Dyspraxia is one of those specific learning difficulties that can go under the radar, as many just don’t know what it actually is. This can in turn, lead to it being missed at school or even, at University.
Dyspraxia is a developmental coordination disorder, present in both adults and children, commonly affecting fine and gross motor coordination and speech.
It affects everyone differently, and can also affect processing, memory, and perception which can make simple tasks tricky.
As someone who has dyspraxia, it can make life a bit difficult! My fine motor coordination skills are pretty bad which is why I am so horrendous in labs (I forget/drop everything) plus, my short term memory and processing is not great. I often forget words/ instructions and have to have them written down- which is makes lacrosse difficult as I can never remember drills/ techniques!
However, the thing which affects me the most is my processing speed- especially in speech, it often takes me a while to understand/link what people are saying. This results in them receiving as vacant look from me as I try and work out what they are on about…
(I am always last to get the joke)
But having dyspraxia isn’t all doom and gloom, there are some positives. Firstly, I am quite good at thinking outside the box/problem solving as I seem to think slightly differently- which comes in handy for aptitude tests.
Dyspraxia makes me a much more determined and motivated individual, due to the requirement of me to put in the extra effort. It makes me want to prove that I am not stupid and yes I CAN do it, even if it takes me longer.
Having a specific learning difficult doesn’t mean you will fail, like I previously believed. Yes, it makes life more difficult, but by overcoming the imposed boundaries, you become much more motivated and resilient to succeed.