I'm new, hi.

[likeasheep]

Hi,
I'm Eleanore and I'm 18 and last year, I was given a full assessment at my college to assess my requirements for exams. I'd originally only gone for it because I've got hypothyroidism and I thought that this was the reason for my slow processing speed and my inability to write quickly. But, now that I've had the assessment, I got the results back so that I could take them to an audition I had at Canterbury Christ Church University and so they went through my results with me. It turned out that I was both dyspraxic and dyslexic, and now, I'm just starting to get help for it all and have, after being angry at myself for quite some time, started to come to terms with it.
I always knock everything over and it's so bad that I'm not even allowed to use a glass or a china mug at home - I have to use plastics (just glasses made out of plastic) and I have a metal mug that's got rubber around the handle so that if it drops or knocks over, I don't feel bad for smashing something. I have problems with my spacial awareness and I find it hard to know exactly where and what I'm doing, but that probably doesn't make sense... I can't be touched unless it's on my own terms and I'll shy away from even a pat on the arm unless I've definitely been expecting it or if I've initiated the contact. I walk into people and I walk into things and I trip up stairs and I trip down stairs which always used to be a problem for me when I was at school because to get to our library, you had to go down one staircase, and then straight up another and I'd always fall over. But... despite all this, I never realised what was wrong with me, and I just thought I was really clumsy. Now I know better and I've had it all explained to me by my support officer, Pam. She's really sweet about everything and has explained it all perfectly. I didn't even know what dyspraxia was.
I lose concentration easily and I find it hard to focus if I'm being distracted with anything at all. But I'm not stupid. Before I had support, I was doing timed essays in class at an A Level standard and only getting about 6/30 because I'd get so distracted or that I couldn't focus and because my writing speed was so slow, but now that I've been getting support, I've had two mock exams and come out with a B in one and an A in the other. I'm not an idiot, and it makes me angry that people think that. But now, people are really seeing it, and the other day when my lecturer was talking about the highest marks for some essays she'd had in, she said that the highest one she'd got was 30/35 and a girl who sits next to me told me that it would be me who got it... and it was. I'm feeling a lot better now that I know what's wrong with me, and now that I'm getting all the help I need.
I still get a little upset, though. My dad doesn't understand. He shouts at me for doing what he calls "extreme movements" that are sometimes the only way that I know how to move; like the other day, I dropped something and I had to move quickly to pick it up before the dogs got it, and he just shouted and shouted and told me to stop moving "like a mental". And my mum, even though I know she does it in a jokey way, goes around telling people that I'm "special needs". At my audition in Canterbury, she told everyone that I was and... I don't want it a secret, but I don't want to go around telling complete strangers. I tried telling her this, and she couldn't see where I was coming from. Does this make sense...?
I joined this forum, hoping to find other teenagers like me who've had the same sorts of problems and I wonder how many other people had so much difficulty with academic work despite being absolutely capable of doing it if intelligence was the only thing that mattered? How many other people have dyspraxia and something else like I do?
Thank you so much for reading this, if you have.
Eleanore x

[Steph]

Hiya! I'm Steph and I'm 24. I have both dyspraxia and Aspergers Syndrome. I live in Surrey in south east England and I work as a support worker in a residential school for children with severe and complex epilepsy and other neurological and physical disabilities. It is very challenging but I enjoy it and I am getting better at it now! I love animals (I have 3 cats at home), the Internet, learning about other cultures and languages, reading and listening to music. I hope you enjoy the boards

PS. If your parents are struggling to understand dyspraxia, I recommend the book "Caged In Chaos" by Victoria Biggs (Parnassus on this forum). It's fantastic and really helps people to understand dyspraxia better.

[likeasheep]

Hiya! I'm Steph and I'm 24. I have both dyspraxia and Aspergers Syndrome. I live in Surrey in south east England and I work as a support worker in a residential school for children with severe and complex epilepsy and other neurological and physical disabilities. It is very challenging but I enjoy it and I am getting better at it now! I love animals (I have 3 cats at home), the Internet, learning about other cultures and languages, reading and listening to music. I hope you enjoy the boards

PS. If your parents are struggling to understand dyspraxia, I recommend the book "Caged In Chaos" by Victoria Biggs (Parnassus on this forum). It's fantastic and really helps people to understand dyspraxia better.

