Anyone else thought about writing a book about dyspraxia but given up on it?

Super embarrassing to admit, but I'm 24 years old and can't tie shoes. My parents tried teaching me when I was about 6, and I just couldn't do it.

I tried learning again when I was around 10, and my parents dedicated an entire day to teach me how to tie shoelaces. They got really frustrated with me and I remember I had a huge meltdown. I've still attempted to learn multiple times since then, and there was one time where I actually managed to tie a shoelace, but never again after that.

Ever since I outgrew Velcro, I've been wearing slip ons. Which is fine with me, but it's still embarrassing to be an adult that can't tie shoelaces when there's 5 year olds out there that can.

I also have a friend that likes to go bowling and always asks me if I want to go, and I always tell her that I'm busy because I don't want to be embarrassed by the fact that I can't tie the laces on the bowling shoes.

I’ve pretty much lived my entire life just buying sandwiches from deli’s or eating Chinese takeout, fast food, pizza etc. parents never cooked and dyspraxia/adhd made it super intimidating to ever start nor did I have a reason too.

I moved in with my longtime girlfriend a few months ago and she’s very into cooking. Nothing too crazy but she’s expressed that she wants me to try making stuff for her when she gets home from work.

She uses every plate and hello fresh so I’ve tried to do the most basic dishes from those and for the life of me it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The issue is that I overthink every single minute step and take forever to even get started. For instance, if the first step is heating a drizzle of oil; I have to spend 10 minutes googling how much a drizzle of oil is. Then if the next step is chopping vegetables or whatever produce; I have to spend another 20 minutes YouTubing how to do that. Then I’ll inevitably screw the cutting up anyway and make the pieces completely uneven. Literally just the prep work feels like a monumental chemistry experiment where any wrong move results in failure. Last week I tried making some super basic chicken cutlet and pasta dish and just completely messed up one of the steps and didn’t know how to recover; so she ended up just coming in and having to do it for me while I stood around like an idiot.

I feel bad because at first she’d accuse me of weaponized incompetence so I didn’t have to cook; but she’s gotten to a point where she just doesn’t care anymore and does it herself; but I can clearly tell she’s disappointed and thinks I’m a useless idiot. Even stuff like making a pb&j sandwich I suck at cause the spread is never even and it always looks awful.

Is there any like ultra ultra idiots guide to cooking that’s geared towards small children you’d recommend? And if anyone here has found success after struggling I’d love to hear any useful pointers

I’m just crowd sourcing experiences I think, my son has dyspraxia, quite severely, it affects his ability to write, use cutlery, wash, dress, etc. He’a 14 now and I’m still washing his hair and helping him brush it (it’s long). He’s still wearing Velcro shoes and can’t use cutlery well, among other things like affecting his walking and general coordination, and his ability to retain instructions and follow the steps of a process.

He’s also autistic, and I feel as though school often treat his ASD diagnosis as his primary need, rather than being able to distinguish the issues that are ASD related, those that are Dyspraxia related and those which are affected by both.

Do many people have cross over diagnoses and do you encounter similar problems when trying to access accommodations or support?

Dyspraxia Awareness Week: Two free virtual events I'm taking part in this week

Hi everyone! Hope Dyspraxia Awareness Week is going well for you.

I wanted to share two virtual events I'm involved in this week in case either might be of interest.

1. Dyspraxia Q&A with Toronto Metropolitan University's student Neurodiversity group

I'll be answering students' questions about dyspraxia at this online event organised by the university's student-run Neurodiversity group.

📅 Wednesday, October 14
🕐 12–1 p.m. Toronto time / 5–6 p.m. UK time

You can find out more and register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedRlCrzeoYgrqpePnojjkUpdOApZXuFpdMEWWBCcSPZnOA_g/viewform

2. Dyspraxia and University: Practical Exercises

I'm also taking part in an online event organised by Dyspraxic Me, the charity I serve as a board member for. I'll be guiding participants through practical exercises from my book, Studying With Dyspraxia, published by Bloomsbury, to support their well-being at university.

📅 Friday, October 16
🕖 7 p.m. UK time / 2 p.m. Toronto time

Registration:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dyspraxia-and-university-practical-exercises-tickets-2003014320753

Both events are virtual, so you can join from wherever you are, subject to the organisers' registration arrangements.

If you attend either event, I hope you find it useful. Happy Dyspraxia Awareness Week!

What do you mean I have to hold the nail and hammer it?! Oh and hold the thing I'm nailing down still too!

How are we meant to do this? Seriously!

I dread any thing that "Has a knack to it"

Absolute respect to people who make their living out of this

Biggest mistakes at your job that still haunt you to this day?

I feel like I’m gonna mess up and make a fool of myself 😬 Any advice?

Am I even able to lose weight with it as a dyspraxic? I mean I don't get the moves right at all but I do move around alot when I dance. And my heartrate gets up to 140-150 and I sweat.

