Dyspraxia and friends ITP

[npc revolution]

Here's a thread for those of us who have learning disabilities similar to, but not limited to:
Dyslexia,
Dyspraxia,
or Dysgraphia

The kind of conditions that make life and social interaction difficult sometimes. I hope that this thread will become home to a group of us, who understand all the frustration of it.
Who knows? Maybe we'll rival the depression thread for these specific types of troubles.

I'll go ahead and introduce myself:
I'm 15 and I have dyspraxia, but it's really very mild. Sometimes things are a little tough, but I get by. I find myself associating with the "special" characters on TV and movies, and even though it's a disadvantage to have these conditions, I think it's cool that we often have a special kind of kinship, I guess.

Anyway, welcome home.:smallsmile:

[Malfunctioned]

I'm 18 and recently diagnosed with Dyspraxia, barely legible handwriting, spacial awareness problems, constant problems with balance, words often running into each other whilst speaking and the whole hard time telling the difference between left and right thing....People were surprised that it had taken so long for it to be spotted, though since it has been I've been getting a lot of help for it.

So that gives a score of College and Parents 1, pretty much every educational facility that I've studied with 0.

And thanks, it's nice to know there's other people who know what it's like.

[npc revolution]

I totally know what you mean, especially the handwriting thing. Teachers often brought it up with my parents at parents' evening before I was diagnosed and it was really hard because I just couldn't do it.

It's quite refreshing nowadays, because I can use it as a trump card.
"Handwriting is really really bad."
"Dyspraxiaaa":smallsmile:
"oh":smalleek:

[Malfunctioned]

One of the most annoying things for me is mugs of coffee. I love the stuff, just Dyspraxia and mugs full of boiling liquids don't really go together. I actually have to take insanely slow steps just to minimize the painful spillage.

And I completely understand that handwriting thing, I've still got some college tutors telling me not use a computer for taking notes and answering question sheet such because it'll be harder for them to mark, despite the fact that there is a printer just outside of the class and it would only take at most 20 seconds for me to print out and collect the sheet. Apparently me being able to complete my work easier isn't as important as her having a hand-written sheet. :smallannoyed:

[npc revolution]

Yes! Completely understand about the coffee. Do you occasionally get dizzyness out of nowhere, or is it just me?

[Malfunctioned]

Not too much dizziness but often light-headedness and sometimes I get the feeling of a bumped nerve out of the blue.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I've got an odd version of dyslexia. I got no problem with reading but I have the old spelling things backwards, combining words and even making them up. I see similarities between things I'm told have no similarities.

It's almost like a synesthesia version of dyslexia.

I was pulled out of school around third grade because the teachers thought that I was being a jerk instead of dyslexic. So I get homeschooled, parents can't do any better with me so I pretty much taught myself everything I know.

[Morty]

I have a diagnosed dysgraphia. Which means my handwriting is rather bad, althout mostly legible after some practice and I have awful hand coordination. On the whole, it's not giving me too many problems, so I'm lucky, I suppose. Sometimes I wonder if I really have this condition.

[npc revolution]

That's the thing, lightheadedness, Good to know I'm part of a group.
[Edit] Also, they blamed my slow running on dyspraxia as well, although I can keep up now.

[Castaras]

No room for the autistic? :smallcool:

<--- Aspergers Syndrome. Higher functioning. Technically. Although I had my statement removed 2 years ago, so I've come a long way from when I was diagnosed.

[npc revolution]

Yep, you are welcome here too. I guess it should really be called "learning disabilities ITP".

[DraPrime]

How odd, I have a lot of what people describe here. Awful handwriting (many teachers have said mine is the worst they have ever seen), bad motor skills, clumsy speech.

[Totally Guy]

My little brother got a grant and a laptop for having such a condition. And another grant for being gay. And another for being poor.

That's why can can afford the finest accommodation and extravagant clothes.

[Jokasti]

I get migraines a lot. That's about it.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I plan to be a doctor. 'Nuff said... :smallbiggrin:

Edit: this was a comment regarding dyspraxia.

[ForzaFiori]

I have diagnosed Dyslexia. My biggest problems is groups of three consonants, IE tch, thr, etc. It took me forever to get those down. Also 6s and 9s. oddly, other similar numbers and letters (2 and 5, p, d, b, and q, etc) don't bother me.

