Hello all.

[jpowls]

I just ranomly found this website when doing random google searches on dyspraxia and I recognise ALOT of the stuff that has been posted on here.

I was diagnosed when I was quite young and statemented when I was about 10 with mild dyspraxia. This mainly came about from getting slaughtered at school for untidy or unreadable handwriting. I've always been very clumsy and poor (despite efforts) at sport. I had always assumed this was a physical thing. A sort of physical version of dyslexia. Since I could do all work on a PC and my dreams of becoming a professional footballer never materialised I assumed the dyspraxia thing would be irrellevent and consigned to being clumsy with scruffy handwriting.

Then recently and especially this week I've found out that the physical stuff is just a sympton of the brain opperating in an entirely different way. Thus, all the "stupid moments" I have are almost all linked to the dyspraxia. The confusion between left and right, the randomly forgetting things, the obsessional interests, the obsession with random facts etc. Suddenly it ALL adds up and makes sense. For years I've thought this stuff was just me being a bit daft and brainless.

The thing is that for years I've ignored it and never been open about it. I've also almost hoped it would just go away. But that has really struck me in the last week is that I can't change it because it IS me. It IS who I am.

So anyway, hello to all and although I'm passed being a "teen". This seems a good place to share stuff.

[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

[jpowls]

Oh good so I'm not the only one in my twenties on here then.

Sounds like an interesting job though! A damn sight (or site?) better than working in a contact centre.

My interests (obsessions, I don't do interests by half) are politics, I've just taken over coordinating campaign stratergy for my local Labour ward, football as an obsessive if struggling Sheffield Wednesday supporter and films, which I did my degree in.

It looks like a laugh on here and should be fun to get stuck in to a few debates, I can never resist.

[Steph]

No, you're not the only one in your twenties on here by any means. There's quite a few of us

[Creative]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'm 27 and I was diagnosed with Dyspraxia when I was 15. I like cats, reading and watching tv.

[jpowls]

Good good.

I'm with you on the cats front inall. The drawback to renting flats is that it landlords don't like pets and you can't have a cat when you live on the 5th floor! It would be cruel.

[wadey]

Hi. Im lucy and i am 20. I love animals and I have 9 guineas, and now currently fostering 2 more guineas, i also have 1 rabbit, 1 snake, 1 chinchilla and 2 cats. My work involes supporting adults with a disiabilty but currently have two weeks off, where i am looking after profoundly disabled children (hard work but very enjoyable!) in the long term I would love to be able to get a job with animals.

Welcome to forum, and i hope you will like it here

[Remus]

Hello, welcome to DT. I'm Remus, I'm 19 and I'm mild dyspraxic. 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!

[jpowls]

Thanks again!

I think you have a very interesting and helpful website and my only concern was that it was a "teen" site and I wouldn't fit in. But clearly is just an issue with the name of the site.

As I said, I've had a lot of me too moments reading the stuff on here. Some of it obvious but a lot of it less so. You can read all the reports and listen to the experts, but nothing is quite the same as reading others' experiences.

I'm also very very very opinionated and I'm not afraid to give my two penneth worth.

[Steph]

Well I think, when the site was first set up, it was used just by teenagers but that was several years ago and so they have all now grown into adults in their twenties so we have a mixture of ages from 13 to over 30.

[07williamsdj]

Hi im Dan, im 15 and I live in south wales. I enjoy reading, listening to rock music and playing guitar. I am also interested in science and psychology. Welcome and enjoy the forum!!!!

[parnassus]

Steph is right. The original forum members were all teenagers (I helped to set DT up when I was sixteen) and most of us just haven't left. It is primarily a teenagers' website, though - any older members have a particular responsibility to support the teens. There is a Dyspraxic Adults forum that has a more adult-specific focus (talking about jobs rather than school exams, for example):

http://www.dyspraxicadults.org.uk

I don't think we have any dyspraxic over-30s. They are all parents who sometimes stop by to learn about how dyspraxia is for their children. Occasionally we get professionals and students dropping in as well.

[jpowls]

Ok cheers. That all makes sense now.