scottish dyspraxion

Sunday Post article by John Paul Breslin, December 14th, 2008

Roy hated physical education when he was at school.

He found it impossible to do exercises such as vaulting, climbing ropes and swinging around the parallel bars.  In fact, his co-ordination was considered so bad his PE teacher at Trinity Primary School banned him from a skiing trip because he thought he would pose a serious risk to the safety of other pupils and himself. .,               

But his problems didn’t end there. Considered clumsy by his classmates he was always the last to be picked for games of  football and found it difficult to take part when he was eventually selected. This meant he was often left out from the crowd. Pupils would make fun of the fact he frequent1y forgot to tuck his shirt in and couldn't understand why loud noises made him agitated.

Terrified

Instead of enjoying children's parties Roy was terrified that balloons might burst. And that alienated him further.  Roy also struggled to concentrate in class.

His handwriting was poor and he found subjects like art and maths extremely difficult. There were some areas he felt comfortable in, however, such as English and drama. His parents Mollie and Peter assumed he'd grow out of his unusual behaviour and that his problems with concentration and co-ordination would improve.  But his difficulties continued through secondary school and university.

Roy did well enough at school to go on to Strathclyde University to study English and librarianship, but his lack of concentration and inability to read his own notes made it hard to keep up with the coursework. Despite this, he completed his degree and secured his first job with the Scottish Film Archive through a government- assisted programme.

Roy loved this job, which involved archiving old film footage, but says-he was useless at threading the film into the projector. He even managed to ruin a film about the construction of the Forth Road Bridge and was relieved to discover there was another copy.

Sadly, the contract ended a year later and Roy found himself back at the job centre. For the next few years he held a number of different admin and office jobs, including a stint working in telesales.

Every month, the team with the most sales would celebrate by cheering and setting off party poppers.

Roy became so agitated about the impending noise from the celebrations and the constant chatter in the background that he developed stomach cramps. He left telesales and started working for the Department for Social Security in his mid-30s. The job went well at first but towards the end of the seven years he spent there Roy says he was bullied  by one of his former colleagues. He always had problems sleeping, but the situation at work made his insomnia worse and he found himself waking up repeatedly through the night. Also, his stomach cramps became so bad he was twice admitted to the Western Infirmary in Glasgow.

Following one of those attacks in 2005, doctors diagnosed him as having irritable bowel syndrome. While he was in hospital it was also suggested he might be able to tackle some of his insomnia and anxiety problems through counselling. So Roy spoke to a cognitive behavioural therapist.

Difficulties

During one of his sessions he also discussed the difficulties he'd experienced at school and throughout his life, including his poor co-ordination. That's when the therapist suggested Roy's problem could be dyspraxia.  It was the first time Roy had heard of the condition, but after searching the Internet for more information there was no doubt in his mind that he had it.

Dyspraxia is an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement, which results in messages sent from the brain not being properly or fully transmitted to the body. 

Once known as Clumsy Child Syndrome, dyspraxia affects co-ordination and causes problems with language, perception and thought. The condition doesn't change how intelligent someone is but it does affect their learning ability.

During his search for more information Roy found out about the Developmental Adult Neuro-Diversity Association, a support group for people with dyspraxia and other related conditions.

The association put him in touch with Sheena Wannan from Edinburgh, who runs the support group, Scottish Dyspraxion.

Like Roy, Sheena discovered she had dyspraxia when she was an adult.

Children who show signs are referred to a psychologist, physiotherapist or speech therapist for diagnosis, but there is no current diagnosis available on the NHS for adults.

So Roy went to a private clinic, The Institute for Neuro­ Physiological Psychology, which was located in South Queensferry at the time. He had to carry out various activities there, such as balancing and crawling. His performance in these tasks was monitored using specialist computer software, which doctors analysed before diagnosing him with dyspraxia.

The diagnosis meant a great deal to Roy because it gave him an explanation for the difficulties he'd experienced throughout his life.

"I was glad to find out I wasn't alone," he says. “But I was also frustrated because I wasn't aware of it sooner.  If I had been I could have saved myself a lot of humiliation and grief."

Roy's diagnosis meant he could explain his condition to his employers so they could understand why he would struggle in some areas or situations.

He now works as a support worker for Key Housing, a housing association for. people with learning difficulties, and says his diagnosis has allowed him to feel less pressured to do tasks he knows he can't carry out.

"Nowadays, I know to say no when someone asks me to do a physical task I know I'm not up to," he explains.  "I'll never put myself through the    humiliation of trying to do something 1 clearly can't do."

He's also found martial art Tai Chi to be extremely "calming and says it helps him cope with the anxiety that accompanies his condition.

What's more, Roy's girlfriend Emma (38) gave birth to the couple's first child, Peter, last February, which has provided him with an entirely new set of challenges.

"I was terrified when I found out I was' going to be a father," he reveals.  “I started to worry about ­the responsibility of  looking after a child and whether or  not I'd be  up to the task. "However when Peter arrived, I had no time to dwell on my fears and just got on with it."

 Roy now finds his days and nights filled with parental duties and says he checks things over and over again to make sure he hasn't made any mistakes, such as forgetting to clean his son's, bottles.

He says he'd love to find a ' cure for his dyspraxia, but remains sceptical about any treatment on offer. "If research showed significant improvements could be made I'd consider going for treatment, but I'm not convinced by it at the moment," he says.

Problems

"Dyspraxia has caused problems throughout my life so it isn't something I'd choose to live with if I could avoid it."

 In the meantime, Roy and Sheena are trying to get charity status for Scottish Dyspraxion and plan to lobby the Government to have the NHS provide diagnosis for adults with the condition. "We want to raise awareness so adults like ourselves will be able to recognise some of the symptoms," he says.  "We also plan to have guidelines put in place by employers to accommodate any of their employees who have the condition."

One of the most important things needed is the availability of diagnosis on the NHS for adults.  "People need the validity of a diagnosis if they want to make changes in their lives."