Hi, Steph, thanks for replying to me and making me feel welcome. I'm happy to hear that you're in a successful job that you enjoy doing - it really offers some hope. I love animals too! We've got four dogs at home and two are mine, and I love reading and listening to music too - I also really love making music if only because that's what I am; I'm a musician, a singer and pianist to be more exact, and it's as a singer that my Canterbury audition was for. If it weren't for that audition, I'd have never been told that I had dyspraxia or had anything explained to me. Thanks for the book recommendation; I'll see if the library has it and take it out to have a look at what it says and see if my parents could benefit from it. Thank you for all your help!

[parnassus]

Hi Eleanore,

I'm glad you're finally getting help after all this time. I have the same diagnoses as Steph, dyspraxia and Asperger's Syndrome. I used to do a very similar job to Steph as well - I was a learning support assistant in a specialist college for students with learning disabilities, run by Mencap. Currently I'm doing some volunteer work at an educational charity. In September I'm going back to university to do my MA degree.

I hope you can take some control over how and when you share the information about your dyspraxia. What your dad said about moving 'like a mental' is pretty offensive, and your mum shouldn't be going around telling people about your difficulties without your say-so. Perhaps they will stop doing this once they have got used to your diagnosis and what it means.

I hope you enjoy life on Dyspraxic Teens.

[Remus]

Hello, welcome to DT. I'm Remus, I'm 19 and I'm mild dyspraxic (although it's unofficial, trying to get it sorted out). I live in Birmingham, West Midlands where I am currently training to be a zookeeper, I'm doing an HND in Animal Management. I have four cats and two fish and love all sorts of animals! I love books, movies, music, television especially TV series.

Hope you enjoy the boards!

[07williamsdj]

Hi in Dan and im 14. I enjoy science, computers and psychology. I also recommended caged in chaos, it is a very good book. I hope you enjoy posting!!!!

[wadey]

Hi im Lucy, i am 20. I have Irlens, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia. I study animal care at college and have 2 cats, 1 snake, 1 chinchilla, 1 rabbit and 11 guinea-pigs. I also like writing storys and the occansional poems.

Welcome to the forum

[JamesStanley]

Hi im James im 17 from stafford i am a 6th form student at stafford sports college, I was Diagnosed with Dyspraxia when i was 6 and i have a pet leopard gecko named Jack

Welcome to the Forum

[likeasheep]

Oh wow, this is such a big welcome! Thank you everyone, and I'm really amazed to see that nearly everyone has pets or has a love for animals in a way... is this just a generally animal-friendly forum, or does it relate to dyspraxia in some way? I'd read that it had, but I'm not really sure...
Thanks so much again for the warm welcome, to all of you. I'm going to have a look at this book since it's been so well-recommended!

[galexy96]

Hey, I'm Lucy, i'm 14 and in year 10 at school. I'm interested in science and astronomy. I love rock music, I have 2 cats called Jacko(after Micheal Jackson ) and Ash.

Welcome to the forum

[Thirteen-thirty-seven]

Welcome. I hope you like it here.

[MontyDyspraxia]

Hey, I'm Beth! I'm eighteen and I have severe dyspraxia and mild dyslexia. You have a beautiful name, Eleanore

[likeasheep]

Hi Lucy,
Aw, your cats sound adorable! They really do.

Beth! That's so sweet of you. Thanks for another warm welcome.

[haemopath_bro]

kia ora eleanore, my name is anna i'm 16 and i'm from the beutiful green new zealand! i have dyspraxia along with a whole load of other things. most have long complicated medical terms. i love animals, especially foxes. i love indie rock and electronica and i do rock climbing for a school sport. i'm a good drawer and you can find soime of my works along as many other excellnt works from others in epic drawing.

[Creative]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'm 26 and will be 27 at the end of next month. I volunteer at my local library which I really enjoy.