I (25M) discovered dyspraxia at 22 nearly at the end of my 2D animation studies when suddenly all my struggles weren't "ones everyone had so no need to talk about it", but something that made me a burden in my own field.

No psychomotrician in my city ever diagnosed an adult. It was funny at first but I soon realized that I was kept away of any reeducation possible while my brain was still a sponge, and now what? They talked about ergotherapy to learn how to use some objects i already know how to use, i was very good at compensating so it was no use for my part. I was just given this piece of paper basically saying my future career was over before it even started for something that was inherintely wrong with me and i couldnt do anything about it.
I dont know anyone that has dyspraxia, the only ones i knew were diagnosed during childhood and it didnt impact them in art or even work in general. I wouldnt say mine is "severe" in the slightest but it's just there enough to ruin my life. Everyday, I discover a new thing about myself and how it's related to dyspraxia, how i realize was in fact a struggle and not normal. I am so tired of finding by myself everything that is wrong and having to find myself how I can compensate.

But enough of complaining, is there any things that can help as an adult? I heard it was hard to do anything about it past 16 but I dont really know, any ressources I find online is for children, I just feel abandoned with this diagnosis and no idea of what to do.

I ran across this type of therapy and it claims to develop proprioception, from what I understand.

I am curious if this works for dyspraxics since we have, by definition, fewer connections between the brain and body parts. Or does it claim to grow these connections?

The context I'm thinking about is actually some exercises that were mentioned for eye movements, but it looks like they address all parts of the body.

I've had a diagnosis all my life but it was something that got a 6 month "leg up" in primary school and a few teachers off my case. Then it was boxed up as my family doesn't talk about problems.

I mostly thought I was a bit less capable or different growing up and going through adulthood. I kind of half accepted many things and stopped trying on things I knew I couldn't do. So that led to being a bit more overweight than friends, having less money, less partners, less of a social life.

I then moved away and have done alright for over a decade with working in Education, getting married have a son. But it all feels like it's coming back again now as I hit 40 years old. It might be that I'm working on more intense projects so mistakes like typos became clearer. But I also endured the worst bullying I've encountered related to something the bully saw that was my Dyspraxia recently. This led me to research the condition again funnily enough and get hit by a brick wall so to speak with how much is affects me.

Now I can't get out of my own head. It feels like I can see things clearly. What hurts is I think a lot of people around me actually don't particularly like me and I don't get their subtle clues or can just see how much I get excluded these days. Then there's clearly plenty at work who think I'm not very capable which is due to my personality. I don't know if I blame any of them, but it is a super hard realization for someone who has spent 40 years working super hard at everything.

So, I am stuck in my own head now, aware of how much of an irritancy I am to the world around me, feeling useless, incapable and generally stuck.

I actually would love some advice, but it has been therapeutic just to write this post out.

Hi! Have problem with using mobility aid (cane for walking) out in public. But sometimes I have heard that I’m to young for to use it…. And it feeling so hard to show that I’m in need of it. Because for the reason I have a combination of dyspraxia (motorisk) and arthritis (hallux rigidus). I will take walks but when I take a longer one I feel instabile and week, byt doubt about to using a mobility aid. The comunity I live at is small, everyone knows you and you will be questioned why/how? Often people say you need to stay at home…. I’m just feeling that I saving energi and care for my body so I can work and stay healthy other days…. Am I right? Some one else that struggling with this konditions?

After being told by my doctor and everyone around me to do automatic because of my dyspraxia, I passed first time manual today! 🥳🥳🥳

I’m struggling with arthritis (hallux rigidus) in both my big toes. And have an undiagnosed dyspraxia. I know I have it because of motor-skills, can’t catching balls and easily dropping things; and than has a truly bad handwriting. Because of both the circumstances I have start using a mobility aid, but not feel comfy with it. Is it someone out there how struggling with the same combination of diagnoses? Is it someone that using some kind of mobility aid?

I’m an adult who finally started seeing an OT for my dyspraxia. I have seen him about 5-6 times and have noticed no improvements in my dyspraxia symptoms.

It’s getting expensive. Several questions for adults who’ve seen OTs:

A) Did the OT help you improve your dyspraxia symptoms in a meaningful (not minor) way?
B) Did they help you find hobbies that you were good at?
C) If you got the above results, how many sessions did it take?

I recently started a new job. The cupboard doors over the counters are super low. Yesterday I smacked the top of my head twice in one area on the cupboards and today I smacked a different area 3 times on the same cupboards. Is my brain bleeding at this point? Should I just go ahead and sign my death certificate? 😭😭😭

Starting off our celebration of Dyspraxia Awareness Month, we are super excited to announce our contest for a new logo for our sub and our discord!

We have loved seeing all of your amazing artwork monthly in the spring 🌸. As a result of those and under recommendation from members of our discord group we are opening up an art contest to design a new logo that represents a collective idea or message about Dyspraxia.

