it. As a result, this has often caused a lot of self doubt in myself again something which has been always niggled away at me . Battling all of these problems can lead to some incredibly rewarding results however and in the next issue I talk about my early school years after my diagnosis,including learning to play guitar and fish. I hope you liked the issue and keep an eye out for the next one next week,
George.
http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/dyspraxia-children/symptoms/
http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/dyspraxia-adults/daily-life/
