First Post - Discovering Dyslexia and Dyspraxia

First Post!

Right, so, I've set up this new blog but the problem is that I don't know what to write about for my first post!  

Hmm... I'm thinking.... aha!

What are dyslexia and dyspraxia?

Dyslexia means that I have difficulty with words and the psychologist's test showed that the underlying issues were with speed of processing and working memory, whereby I scored in the second and third percentiles.  It basically means that compared to a computer, my processor is slow and my RAM is a bit small.  

BBC Micro

At school back in the 70's and 80's, I was perceived as being slow, thick and stupid.  The consequence of this was that I was placed in the school bullies and drop-outs class.  They weren't considered to be clever enough to study computers and so I became one of the first people to obtain straight A's in all subjects and move into the intermediate class whereby I could take a GCSE in Computer Studies and things slowly got better from there.

Dyspraxia means difficulty with movement.  Back at school, they used to call it the rather unhelpful "Clumsy Child Syndrome" and I always have found physical movement a bit difficult.  One of the best ways to describe standing-up is that it is similar to being on board a constantly moving ship.  Writing by hand is really difficult but I found that using a computer keyboard was much easier than pen and paper.  

Diagnosis of Dyslexia and Dyspraxia 

It was only when I returned to University as a mature student, aged 35, that I was diagnosed as having dyslexia and dyspraxia.  This came as a shock and surprise but also helped me to understand everything that had happened right up until that point.    

I was no longer the slow, thick, stupid one, there were names and reasons for me being slower and more "physicaly awkward" than a lot of other people.  

Knowing I had dyslexia and dyspraxia meant I was able to find out more information about the conditions but it also meant I no longer felt alone.

Not the End of the World!

If you've been recently diagnosed with dyslexia or dyspraxia, then don't worry about it!  It's not the end of the world and there are many very famous clever people who have the same conditions, including Albert Einstein and Richard Branson.

The main key for dealing with these hidden conditions, is to find the one thing that just clicks.  For me, it's computers but for you it will be something entirely different.  It's also important to do things in your own way and don't worry what other people think or say - it might be completely different to what they do but it's important to realise that it's not up to them to judge how you go about achieving your results  

See it as the start of a fascinating journey to learn and discover more about yourself and a unique way of thinking!