Dyspraxia?

Post Reply New Topic

My fine motor skills are fine. I can write, draw, and use scissors. What I have always had trouble with is sports and athletic activities. I never could play football (soccer) well as a kid. When I tried to learn how to swim I couldn't figure it out.

Never officially assessed, but mentioned by quite a few (M)HPs.

I never could do coordinated activities, like playing sports, dancing, or swimming. But I am good at fine motor skills like writing, drawing, and using scissors. I'm trying to understand what my problem is.

When I get into some deep computer usage - like the occasional programming or other deep planning, where architecting something which uses abstract thinking is involved, then I have a bout of Dyspraxia for hours, even a few days at worst. I bump into door frames, stub my little toes badly, fumble and drop objects noisily, etc.. I've learned to try to think as a software developer or systems architect much less now, as it is socially "expensive", annoying others around me who witness this awkwardness, but they have little idea as to the cause-and-effect behind it.

If I have a stretch for a few days with no social contact, then I can afford a stretch of this deep thinking, where the accompanying Dyspraxia awkwardness does't "land" with any witness. No social "damage" done.

I wasn't diagnosed but when I was in elementary school I got pulled out of a class about once a month to see a paraprofessional to work on improving my gross motor-skills. My best guess for the disorder is Dyspraxia. My fine motor-skills majorly s#ck at things like writing as well but that's at least partly for a different reason. I have a tremor disorder that can act up when doing things with fine motor-skills but Essential Tremors doesn't affect gross motor-skills. I have a cr@ppy body.

I was always good at handwriting, drawing, I can cut, sew and sculpt things. But I remember as a kid being excused from class and going through a bunch of tests where I had to catch a ball, play hopscotch, and walk on a straight line like something the police make DUI people do. The one physical activity I was good at was swimming. I loved it.
Guess I really was a fish out of water.

I don't get why people think being good at physical activities is such a big deal but couldn't care less about how good someone is at arts or crafts.

look up proprioception. As part of my neurology, I have a lot more struggle than normal with judging distances, how much force to use , things like tripping and spilling drinks, dropping or knocking things over or me running into things are common. I have learned how to navigate stairs but I had many falls when younger. Crowded stairways or escalators fill me with anxiety because I struggle to negotiate them. I often touch furniture, walls, door frames to help navigate around or through them successfully. My toes and feet are often bruised from me running my feet into legs of chairs, tables, etc. This is a sensory processing struggle!

I took a swimming class in college. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out how to do it.

I wasn't good at swimming because I was scared of getting my head under the water. I still am to this day. I learnt how to swim without getting my head under, which is a doggy-paddle, but that's it. If I had armbands on I could swim for ages very confidently. So I can imagine that I'm not exactly too uncoordinated to swim, I'm just too much of a wimp to get my head under the water.

I wasn't really interested in sports as a child, but I was coordinated well in activities such as running, jumping and climbing. The only thing I've never been good at is aiming, so I've never been able to master games like darts, pool or bowling. But I just put that down to a character trait, as we all have things we're good at and things we're not so good at.

I'm very good at colouring and writing neatly, and cutting out with scissors, but I've never been able to master things like peeling potatoes or using tools. I can't sew either, no matter how many times I'm shown.

But that's just me. I don't have dyspraxia.