Dyspraxic Riders?

Yep! I've never been tested for it though. My brother is severely dyspraxic and I have similar but less trouble with it than he does.
I have real problems telling left from right. I used to cause all sorts of accidents if on my lesson we did group turns across the school and I'd end up bumping headfirst into another horse. Now I ride with one green (left) and one black glove (right). Sneaky :)
I don't think apart from that it affects me too much on horseback. It takes me a bit longer to master some things and I do have a tendency to drift into my own world so I try really hard not to when I ride, but I usually have an odd 30 seconds or so when I realise I've left it too late to give an aid or whatever.
 
here's a good example of my lack of concentration thats caused by dyspraxia (least its my excuse!)!
Before writing my reply I put a bowl of pasta on and a frying pan of sausages.

Well. I've just remembered I put it on, my pasta burnt as I had left it so long the water had boiled dry and I had forgotten to put my sausages on, so they're still frozen.

:( Egg and sausage it is then!
 
I have Dyspraxia too. I also get really confused with my left and right and I find it hard sometimes to fully focus on what I'm doing. Sometimes I need things repeating to me as well if I'm having a lesson or someone is telling me something as I try to do something then lose focus and have to get the person to repeat what they've said. I have autism and some sight problems too but my mare manages just fine with me, we do everything (schooling, jumping, hacking etc) that other people do and she doesn't seem to mind that sometimes I get confused and ride like a total fail :rolleyes::D
 
Oh thank god it's not just me! Thank you for your replies!
In my screening my coordination was highlighted as 'severe' :( which I really wasn't expecting. It might sound a bit OTT but I'm still trying to deal with the idea that I am highly likely to have a learning disability.
The mis-matching gloves idea is great! I don't seem to have problems with my left and right (though I did as a child) - it's one of the things I thankfully don't have a difficulty with.
Have you been able to adapt any of your riding/horse care activities to make things easier? Or in your day-to-day activities? I would love any tips.
How does dyspraxia affect you day-to-day? And if you don't mind me asking, what are your specific symptoms or things that you find difficult? Also, how were you diagnosed or how otherwise did you know that you had it?
So basically, what is your dyspraxia story?
Sorry for all the incessant questions! :o
 
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Puzzles said:
Oh thank god it's not just me! Thank you for your replies!
In my screening my coordination was highlighted as 'severe' :( which I really wasn't expecting. It might sound a bit OTT but I'm still trying to deal with the idea that I am highly likely to have a learning disability.
The mis-matching gloves idea is great! I don't seem to have problems with my left and right (though I did as a child) - it's one of the things I thankfully don't have a difficulty with.
Have you been able to adapt any of your riding/horse care activities to make things easier? Or in your day-to-day activities? I would love any tips.
How does dyspraxia affect you day-to-day? And if you don't mind me asking, what are your specific symptoms or things that you find difficult? Also, how were you diagnosed or how otherwise did you know that you had it?
So basically, what is your dyspraxia story?
Sorry for all the incessant questions! :o
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Have oyu been tested for dyslexia? Often if you have one, you have the other. Please don't fret about it being a learning disability. Most people I know have never heard of it, or think i'm using it as one of those excuses for being a bit forgetful! I'm currently studying a post grad on Equine Science and I've never put it down as a disability although mine is mild. My Brother is severely dyspraxic and as a child was told he would never be able to get a job with it. However he now works as a deputy manager for a swimming pool and is a qualified lifeguard, pool plant operator (imagine being let loose with all those chemicals!)
Using swimming as an example with him, he cannot manage breaststroke or front crawl at all but has a modified doggy paddle which has actually helped him rescue a child that fell in. He can't tie his shoes the normal way but has his own fashion, that i cannot comprehend at all.

With me. Yes i'm clumsy. I can't carry a water bucket without dropping half of it down my leg, but thats the only real horse care issue that affects me. Although I'm ridiculously slow at mucking out.
Away from the yard, hmmm! I can't do jigsaws. I sometimes forget (stupid as it sounds) how to hold a knife and fork resulting in messy eating (doesn't help that i'm left handed and i try to copy who ever's nearest - normally a right hander!) I've never progressed from drawing stick figures. I can't do anything that involves map reading, maths or any sort of hand-eye co-ordination.
I'm older than my brother and I was just told I was "messy, clumsy or deliberately being stupid" until my brother was diagnosed and then my parents did some research and realised that what I had was just over symptoms of it.