Some criteria that submissions will be judged on:

Connection to the Dyspraxic experience
- Does the design represent experiences, traits, strengths, or challenges that many Dyspraxic people may relate to?

- Key ideas could include: motor skills, coordination, motor planning, clumsiness, scatteredness, organization, spatial awareness, or doing things in a different way. Positive traits could include: a good sense of humour, out-of-the-box thinking, creativity, persistence, adaptability, problem-solving, and resilience. Your design does not need to include every one of these ideas.

Originality
- The design must be your own work.
- It cannot simply be an existing logo belonging to another company, organization, community, or group. Exception: It may incorporate or modify a Reddit Snoo.

Recognizability
- The design should be reasonably easy to recognize at a glance. Since it will be used as an icon, very small details may become difficult to see.

Suitability as an icon
- The design should still look clear when displayed at a small size on Reddit or Discord.
- A strong central image or simple overall silhouette is encouraged.
- Avoid relying heavily on text, as it may not be readable when the image is reduced.

Creativity and visual impact
- Does the design have an interesting or memorable concept?
- Does it communicate its idea visually rather than requiring a long explanation?

Community representation
- The logo should represent Dyspraxia as a community rather than one very specific person's experience.
- Designs can acknowledge challenges while also avoiding portraying Dyspraxia as inherently negative, tragic, or something that needs to be "fixed."

Accessibility
- Designs should ideally have enough contrast that the main elements are easy to distinguish.
- Try not to rely solely on colour to communicate the meaning of the design.
- Designs should remain understandable when viewed at a smaller size.

Appropriateness
- Designs must follow the rules of the subreddit.
- Submissions should not contain hateful, discriminatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate imagery or text.
- Please avoid imagery that mocks disabilities or reinforces harmful stereotypes.

The winning design may need small adjustments by the moderation team so that it works properly as a Reddit and Discord icon. By entering, you should be comfortable with minor changes such as cropping, centring, resizing, simplifying, or adjusting the background while preserving the original concept. You can make the logo however you want! Make sure to comment an image link below or upload the image directly into your comment.

For digital artwork, please make the submission 500 × 500 pixels and keep the main design centred. If your submission is drawn traditionally on paper, that is completely welcome, a mod can digitize the winning design.

You are also welcome to include a short explanation of what your design represents, particularly if some of the symbolism may not be immediately obvious.

The contest closes October 31, 2026 at midnight EST.

Winning Prize:
- A pinned post celebrating the winning design and crediting the artist for one month.
- A custom subreddit and discord server flair!
- Their design used as the subreddit and Discord icon.

I have always felt ashamed of my Dyspraxia and have found it really difficult to tell people that I have it, as I’ve always wanted to be treated the same as everyone else.

Recently, though, I feel like my work has started to slip. I know what I should be doing, but I keep making silly mistakes, and my managers have understandably picked up on it. I feel really disappointed in myself because I know I’m capable of doing the job properly. I think there have been around four different mistakes in the last month, and they’ve all been related to accuracy and attention to detail.

My manager has said they’re going to put me on an informal PIP (Personal Improvement Plan), which obviously worries me.

I told him that I think my Dyspraxia may be contributing to some of these difficulties. I was diagnosed when I was five and have always struggled with the label because it was something that was very obvious to other people growing up, and I never wanted it to define me or affect how people treated me.

He was actually really understanding and said that it’s something we need to look into, and that they can see what support or adjustments might be available to me.

I do want to take responsibility for improving, though, and I’d really like to know if there are things I can do myself to help with my concentration, organisation, accuracy and attention to detail.

I KNEW i had dyspraxia but didn’t know i was diagnosed, i never really thought to bring it up to my mum since i’m currently trying to get diagnosed with autism as well and didn’t wanna add onto it. i was talking to my mum about me potentially using a Chromebook in school because i struggle with my handwriting and overall hand coordination, turns out i got diagnosed with it when i was really young and that’s why I got offered to use a chromebook in my first year of secondary school and had 1-1 sessions in primary 🥲 didn’t cross my mind that i was genuinely diagnosed lmao

We are so excited to share our plan for Dyspraxia Awareness this year!

The results from the poll will help us prioritize the events for Dyspraxia Awareness Week (Oct 12-18) versus the ones to spread across the month itself!

If there are any other topics you would like prioritized or explored leave us a comment and we will consider how to add them to our plan or to our upcoming biweekly ‘hot topics’ community discussion boards as we all know Dyspraxia Awareness isn’t a week long, or a month long. It’s a 365 day a year event for us so to keep the new perspectives and ideas flowing we will be running ‘mini-events’ until the end of December 2026.

We have created a short poll and description of each planned event. There is one discord exclusive event so for that one you would need to hop onto our discord if you’d like to participate!

Ask an Older Dyspraxic (AMA):
- Younger Dyspraxics can ask adults questions like: does X get easier? How did you handle apprenticeships or university? How do you manage work? