I tried to ski .... once.

Hello and welcome to my latest blog raising awareness of the disability Dyspraxia. I’m sorry there has been such a large gap between this one and the previous one in the series it really has been a busy and stressful time at university recently. As always I hope you enjoy the blog and feel free to give feedback.

A day on the slopes.

The winter Olympics were pretty amazing weren’t they ? The phenomenal talent on display was just incredible. Watching all of this took me back to a school trip many years previously to a dry ski slope as part of activities week, an annual end of year programme which allowed students to the pupils to be unleashed on a series of days out of their choice. I knew from the start the option I had picked would mean a trip to the slopes and was just as certain that snowboarding and skiing would not be my forte but remained determined to give it a go. When the day arrived I was optimistic that after trial and error I would be able to get the hang of it. The sun was high in the sky with barely a cloud in sight and already at only mid morning the temperatures were rising rapidly and the forecast was only for them to continue to soar. Not ideal then when shortly after arriving we were presented with ski suits, heavily padded and necessarily so; the artificial slopes would surely inflict terrible damage on anyone foolish enough to attempt to use them without the protective gear on. After a safety briefing we were away with our tutor, first up snowboarding and soon it was confirmed that my fears of a clumsy, frantic day were about to become reality. The nature of the snowboard meant just getting around was difficult forcing me to adapt some sort of waddle. My memory of this is hazy, however I can clearly remember tumbling back down the slope having got halfway up to the top after yet another slightly unorthodox run which surely left the tutor and fellow students bemused. It would have been funnier, had the day not rapidly begun to turn into one of the hottest of the year, draining energy and making each little incident all the more frustrating I hadn’t particularly enjoyed my snowboarding experience and wasn’t sorry when we took a break for lunch. Skiing was next it could only get better couldn’t it?

Skiing brought a reason for new optimism, snowboarding had gone as well or as badly as most people myself included probably expected but here was another opportunity to try something new and I was keen to grab it. All kitted out once more confidently trying on my skis I had no idea what was in store. Wisely, our new guide had only taken us onto a flat part of the course a group of mainly first time skiers could have been cause for pandemonium on the slopes. My lasting memories are not particularly fond ones of skiing either. Cones had been laid out on for us to ski in and out of to try and give us a feel for the sport and despite seeming like good fun I found it particularly hard. To balance on equipment like that requires coordination I simply don’t possess and the “course” of cones would often lie scattered in various directions after one of my runs. My struggles were summed up however when the after being called in for a group tutorial suddenly my equilibrium started to wobble, first a little then uncontrollably and in a desperate last ditch attempt for dignity I grabbed the person nearest me. Unsurprisingly they weren’t expecting the person next to them on flat ground to suddenly do an impression of a tree being felled and, caught completely off guard toppled over with me. On the bus home, all things considered I concluded sports on the slopes were definitely not for me. Many years on I wouldn’t rule out another crack at it, after all how hard can it be?

The guitar.

If you never push yourself you’ll never feel the satisfaction of overcoming something. Learning to play the acoustic guitar was an example of this picking up a guitar for the first time at the age of ten even the basics were a struggle and by that I mean understanding how to hold it properly. Fortunately I had a very patient teacher who understood the difficulties I faced, however subconsciously I would try and adapt to how I held the guitar to overcome the difficulties experienced when rapidly trying to change notes. These “adaptions” were not massively noticeable but they were wrong and my teacher tirelessly corrected and tried to think of ways to make my learning experience easier without taking short cuts and sacrificing the potential to play the music well. Eventually her patience paid off, I got to grips with how to play the guitar which enabled me to pass some early exams with merit. As time progressed so my interest faded however and, with the departure of my teacher further up the country, I soon ended my commitment to learning the guitar. It’s a decision sometimes regretted ultimately though, the learning process provided a real confidence boost and was a very worthwhile experience. The trusty guitar is still at home in its stand and sports one or two dents at its base I wonder who caused them…..