I also have pretty bad handwriting (though its getting better) and difficulty telling left from right. Not sure if its related though.

Learning disorders run in my family though. My mom and dad are ADD, my sister has Aspergers I think (she might just be ALMOST to that point) and I have signs of ADD but never was diagnosed cause I could focus if I really had to or wanted to.

Edit: Funnily enough, I just remembered yet another problem. After my 10ish concussions, I have very little short term memory.

[Mercenary Pen]

I was diagnosed with dyspraxia ages ago (read at least 16 years- possibly closer to 18 or 19), couldn't even walk in a straight line. Luckily, the local health authority had actually set up basic treatment for it, and I had regular sessions down at the hospital and follow-up exercises the rest of the time, not to mention a ton of remedial work on my handwriting since then.

These days, you'd barely know that I had ever had dyspraxia... I may not be terribly gifted, but I'm nowhere near the level of uncoordination and clumsiness that I once had.

[Keld Denar]

My older sister was diagnosed with pretty severe dyslexia when she was pretty young (bout 1st grade or so). She LOVES to write, and so growing up, I read a lot of her stories. Wierd thing, even though I'm a great speller, I can also "read over" her spelling mistakes. Unless they are obscenely grotesque, I don't even notice them.

Advance about 20 years.

My most recent girlfriend has also been diagnosed with dyslexia. I barely notice. I'm just so used to reading through my sister's horrible spelling that I have absolutely 0 problems reading her text messages or IMs. This is something that completely blows her mind. Apparently her dyslexia has caused issues with previous boyfriends due to frustrations and intolerance. That makes me sad.

In case anyone needs inspiration, my sister is now a very successful electrical engineer. It was hard for her, but she really wanted to do it and worked REALLY hard, and it has payed off. If you have a learning disability, don't believe that there is ANYTHING that you can't do, because there isn't. Sure, you might have to work a little harder than the next person, but in the end, that makes it feel more worthwhile anyway, right?

[HellfireLover]

I have dyscalculia, can I play - er, I mean join in.

Dreadful timekeeping and confusion between analogue and digital clocks; atrocious memory for dates, phone numbers, number sequences; inability to visualize numbers - don't even talk to me about mental arithmetic - yep, thanks dyscalculia. Even better, most people just assume I'm stupid because maths is considered such a basic skill.

I'm not bad spatially though, although that's also linked into being dyscalculic.

[thubby]

who thought of how to spell these disorders? it's like they specifically chose names the sufferers would have trouble with.

[banjo1985]

It is a bit confusing isn't it!

My fiancee has dyslexia, diagnosed when she was 17. She'd been put in catch-up classes all through school, and been told that she was slow/not trying hard enough many times. It amazes me no-one picked it up earlier. She's creative, imaginitive, and has better handwriting than me. But spelling and structuring written sentences are problems for her. Thing is, she always worked so hard I don't think teachers noticed. She struggled through school and college getting C's and D's, until she got the help she needed at uni and finally started getting the results her hard worked deserved. Her experience has given her...shall we say, a very strong view on her condition, to the extent that what annoys her most is someone using dyslexia as a crutch i.e. but I can't do that I'm dyslexic. Many things are harder to do, but to her it doesn't mean you can't do them if you try hard enough. She makes me very proud, and somewhat ashamed when I think back to my experience in education, sailing through with A's and B's without putting in one iota of the effort she had to just to keep her head above water.

To all you guys that live with it and don't let it mess up your life, all power and respect to you. :smallsmile:

Dyslexics Untie! :smalltongue:

[Quincunx]

One of the most annoying things for me is mugs of coffee. I love the stuff, just Dyspraxia and mugs full of boiling liquids don't really go together. I actually have to take insanely slow steps just to minimize the painful spillage.

Have you looked into getting a lidded mug? Turns out they're not all just utilitarian sea-worthy designs any more.

[Ikialev]

My writing resembles a waved line with occasional slashdots. Do I count in?

[potatocubed]

My writing resembles a waved line with occasional slashdots. Do I count in?

Depends. Are you writing in Arabic?

On the subject of dyspraxia, one of the guys in a jujitsu class I was in was dyspraxic - I don't know how badly. It took him much much longer to get the hang of each technique, and he was never exactly fantastic, but he claimed that it really helped him with general balance and spatial awareness.

So, you know, perhaps a helpful option?

[Coplantor]

I've never been diagnosed with anything but sometimes, when reading the notes I took from class, I dont understand my own handwritting.:smalltongue: At least I have relatively good memory (ussually I cant remember a hing the teacher said unless I was particualry intrested in the topic, in wich case I remember it for years, the concept at least, not the exact words)
Seems to have gotten worse with the years.

[Asta Kask]

I plan to be a doctor. 'Nuff said... :smallbiggrin:

Edit: this was a comment regarding dyspraxia.

Well, poor handwriting is more or less a prerequisite there so... good luck! :smallbiggrin:

[Starbuck_II]

I have diagnosed Disgraphia.
Handwriting is horrible sometimes: Although I've worked on it.

I do have shoe tying difficult (usually somes undone even though I though I tied it well). Although, my grammar and speech are well.

I did have head trauma as a child (alot) so that may have been where it came from.

Funny enough: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dysgraphia.jpg
I read the bad handwriting better than the slow pacing one in this picture from wikipedia (hate cursive writing).

[Dallas-Dakota]

o.0

I did not know what Dyspraxia is.

I checked it on wikipedia.

I have almost all the symptons(and some heavily too, like the un-able to follow plans, even though known)

This is....

[Lord Raziere]

I was diagnosed with diaspraxia, like when I was 12 or 13- mostly just social interaction and unable to pay attention in class- but the pay attention thing is straightened out now and I do pay attention now.

though I still am socially isolated. this is more out of not caring and choosing to be me in my own way, i.e. a lone wolf than any actual incapability to be social- in fact I am well liked at my school and many people comment that I am pleasure to have in class.

I do have bad handwriting, but its mostly legible, its just a little rougher than most peoples.

I am also bad at math, but in the opposite way most dyspraxic people are- I am able to quickly and accurately solve any simple math problem in my head, but I am unable to follow the necessary steps to do complex math like equations and such

I really have a mild form of it, and its already going away.

however after a while they changed me to "aspergers syndrome" or something like that, but that is really mild and light to, none of my physical abilities are actually affected by whatever disability I have.

but really, I don't care, and I don't really like the label of being "disabled" even though I run and walk faster than most people I know, am incredibly creative and smart, have a good memory, think deeper than most people, both very logical and rational and very artistic and intuitive at the same time and are currently trying to write a book series which I will make awesome.

why should we have to accept societies labels on ourselves? you guys are only becoming what they tell you what you are by doing so, be yourselves and don't identify by this "disability"-as far as I am concerned if you ask me I'll answer "what disability? I'm awesome"

[ForzaFiori]

@Raziere: No one here has used their problems as a crutch. No where did I see anyone saying "Oh, I can't do what I want, I'm Dys-something". Most of us have been talking about how we've worked through it, or how someone we know has, or expressing our gratitude at having a mild symptom. We aren't becoming what they tell us. If we did, half of the posts above would be unreadable, as the dyslexics and dysgraphics spelled everything wrong, and the dyspraxics hit the wrong keys.

[Lord Raziere]

@Raziere: No one here has used their problems as a crutch. No where did I see anyone saying "Oh, I can't do what I want, I'm Dys-something". Most of us have been talking about how we've worked through it, or how someone we know has, or expressing our gratitude at having a mild symptom. We aren't becoming what they tell us. If we did, half of the posts above would be unreadable, as the dyslexics and dysgraphics spelled everything wrong, and the dyspraxics hit the wrong keys.

whatevs.

sorry ok? I'm just....bitter, to me the word "disability" the label "dyspraxia" and all that- all that is bad enough for me. to me those terms shouldn't even exist :smallannoyed:

[ForzaFiori]

whatevs.

sorry ok? I'm just....bitter, to me the word "disability" the label "dyspraxia" and all that- all that is bad enough for me. to me those terms shouldn't even exist :smallannoyed:

Why not? Even if you managed to work through a problem, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. No matter how good I get at reading, that doesn't mean that I don't sometimes read the wrong letter. It doesn't mean I'll stop having trouble following a line on a graph. People with disgraphia can work all they want, but that doesn't mean that they stop having a natural tendency to have worse handwriting. Yea, you can work through the disorders, sometimes. That doesn't mean there not there. If the terms didn't exist, no one with the problem would get help, and those that had a severe problem (unlike your self admitted mild one) would never get the help they need. They'd just be told to "try harder". You may be able to fix yours yourself. I know I did. A friend of mine with severe dislexia can't. He was diagnosed years ago, still has trouble reading. Its not cause he didn't try, it's because he actually has a disability.

I'm sorry that being called disabled bothers you, but on the reverse, it bothers me when people think your only disabled if your missing an arm or a leg.

[Lord Raziere]

hmph. whatever. you may feel free to say you have a "disability"- but don't call me that, to me its a label, nothing else.

that is all I have to say on the matter. :smallannoyed:

[Amiel]

Sometimes, those with the intangible disabilities or difficulties have no recourse but to label their condition as a disability for society to understand them as individuals. Sadly.

Unfortunately, more often than not, the general populace looks down upon and very liberally insults or makes fun of those with a disability or difficulty - whether it be tangible, confessed, or otherwise. Society is cruel in that way, it actively belittles and accuses those who have no or limited way of dealing with their conditions by themselves; accusations can frequently take the form of the individual making excuses for their "failings" and everything in between.

Even well-meaning individuals sometimes only think of disability as just a physical disability, thus missing the forest for the trees, oftimes accusing others of just being obtuse or worse; which is really an intensely stupid stance to take. It seems, education is the key to mutual understanding.

By showing that the barbs, vitrolic, and glances do not concern you (or much) is a positive step in and to addressing society's ugliness and illogicality, and its blatant lack of wisdom and empathy. Society needs to change its mindset, to a way of thinking that empowers each and every one no matter the individual.

For those who are not defined, limited or otherwise affected by their intangible condition, you have achieved something that few of us will ever achieve; you are happy with who you are, not who you are thought as.

Dunno, just my thoughts on the matter.


Dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia; most come from Greek or Latin. Dys meaning 'disordered or difficulty or impaired' and lexia (word; from G. lexis), praxia (action or deed; from G. praxis; dyspraxia is further divided into ideational and ideomotor dyspraxias, there are more), calculia (count; from L. calculare, which itself comes from calculus).

[Ashery]

@Raziere: No one here has used their problems as a crutch. No where did I see anyone saying "Oh, I can't do what I want, I'm Dys-something". Most of us have been talking about how we've worked through it, or how someone we know has, or expressing our gratitude at having a mild symptom. We aren't becoming what they tell us. If we did, half of the posts above would be unreadable, as the dyslexics and dysgraphics spelled everything wrong, and the dyspraxics hit the wrong keys.


I totally know what you mean, especially the handwriting thing. Teachers often brought it up with my parents at parents' evening before I was diagnosed and it was really hard because I just couldn't do it.

It's quite refreshing nowadays, because I can use it as a trump card.
"Handwriting is really really bad."
"Dyspraxiaaa":smallsmile:
"oh":smalleek:

Emphasis added.

To steal your example, while missing an arm, leg, or their mental equivalent should be considered having a disability, missing a finger, toe, or their mental equivalent should not. Yes, one'd be at a bit of a disadvantage compared to "normal" people, but nothing that couldn't be (nearly) completely overcome.

And am I the only one that misread "Dyslexics Untie!" as "Dyslexics Unite" and then immediately wonder why banjo1985 missed the perfect opportunity for the joke?

[TFT]

It's weird. I read through this list, and see that about half of it applies to me.(speaking problems, writing problems, pencil grip problems, difficulty remembering sequences, problems with organization(especially following a plan, I always start by planning on putting papers in a binder... :smallfrown:), and others.) I bet more would too, but video games probably solved some of those problems :smallbiggrin:.

Yea... I have had multiple teachers tell me that my handwriting is atrocious, and I always wonder why mines about twice as bad as everyone else's. Maybe that's why.

[HellfireLover]

Emphasis added.

To steal your example, while missing an arm, leg, or their mental equivalent should be considered having a disability, missing a finger, toe, or their mental equivalent should not. Yes, one'd be at a bit of a disadvantage compared to "normal" people, but nothing that couldn't be (nearly) completely overcome.

And am I the only one that misread "Dyslexics Untie!" as "Dyslexics Unite" and then immediately wonder why banjo1985 missed the perfect opportunity for the joke?