This may help http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/
 
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Please remember that a learning disability is just describing that there is a difference between how well you *could* do and how well you *do*--it's just an indication that there is something maybe making it more difficult for you to do as well as you could! It does NOT mean that you are lacking in intelligence!
(now going back to lurker status--good luck!)
 
oh and concentration haha!

I'm always wandering off from a task that i've set myself to start something else. Or forget my food (see above!) my boyfriend'll ask me to clean his work clothes and come home to find that the bathroom is sparkling and then we'll argue about whether that was what he asked me to do or something else.

Facebook is a disaster when I work (as is lurking on here - but thats common! lol!) and if someones talking to me I often zone out.
 
Day to day tips - Have a list of things to do, B's owner used to get really annoyed with me (prior diognosis) as I would just forget to do things and it was ending up dangerous (leaving stables open ect)

Try and get hold of a tangle (or tangle creation) they are brilliant for keeping you grounded

Diognosis, I have always been very very accident prone ever since I could remember, got tested as a child and they said I was clear. Put it down to clumsiness but I found it very hard to stay 'grounded' and it took me ages to 'get' some things. I was still quite bright though and I was constantly in 'top' sets at school and getting good marks. Diognosis came around this year when my little brother (5) also got diagnosed, Mum recognised some of the similar symptoms in me and got be screened again and it came out that I had dyspraxia (only took them 17 years to get it right)
 
Thank you again so much! I don't know anyone who has it and feel a bit in the dark.
I have awful coordination (can't catch a ball, forever dropping and spilling and breaking things - my housemate has even forbidden me from washing up her cups as they mean to much too her) and my handwriting is abysmal - I was told by teachers that I would fail all my exams if I didn't improve it. I do lack concentration and attention and find things like studying and revising really hard (but who doesn't!). As a kid I got my letters back to front, wrote sentences from right to left across the page and have always been ambidextrous.
At uni I did a couple of research studies/research assistant jobs that involved working with orientating objects and making shapes and letters using hand gestures, which I found impossible.
The main issue that's making this difficult to accept is that for my whole life my family have told me off for being stupid, careless, rushing and not concentrating or trying, when all along there was actually an explanation for all of it. I had a very awkward birth (;) start as you mean to go on, right?) and the dr even told my mum to keep an eye on me because I might have some kind of developmental delay or mild brain damage or something (all this I've only just been told). So she knew I was slow to develop at everything and that my lower school teacher thought I was probably be dyslexic or dyspraxic but did nothing about it. Last year I also developed splints and was told not to run again by my dr because he said I seem ro tun awkwardly and my joints can't take it. There are just so many things that make a lot of sense now, in retrospect!
Ma even said that she didn't wasnt me to be labelled - well it would've been preferable to a label of stupid and careless! If I were a confident, happy and problem-free human now then it wouldn't matter, but things have been really difficult and that's why I'm so frustrated.
Sorry to end up ranting, that wasn't my intention...:o
Karran - No I haven't been tested for dyslexia, but I don't think I have it as I have no problems reading and writing (apart from my handwriting of course).

Thank you all again, all your posts are really helpful.
 
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The Jnr size ones are brill for whilst sat in meetings/lectures/ect where as the textured ones are better for during revision breaks

Re the handwriting - Is it possible for you to get hold of some childrens handwriting paper ? It has different lines for different letters, Google could probably explain better. I use this for when I am writing up my notes neat, I put it behind my piece of paper.
 
I am a teacher and have had several dyspraxic/dyslexic pupils. Dyspraxia can be helped by an exercise programme. Google 'Madelaine Portwood' and 'retained reflexes'. MP did a lot of research into dyspraxia and has devised exercises to help to open up new pathways in the brain. 'Retained reflexes' are the reflexes that all babies have in the womb and the first few months of life, which some people do not 'outgrow' (for want of a better word). You may be able to get occupational/physiotherapy on NHS to help, although it is a bit of a postcode lottery.
Good luck!
 
Hi Puzzles. This post has caught my attention because my younger son was diagnosed at 14/15 with the same condition. He is 23 this year. He has always been clumsy, but with regards to schoolwork he had terrible problems with handwriting. Sort of a spidery scrawl. Once you got used to his writing you could fathom it out, the problem was that during school his work was good but taking exams the results were considerably lower than expected. We realised that his regular teachers over a period of time adapted to his handwriting. The examiners though did not. He was losing marks because they could not decipher his answers! Once he was diagnosed the specialist told us this is not a problem, providing he has a "statement" of his condition he can be allowed to work & actually take exams on a word processor (pc which had to be checked as clean for any examinations) He was flying. Apart from this "statement" is following him through life & especially further studies/work.
He achieved 5 A levels, is due to finish Uni this year with a 1st class degree & now going on for a PhD in Forensics & Bio Meds. Whilst I hope this gives you some comfort for your future there is a downside. Every other route that he wanted to take as a Post Grad course is thrown back at him simply because whatever he applies for shows the footprint of "statement" through all his school & university records. What I am trying to say is whilst I understand you need to find ways to help you secure a reasonable future, be careful you do not get a label that will obstruct what you really desire for a happy future. At first we thought the diagnosis was a godsend. Now he finds it a real drawback. So my advice do not let anyone give you a label.
Good Luck
 
Puzzles said:
It might sound a bit OTT but I'm still trying to deal with the idea that I am highly likely to have a learning disability.
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Aww sweetie... It can be a bit of a shock but it certainly does not indicate a 'fault'... My older son had dyspraxia (a range of disabilities due to a health diagnosis) and my younger lad has quite severe dyslexia which he's been able to work with quite competently once he had access to some specialist intervention...

Take a diagnosis and let it access any services that will help you find the techniques to maximise your abilities... But you don't have to label yourself as x or y...

JennieRose said:
Please remember that a learning disability is just describing that there is a difference between how well you *could* do and how well you *do*--it's just an indication that there is something maybe making it more difficult for you to do as well as you could! It does NOT mean that you are lacking in intelligence!
(now going back to lurker status--good luck!)
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In all fairness, when you do de-lurk, you make a very valid point... :)
 
Hi

Fret not firstly. I am severly dyslexic and dyspraxic and at 29 am coping just fine. I did an English degree and have a good job. I also ride. The trick is learning what your tricks are. Everyone has different coping mechanisms - these so called learning difficulties give you strengths as well as the percieved weaknesses.

The truth is your brain is just differently wired to other peoples - scientific study into Dyslexic has actually shown that the dyslexic brain is PHYSICALLY different to the non-dyslexic brain, and dyslexica and dyspraxia often go hand in hand - to me your symptoms also suggest dyslexica (its not just a reading/writing problem - the most common misconception of it).

My story - I was a hideously clumsy child - my parents were visited by social workers because the school/hospital couldn't believe a child could fall out of bed/fall over etc. as often as I was. I also couldn't read - but I fooled everyone by getting my brother to read me the story and then recite it in class. It wasn't until I was 7/8 that it became apparent that whilst I could deciper what was going on and write of a fashion there was something VERY wrong. I was articulate but I would get my words jumbled, I couldn't concentrate, incredibly forgetful and I had starting riding but found it difficult to coordinate myself and not fall off.

I was diagnoised, but that didn't really change anything. I just carried on coping in my own way - because all the 'special help' didn't help. When I got to Uni I met an inspirational PHD student who was assigned as my 'special needs tutor' - he taught me to embrace what is good about my conditions and manage the rest. To me the world is tiring and hard. I have to 'translate' everything - written and spoken - into a format my brain understands and then translate it back.

With regards to my riding. I never 'got' it and could stay on a horse but not ride, until I met an instructor who taught using NLP. We were able to come up with phrases and images that I 'got' and we went from 'oh dear best not canter you may die' in my first lesson with her to being placed in novice dressage within 5 months.