That’s all for this time I’ll try and get back to writing these regularly again from now on. Thanks for reading and all the best, George.

 

 

University and some welcome assitance.

Hello and welcome to my latest blog raising awareness about Dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is a disability many suffer from but unfortunately receives little media coverage and so is something many people are unaware of or not heard about.  In this edition I speak of my experiences coping with the disability on leaving home, going to university and the challenges this posed.  The welcome help I received and continue to as my final year of studying nears it's conclusion has been invaluable. As always I hope you  enjoy the blog and feel free to give feedback.

When I left home to move into my student accommodation, a very nice shared house, I was  doubtless like many other new students were on starting out for the first time on their own. Nervous but also excited about what university life had in store. It was not long before the dyspraxia started to  become apparent however, the enrolment forms at times had me completely miffed, but it was my terrible sense of direction that was to cause the biggest issues . In the first couple of weeks I became horribly lost on trying to get to and from university on more than one occasion  and one particularly misguided adventure, a kind stranger took pity on me and offered  a lift to my intended destination .  Not the most convincing of starts to life on my own that is for sure.

It took a little while to settle into university. Conscious of trying not to allow my dyspraxia to be too evident early on, I  made a concerted effort to try and prevent any noticeable mishaps. It was soon evident however the poorly organised bag, notes in haphazard condition and of course the occasional stumble were always working against my plan to try and give my appearance an organised, co- ordinated feel. Soon however I felt confident enough to be open about my dyspraxia to a group of people who I had not long known, which is a huge testament to the quality of my at the time new and as of now still very good friends. Having the problem out in the open once again really helped, it meant I didn't have to feel embarrassed about asking for help using technical equipment like the microscopes or media equipment. Having people who were so understanding around me was fantastic and I was hugely grateful for that. What was even better was the fact I was treated no differently to how I was before. I have never wanted to have special allowances made for me or people not to have a laugh when something chaotic happens, more often than not I'm laughing with them.

As well as seeing my dyspraxia first hand in every day university life, my friends now also saw what  others away from the university scene already knew- my timing and sense of rhythm when it comes to music is nothing short of tragic!! My " dancing" on nights out really was a sight to behold, for all the wrong reasons. Many a picture has been taken of some of worst efforts on nights out. Not sure I'm entirely grateful for that..... haha!

Despite well and truly settling into university life, I did struggle with my academic work at times. The pressure of having to produce work to a standard never experienced before, preparing for exams and just having to deal with some of the frustrations the disability can bring began to take a toll. On a couple of occasions I hit the metaphorical wall as the pressure mounted. I got through the first year and a bit not always particulary convincingly, however, fortunately help was soon to be at hand.

Claro learning have played a huge part in the progress I have made during my time at university. I can't thank them enough for the help and incredible support I have received. From my first meeting  where they discussed in depth with me which areas I felt I could benefit with help, I have had support  with my disability academically unlike anything I had ever had before. The   provision of equipment such as a printer and dictaphone was fantastic. However it has been the help in and outside of lectures which has been invaluable so a few personal thank yous are in order.

Mathew Button - Has offered me tremendous amounts of support since our first meeting, I think roughly two years ago now. I wonder what he thought when he met a nervous student who was almost certainly a little unorganised on the day as well. Since then he's done a huge amount working tremendously hard to find ways to plan for assignments and exams in the most efficient way that works best for me. My grades have improved hugely since we started working together and outside of university it was Matt who gave me the confidence and belief to write this blog series and my wildlife blogs and that  they would be a success. He's always modest when I thank him for his help but I've a lot to thank him for so thanks Matt you have been great !

Jackie Barclay- Jackie worked with me for two years taking notes in my lectures to help me which I hope was an enjoyable experience for her, as I really enjoyed her company. Aside from taking the notes I would often struggle to keep up with, we had some very funny times as well notably getting absolutely soaked on a field trip where the heavens opened for hour after hour leaving everyone there soaked to the skin. Thanks Jackie, your help was invaluable over those two years.