Just for info, on your scale, is dyspraxia/dyslexia/dyscalculia/autism considered as the mental equivalent of a limb missing? After all, these are key skills we're talking about here, and can impact heavily on a person's day to day experience. (for the records, I don't think it's nearly as clear cut as you imply, since most of these disabilities have sliding scales of severity and functionality.)

I have problems gauging time, for example, but rarely experience severe time dilation, and quite often will wrongly estimate the time it will take me to travel to a certain location. I have difficulty remembering formulae. I can look at a line of figures and not pick out the 'obvious' (to those who don't experience dyscalculia) mistake without real effort, but can suss it out given enough time and a piece of paper to write everything down. I don't want to an excuse to not do these things, I simply want to have the time and effort I put into working with this condition recognized and allowed for. I don't want or need to be told that, in the words of my second-year maths teacher, I'm just not trying hard enough. (Yes, I'm bitter about this, especially considering I spent upwards of six hours on a project that took everyone else under an hour, because I was desperate - desperate - to not give him another excuse to stand me up in front of the class and ask me humiliatingly 'easy' questions about maths which he knew damned well I would not be able to answer on the spot. He knew this because I had already spoken to him in private and asked him to please stop doing it, because it was kicking my already low self esteem into the ground. Guess what happened at the start of every maths lesson after that - he would ask me to stand up and recap the last lesson from memory. Yeah. Oh, and he gave me an A minus for the project, even though it was perfect, and perfectly presented, because it took me too long. Gah.)

Anyway, there are coping methods. Sadly I had to figure these out all on my own with negative support from authority, and some of them are a bit idiosyncratic (and thank heavens for fingers, yes, I do still count on them if I need to), and people still don't believe dyscalculia is a real thing - I've been accused of making it up because I'm too lazy to learn how to do maths properly.

[Ashery]

Just for info, on your scale, is dyspraxia/dyslexia/dyscalculia/autism considered as the mental equivalent of a limb missing? After all, these are key skills we're talking about here, and can impact heavily on a person's day to day experience. (for the records, I don't think it's nearly as clear cut as you imply, since most of these disabilities have sliding scales of severity and functionality.).

As I have no real experience with the conditions and they are no where near related to what I study, I can't accurately place their severity on a scale. What I *can* do is recognize that there is a severity scale and that there are both very severe cases that someone will likely never be able to overcome (ie someone that I'd consider to be disabled) and fairly mild cases that someone could overcome nearly completely with just a fair amount of effort. I didn't mean to imply that there was no scale in terms of severity in my original post, either, as I was simply pointing out that someone can be disadvantaged (Who isn't to at least some extent?) while not qualifying for the term disabled.

And your "teacher" is a ****ing prick, for what it's worth.

[banjo1985]

And am I the only one that misread "Dyslexics Untie!" as "Dyslexics Unite" and then immediately wonder why banjo1985 missed the perfect opportunity for the joke?

Finally somebody noticed! I saw the joke on a tshirt once. :smallbiggrin:

[ForzaFiori]

Emphasis added.

To steal your example, while missing an arm, leg, or their mental equivalent should be considered having a disability, missing a finger, toe, or their mental equivalent should not. Yes, one'd be at a bit of a disadvantage compared to "normal" people, but nothing that couldn't be (nearly) completely overcome.

And am I the only one that misread "Dyslexics Untie!" as "Dyslexics Unite" and then immediately wonder why banjo1985 missed the perfect opportunity for the joke?

Ok, I admit I missed a single post. However, I did point out in mine that while some people have moderate forms of the various dys... problems, there are countless out there that have them bad enough that it is almost certainly equal to a missing arm. At least with a missing arm, you can still read directions, or count past five, write a letter (assuming the left over hand is your dominant, or you've had time to adapt) or drink coffee without running the risk of spilling it on yourself. It is much easier to cope with a lost limb when you are otherwise a perfectly healthy individual, because you can retrain the others with little to no difficulty. I once even read about a woman with no arms who could drive, fix her food, everything, with just her feet. people with mental problems can rarely do that. Unless it is very mild, you cannot simply "retrain" a different part of the brain.

@Banjo: My dad has it on a T-Shirt, but rather than dyslexics, it's calling bad spellers of the world.