Have hope, find your way, and celebrate being you. I have to say one of the things that annoyed me the most in my life is 'without your conditions you would be X' - you can't cut it out of me, I can't work harder and just get shot of it - I am what I am.

I'd recommend a book called 'The Dyslexic Advantage' to give you an idea of the strengths these conditions can give you, as well as the 'problem' areas.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk.

I too will go back to lurking now.

RB xx
 
So you mean there is a reason why at 38 I can't tell my left from my right without thinking really hard.. In my driving test examiner said turn right I indicated and turned left, I didnt get marked down thankfully
 
M_G said:
So you mean there is a reason why at 38 I can't tell my left from my right without thinking really hard.. In my driving test examiner said turn right I indicated and turned left, I didnt get marked down thankfully
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haha ugh I feel you, Im constantly doing this in my driving lessons.
I've always wondered if I've had something bit "different" about me but I doubt it just probably thick.

But I really do have to think about left and right or circles,opposites/anti clockwise.
Also have trouble pronouncing certain things which limits on my vocal vocab/ how I want to express myself :( and I constantly misplace words with totally unrelated/random words, don't get maths at all and struggle with time.
Phone calls or instructions are horrible because I instantly forget whats just been said to me unless I write it down whilst Im hearing it!
Ridiculously clumsy as well the amount of times I go to pick glasses up or whatever and drop them, fml.

I sound like a right fail but I think its normal? lol
 
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I’m dyspraxic and find it hard with my left & rights :( If I’m riding on a circle I quite often ride one half say from B to E and once at E forget to carry on so I ride round to C. I sometimes take longer than others to pick up what my instructor is saying because I find it hard to take it in and then do it, others will manage to get their arms, legs, hands, feet all in the correct position and get the response whereas it will take me 2 or more attempts to get it. Other than that it doesn’t cause much problem :)
 
I am dyspraxic, but am yet to have the official test. Have been through the screening, though. I'm fine with my left and right, but coordination, clumsiness, concentration. It's nil, as is my memory. The only debilitating thing, I would say, is remembering names and faces. So often people have thought I'm rude, because I haven't said hello, but it's because I forget them - even if I've known them for years, their names are forgotten sometimes if I don't see them for a while!

How do I manage it? Timers. For everything. Lists at work, lists at home. On the computer, I increase the text size, to help with the dyslexic overlaps.

I wouldn't say it's held me back academically, but it has definitely slowed my career progress. I can't listen to instructions for long and when somebody is teaching me, I have to do it myself with them watching and instructing. In the past I've had to keep bugging them to tell me again and sometimes people find this irritating, especially busy scientists! I also can't concentrate in seminars or long meetings. Professionally I find it hard at conferences, because I will start talking and jumble up words. So, I sometimes don't network well.

However, as I've gotten older (and become more aware), I've adapted more and am upfront with people teaching me new things. I haven't yet told my supervisors (PhD) that I'm dyspraxic, partly because they think I'm doing excellent and I don't want them to make allowances - my profession certainly doesn't, whatever crap they might put out there about 'special considerations'. It's also a bit embarrassing. I'm 35 this week and only did the screening a couple of months ago, so I feel a bit silly that it went on for so long.

When riding it affects me in that I bump myself a LOT on hacks. My poor knees take most of them, but my arms, too. It's like a horizontal vertigo. I practically throw myself at trees which border narrow gaps! I think now that this is why I don't get on with sensitive horses - I'm too mobile in my seat and having a rider 'aim' their upper bodies at trees can't be reassuring, lol!

I also used to drop drinks a lot. I haven't done that for years, actually, but I would suddenly 'twitch' and throw the drink! Anybody else ever done that and looked an idiot?

ETA: I was also in and out of casualty as a child. Thankfully I'm old enough that it wasn't picked up by social workers! I forgot to also say that I can't read scientific papers on screen, I can't sit opposite a window and talk to someone (instant migraine - my brain can't deal with the brightness contrast) and I find it difficult to read from white paper. Apparently this is common for dyslexia sufferers and they offer print-outs in pale blue at schools and Uni (as someone else said, they go hand in hand). Another sign I remember is writing being appalling (think spider having a fit) and curving downwards. I had to write on top of a ruler as a kid, or draw pencil lines if the paper wasn't ruled!!
 