Vicky Mather-  Vicky had a fair idea what to expect working with me from her previous job working at the university. Regularly I would approach her because typically organised as usual I had forgotten my identity card and needed a replacement, Vicky you were warned! Despite this, we have worked together for a considerable period of time as well, and again without Vicky's help during lectures my preparation for exams and coursework may well have been far more chaotic.

Clare Taylor- Despite only knowing Clare a few months now, she has been a massive help to me in her note taking, the lessons have been intense and she has picked out key points that I would otherwise have missed and has always shown great patience with my sometimes chaotic demeanour !

And finally thank you to Mel and Deborah who have stood in to work with me in lectures your help is greatly appreciated.

I am delighted to announce that Claro has recently invited me to speak alongside other students at one of their workshops in the early summer. I was very pleased to accept the invitation and I look forward keenly to speaking about my experiences when the time comes.

Another thank you to my great friend Tom Howe, who after hearing about this blog series, asked me if I would like to do an interview for the paper he works for the Newquay Voice. This was a fantastic opportunity to promote awareness of the disability so I am very grateful to him for that. Tom has a very promising career in sports journalism ahead of him and you can follow him  on Twitter @_tomhowe_



So that is it for this occasion. Thank you to everyone for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and thank you very much for your support.

Going to work

Hello and welcome to my latest blog aiming to increase Dyspraxia awareness. I hope you had a great Christmas and have settled into the swing of a new year. In this edition I write about my experiences in my first proper job, working as a kitchen porter in a local beach café and my eventful introduction to working in that environment. While on YouTube I found an interesting clip from the channel four programme Embarrassing Bodies which shows simple tests that can help identify whether a person has Dyspraxia along with describing the problems which face people suffering from the disability you can watch this by clicking on the link below. As always I hope you enjoy the blog.

Embarrassing Bodies Dyspraxia clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka69MLzW4cg

Off to work

At the age of eighteen the summer before I left for my university adventure to begin, I began working at a local beach café as a Kitchen Porter. My mum had been friends with the owner of the business for some time and I had been friends with her family for a similar period  so they knew some of what to expect with regards to employing me no one could quite predict however the two debacles that were to happen within my first couple of weeks.

Before my first official shift I was given the opportunity to go on a barrister training day which I agreed to keen to make a good impression. After being shown how to make various coffees we were each assigned our own station and allowed to try to make them ourselves. While everyone else enjoyed success and made the coffees, the only creation I successfully made was a heinous mess, consisting of water, milk and coffee on and around my station. It wasn't through lack of effort however, but the in theory fairly simple but fiddly steps of frothing the milk, and correctly preparing the coffee were to me far harder than they would be to others. Making coffees  would not be one of my duties.

My first day in the café started well despite my nervousness as again I was  hoping to make a good impression and I was just beginning to settle in when disaster struck. While cleaning  a knife it slipped in my hand and nicked my finger not to badly I thought, however the extent of the damage was soon to be revealed. Blood began to pump out of my finger at an alarming rate and my work mates expressions told me it was worse than first feared and it was suggested a trip to hospital was in order I managed to convince them that this was not necessary mainly because I was highly embarrassed about the situation I had caused. After being reassured that I shouldn't be embarrassed, I completed the remainder of my shift for obvious reasons in outdoor requirements.

I am lucky to have a very patient and understanding employer and workmates who are all now also friends who appreciate that some aspects to working in a kitchen are more difficult for me than the average person. There is a stronger chance of a crash or a bang with me in the vicinity and it has been known for there to be excess water around the sink area. As a result of the patience shown however working at the café is great fun.

And finally

I found this interesting article from 2008 from the Telegraph, as with so many articles many of the symptoms spoke of sound very familiar.

Clumsy but clever

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3354324/Dyspraxia-clumsy-but-clever.html

That is all for now, as always I hope you enjoyed the article,

all the best George.