Adult Dyspraxia diagnosis

[Noodledoodlefan]

Has anyone been diagnosed with dyspraxia in adulthood ?
What led to you being diagnosed ?
Did the diagnosis help you ?
What form did the testing take ?

Not answering your question at all.
DD was assessed age 15.
She saw an occupational therapist who got her to do various tests such as:

• walking backwards along a line without turning to look
• putting pinboard
• throwing a beanbag at a target
• drawing a line within a maze
• kneeling on all 4s and lifting up left arm and right leg

She assessed not only how well DD did the tasks, but also things like her avoidant strategies such as talking rather than starting tasks.

It has been very helpful as she has a name for her difficulties. We were sent a table with coping strategies, most of which I had put in place for her already, but some were new.

Younger sister also saw an OT around that time and they did similar tests (but for younger age group) so I could see the differing abilities.

putting pins into a pegboard that should say

Thanks Teen.

Your info is very helpful.
I suppose the assessor would also chat about things the person found hard as well as the practical tasks you mention in the test.

I did some online tests and ticked all the boxes more or less.
It has affected my social life and it is always an issue at work. No matter how hard I try I keep making mistakes.
I asked GP for a diagnostic. He said it is a bit pointless as it is more a developmental disorder and it would not change anything for me in term of status.
I feel left on my own with my difficulties

If studying you can ask to be assessed by the Ed psych

My DD was formally diagnosed with dyspraxia last year at the grand old age of 24. Up until five years ago I had never heard of dyspraxia and it was only when one of DD's friends mentioned to her that she thought she had it that I knew anything about it ( friend had been diagnosed in childhood). I did loads of research and became convinced that she had it as she had so many of the signs and symptoms. The thing is, when she was a baby I KNEW that there was something "wrong" with her but was just fobbed off by all the preofessionals despite me being extremely annoying and insisting that she be tested "for something". It was only when DD started uni last year she that she was entitled to a proper assessment by a SEN assessor and it turns out she has dysparaxia and dyslexia. She cried when she got the diagnosis and I felt vindicated as I knew that she "wasn't right". Prior to her going to uni I tried to pay privately for her to be diagnosed but it was nigh on impossible for any of the specialists concerned to help with aseessing an adult; if she had been diagnosed earlier she would have been taught various strategies that would have helped her. I also felt desperately sorry for her as that poor girl had struggled throughout school and with certain aspects of life. Try the Dyspraxia Society as they might have a list of specialists in your area who might be able to help. Good luck

I'm now in my 40s but when I was at university aged 21 I was a paid subject for a PhD student's research project and did a set of tests as part of that - the tests weren't actually for dyspraxia as such but when I'd finished there was some muttered discussion between the people testing me and they said I might want to consider getting a proper dyspraxia assessment as I was very much on the scale they'd expect for a dyspraxic person. I didn't do anything about it.

Twenty years later I was having psychotherapy on the NHS for a mental health condition and during the course of the conversations I had with the psychologist she also asked me if I'd had an assessment because it sounded to her like I certainly could be dyspraxic. She got a colleague with some specialist expertise to come in and have a chat with me and ask some specific questions and her colleague said that she was pretty confident that a full test would result in a diagnosis of dyspraxia but the NHS in my area don't offer that service to adults and I'd need to go private. I asked her if she thought it was worth it and she said that in her view I'd probably be paying hundreds of pounds just to confirm what was already pretty obvious - although I may still get assessed at some point if I ever need an official diagnosis for work (which is possible for reasons I won't bore you with).

Thank for your replies

Polly your experience is very interesting.

I am 51 and have just badly broken my ankle. When I attended the fracture clinic I made a jokey throwaway remark about being clumsy and poorly coordinated. The consultant was deadly serious and said I should have a home assessment. I then blurted out that I think I have dyspraxia. She said it could be investigated.

I certainly tick very many of the boxes for this condition e.g. did not crawl as baby , poor handwriting ,bad at sport , can't dance , accident prone , weak gait.
Not so on things like academic achievement , organisation , memory ,verbal skills all of which I am good at.

I agree with Polly that paying for a private diagnosis would be expensive and probably pointless. If I got one through NHS as part of a mobility assessment I be grateful of course.

I think a lot of dyspraxic adults have become very good at organisation because they're over-compensating for difficulties - ie I know I have to organise and file everything and keep lists and spreadsheets and have a perfect tidy desk because if I didn't, I would just forget where everything was and what I had to do that day. It's a sort of coping strategy we've developed.

I'm also academic, yet an absolute klutz in every respect. It was a standing joke with my friends at university that although I got the top mark of my year for my dissertation, I nearly didn't hand it in because I got lost on the way to the tutor's office (even though I'd been there a dozen times before) and then thought it was locked because I was pushing at the door when it said 'Pull'.

I am still shit at organisation. Just missed something really important!

One of my adult DC has just been diagnosed and when I started reading the dyspraxia foundation website information I realised that I've probably got it too. I'm very clumsy, have terrible handwriting, uncoordinated and have sensory issues with clothes, food and crowded places.

I'm sorry to hear about your ankle, Noodle. I've got my usual bruises from bumping into things but have always avoided any sport or DIY knowing that I will injure myself. Will getting a diagnosis help you with work? If the injury is much worse than it should have been, it may be worth checking for osteoporosis once your ankle has healed.

Three of our kids are firmly diagnosed with dyspraxia. No-one in my family has dyspraxia.

My husband is the most dyspraxic person anyone could ever meet. And I write that as someone who worked as a co-ordinator for the Dspraxia Foundation for a few years and met and talked at length with hundreds of people with dyspraxia and their families.

Several different GPs have all refused to diagnose husband as dyspraxic.

One referred him to an OT who came out to our house, asked him to make a cup of tea and then wrote in her notes he can make tea therefore can't possibly be dyspraxic. (North Yorkshire - maybe they have no training in it here, yet?)

Incidentally, that OT the OP refers to was doing a pretty primitive (ie: rubbish) kind of test that is a blunt instrument when it comes to diagnosis. I'd be annoyed with that, even if my kid did walk away with a diagnosis from it.

I think a lot of dyspraxic adults have become very good at organisation because they're over-compensating for difficulties

This is true. Husband is incredibly disorganised in almost every aspect of life. Even getting in the car to go shopping he will panic, lose his keys/think he's lost his keys, go and look for his keys, etc etc.

At work he is always punctual, dressed for the part, and professional. He is more on top of things than his non dyspraxic colleagues.

Kitty , I do not need a diagnosis for work . I'm not currently in employment.

I also have sensory issues. I hate fabric with a nap e.g. fleecy lining inside sweat shirts. Have to have wooden stick removed from Magnums so I can eat it in a bowl with spoon as nature intended !

Polly . Yes , yes to having a terrible sense of direction. DH is very amused that I can get lost on the way back from loo to our table in a restaurant. I once got hopelessly lost in Clas Olsen shop and had to be escorted out to the pavement so I wasn't late for work.

I am prone to misjudging things and getting bruises even in my own home which should be familiar territory .

I was diagnosed at 18. I was at uni, the previous year at college a teacher (who was dyslexic) said I should get tested. Finally got round to it in uni, I have dyslexia, dyspraxia and visual stress syndrome 🙄woo