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Tinsel Trouble said:
What ever you do, do not use this as a means of 'Labelling' yourself. You are so much more than any diagnosis!

If you have made it this far in life then all you need do is accept you have different methods to do some things and move on.
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Completely agree with this. Don't be too hard on yourself socially, too. I used to get so frustrated with myself in social situations where people would speak to me and I couldn't work out the words, no matter how often they repeated themselves. OK, I still do, a bit, but now I ask them to say it in a different way (which works) and accept that in pubs I sometimes can't work out the conversation (I people watch!) and simply tell people (if they notice) that I just can't hear very well and then explain in more detail outside. Same on the phone, too, but I avoid phones like the plague (I'm a network's worst nightmare, ha!). Just knowing there's a reason is a huge relief!
 
Riverboy said:
dyslexica and dyspraxia often go hand in hand - to me your symptoms also suggest dyslexica (its not just a reading/writing problem - the most common misconception of it).
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Bloody hell. It hadn't even occurred to me as I've always been a fast, enthusiastic reader and good enough speller. However I just looked up dyslexia (I should really know this stuff already:o) and maybe it's one of those situations where you seem to have every condition under the sun, but a fair few of the symptoms are very me: it seems quite similar to dyspraxia? Am feeling even weirder now.

Fransurrey said:
I am dyspraxic, but am yet to have the official test. Have been through the screening, though. I'm fine with my left and right, but coordination, clumsiness, concentration. It's nil, as is my memory.
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That's me! I also have trouble with phones so that I get really anxious when someone rings me as I often can't understand them. I'm not sure if I too do the hand twitching thing when holding things, but I do knock or drop glasses and have no idea how they got there because I didn't even notice doing anything to break them.

I really didn't expect this many responses when I first posted the thread - everyone's being so lovely about it! It's very comforting to read all of your posts about your experiences of dyspraxia. I know I'm probably blowing the whole thing out of proportion and I'm not sure why. There were so many other symptoms associated with dyspraxia that I had no idea had anything to do with it.

Also, I did think that at least people wouldn't look at me and know I am dyspraxic. But what about the next time a friend comments on my clumsiness or makes a comment because I can't seem to understand some instructions. Should I ignore it? Laugh it off? Tell them? It bothers me as there might a bit of a dilemma between letting people carry on thinking I'm daft as a brush or letting them think I'm dyspraxic.
What do you all do?

Should I tell my academic tutor about it? She sometimes asks about my study skills and is the only person working with the uni that I see on a 1-2-1 basis.

Thank you all again so much, it's really appreciated.
 
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try not to get Dyslexia and Dyspraxia mixed up. Dyspraxia is more about your coordination. People 'tend' to have retained reflexes if they have a fast birth, complicated birth or are born by C section and do not go through the natural turning in the birth canal.
A really interesting test that tests for retained reflexes is using a spinny chair, and without going into complicated detail you spin them round on the chair reeaally slowly and if they have a retained relfex they absolutley hate it, if they are a young child they generally cry!
If you would like any advice and strategies then feel free to pm me. I am nearly at the end of my degree studying all of this (supporting learners with additional needs- autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, adhd and more)
 
china said:
A really interesting test that tests for retained reflexes is using a spinny chair, and without going into complicated detail you spin them round on the chair reeaally slowly and if they have a retained relfex they absolutley hate it, if they are a young child they generally cry!
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Where on earth do they use tests like this for some sort of diagnostic criteria?
 
I have something called Irlan Syndrome (also called something else, but I can't remember what!) Which is lnked with dyslexia. Some of the symptoms are the same and the testing is interesting. I have awful hand/eye co-ordination, throw with one hand and catch with the other, can't hold a map in my head at all and am totaly ambidextrous/
The syndrome is to do with brain connections which mean that I have a very narrow focus and without my coloured glasses I see the world in 2D rather than 3D, it was a revelation when I first put themon as I had no idea of the difference!
 
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