I’ve had Dyspraxia my entire life. First of all I require one thing out of you the reader: no pity. When you live 23 out of 23 years of your life with something, and are well aware of the fact that you’ll always have to live with it, unless some sort of medical breakthrough happens, pity, despite the good intentions of the people who feel it, quickly becomes a patronizing and tiresome concept.
Not enough people actually know what Dyspraxia is. Many people’s lack of life experience with disabilities makes them have a pretty narrow concept of what the word “disability” actually means.Because people with Dyspraxia aren’t in wheel chairs and the way it affects their ability to function in society isn’t super easy to spot from a distance, Dyspraxic individuals blend in with the average able bodied member of society.
Below is a simplified explanation of what Dyspraxic people find difficult, based on my life experiences living with Dyspraxia. I’ve learned that listing what Dyspraxia makes difficult is way easier than trying to come up with a formal definition. Please note that disabilities affect people in varying ways so the ways it affects the everyday lives of Dyspraxic people, of all ages may vary mildly.
Here’s what people with Dyspraxia find challenging, but can perfect, if people are willing to give them time and patience:
- Anything involving fine motor skills e.g: sewing, tying knots, physical activities involving a ball, holding a pen or pencil, drawing, writing by hand, arts and crafts, etc.
- Processing verbal instructions involving complex movements quickly. This ties into everything from being taught a complex movement/exercise to someone’s verbal directions to a specific location.
- Movement and space A.K.A “getting from point A to point B”. As I mentioned above Dyspraxia is a motor planning disability therefore it also affects movement and spacial skills. Learning how to dance and figure out how to get from one place to another, when it’s not already familiar, is extremely difficult. Activities such as reading maps and anything involving design are challenging for Dyspraxics although many of us are extremely creative.
- Problems with activities such as learning new languages, doing mathematical equations, and doing logic problems. Dyspraxia has some things in common with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia (like Dyslexia except it relates to math not language).
Side note: did you know that there’s a version of the same disability that’s caused by some severe physical injuries? Fact:People with Dyspraxia are born with it but the symptoms are the same.
I hope you found this helpful and I cleared up any questions you may have about Dyspraxia. Although I’m not a doctor or an Occupational therapist I’ve lived with Dyspraxia my whole life so don’t hesitate to ask related questions in the comment section below. The purpose of today’s blog entry was to make Dyspraxia make more sense to people. If you’re interested in my personal experiences with Dyspraxia you may want to read my personal essay on Dyspraxia that was featured on Marie Lavender’s Blog:
http://marielavender.blogspot.ca/2013/08/the-dyspraxic-writer-by-rosemary.html
Here are some related Dyspraxia resources you may want to check out if you want to learn more about Dyspraxia:
- Dyspraxia Foundation U.K Website:
- Dyspraxia Foundation USA Website:
- This is a Youtube channel that’s worth watching. It features lifestyle tips by a U.K based mother/ daughter duo with Dyspraxia, for others with the same disability:
