“Dyspraxia affects co-ordination, spatial awareness and sensory perception”
I personally don’t think I have dyspraxia exactly but I relate to a ton of quotes in this article. I would say I have oculo-motor dyspraxia. Eye coordination issues which sometimes result in the same symptoms as described in this article.
I particularly identify with the lady who says: ‘just want it to be acceptable to be me’. Check out the entire article at the Guardian via this link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/29/dyspraxia-serious-recognition.
“Imagine you’re a healthy adult with a good university degree but struggle to pour a drink without spilling it, direct people across a building, or remember what you’ve just been told clearly. This is a typical picture of someone with dyspraxia. Dyspraxia, or developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), affects co-ordination, spatial awareness and sensory perception. It’s part of an umbrella of conditions known as specific learning differences (SpLD), which are defined as exceptional variations in a person’s ability, as well as problems with concentration and short-term memory.
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Regrettably, dyspraxia is poorly understood compared to its better-known SpLD cousins dyslexia, ADHD and Asperger’s syndrome. Dyspraxia coverage tends to relate to young children, such as the recent CBeebies interactive movement series Tree Fu Tom, which was developed alongside the Dyspraxia Foundation. Support for dyspraxic adults is severely limited, despite evidence they experience difficulties in employment and relationships, and are over-represented in the criminal justice and mental health systems. According to the Dyspraxia Foundation, an undiagnosed dyspraxic child is five times more likely than an average child to suffer from mental health problems by the age of 16. For those who don’t go to university, there is no adult diagnostic pathway and private assessments cost hundreds of pounds.
An increasingly multiskill economy, where jobs are amalgamated to cut costs and where one job requires strengths across several unrelated areas, does not favour those with SpLDs. As my experiences show, dyspraxic difficulties can rule highly qualified people out of even the most basic job. Then there’s the smattering of tiresome comments that dyspraxia isn’t real. It’s indisputable that premature birth affects brain development. Knock yourself out by objecting to the label if you like but it won’t change how someone’s brain works. The terminology just makes it quicker to explain.
My attitude towards dyspraxia is best summed up in the words of a recently diagnosed woman who took part in an employment workshop: “I don’t want to be a poster girl for anything. I just want to be me, and for it to be acceptable to be me.”