In the middle of the pandemic, I had a great idea:

Why not create an infographic graphic describing my dyspraxia in my own words and make it a pinned tweet?

The graphic itself had record levels of engagement on Twitter, but it was missing something important: accessible formats for people with types of disabilities that make it difficult to see certain shapes, textures, or words.

As someone who spends so much of my professional life supporting disabled people, I wanted to present the information in a broader range of formats. However, I am just one person who has often been mistaken for an entire team of people. So I can only do so much in 24 hours, and it took way longer than I wanted it to. I sincerely apologise for not doing this much, much sooner, but hey…at least I made it happen eventually!

The significance of describing dyspraxia in my own words 

Mastering self-advocacy is difficult because you have to objectively make observations and recommendations about your own behaviour. Behaviour, unfortunately, is something that may appear normal to you, but unusual to someone else.

It takes a lot of self-reflection and a lot of awareness of how others behave around you to figure out how an environment can adjust to suit your way of thinking and being. I spent the majority of my life thinking that others knew better than I did about what was best for me. Writing and reflecting on my experiences helped me figure out how best to articulate what I needed. Once I learned how to do that, my entire quality of life got so much better.

I created this graphic before I had a book deal, and it was an excellent reminder of what I need as a disabled person. I hope its contents can help you or another dyspraxic person in your life as much as it helped me.

I have known that I’m dyspraxic since 1995. A huge part of what makes describing dyspraxia so unnecessarily difficult is the fact that some attributes affect some people more than others. And I would argue as well that it is a spectrum, in the same way, that autism is a spectrum.  Have are a few key characteristics of my dyspraxia that I want to teach you about. Hopefully, this will help you understand this misunderstood, hidden disability so much better.

A key aspect I always talk about when describing my dyspraxia: my Impaired spatial processing & perception of space and time

I struggle with understanding how much time it takes to get to a specific place & the distance between specific places. Verbal instructions are difficult for the same reason. I might hear you say “turn right” but turn left instead because the wires in my brain will cross. I also process and respond to my environment at a below-average rate.

Multi-tasking is difficult

A great example is a Hot One’s interview I saw with 1 of the most famous dyspraxics, Daniel Radcliffe. Throughout, he was eating wings and answering interview questions. During the interview, he would stop eating and put his food down every time he told a story. That was because of his dyspraxia.

Doing too many things at once is tough for dyspraxics. Because your short-term memory starts to fail, and you lose track of what you’re doing & saying.

Fine & gross motor skills

The best possible explanation I can offer of this is the skills required for team sports, arts and crafts, and DIY activities around the house. E.g., throwing and catching a ball, sewing, tying knots, and manipulating tools like a pen, pencil, and any device you would find in a garage or makeup store. OT has helped me learn some of these things, but I’m still clumsy and break and spill many things. Holding my hand and also objects still is also tricky.

Sensory Sensitivity

Sensory sensitivity is a trait that dyspraxics have in common with a majority of the neurodivergent community. Certain noises, smells, textures, and sensations that a neurotypical person would be able to ignore are a source of difficulty because they make it impossible for me to focus, think clearly, and sometimes even sleep. I experience massive amounts of anxiety when I’m overstimulated, and I start to fidget violently. Silicone and plastic toys (stim toys) are my calming mechanism.

I get lost easily

When I’m not home, a very high percentage of my life is lost in even the most familiar places. Because the part of the brain that handles navigation is so impaired, I rely on my photographic memory of mundane attributes of cities and neighbourhoods. I have a photographic memory for the visual characteristics of a city.When someone changes the visual attributes I rely on; I no longer know how to get from point A to B. When I’m stressed or anxious, I will get lost no matter what.

My short-term memory is iffy

I have to write down important details I want to mention in settings like Zoom calls and dates, and instructions. Otherwise, it doesn’t stick. I always have a notebook and pen with me. My habit of carrying around notebooks is 50% about my “writing habit” and 50% about my crappy short-term memory. The more stimuli I have to process, the more I struggle with processing information.

When I have something to say, my brain functions at a million miles/hour

When I’m not struggling with processing, the thoughts in my brain are like the highway of a busy large city during rush hour. When I’m excited or passionate about what I’m saying, I’ll lose the ability to tell if I’m interrupting people. Because the thoughts will flood out all at once, and no one will be able to stop me until I have listed every thought in my head. 

Getting accessible info out there about dyspraxia matters to me, because I was diagnosed at a very lonely time and place, where it was rare to find anyone who knew what it actually is. If you’re curious how else I am doing to spread the word about neurodivergence, go check out my website. A lot has changed since I first started this blog.

In fact, moving away from my hometown of Toronto made it a lot easier to focus exclusively on projects that put my lived experience to good use. I hope to share with you more resources just like this in the future. If you have suggestions for something similar, post a suggestion in the comment section below. 

Let's chat

Please add a comment below if you'd like to discuss this topic. – Rosie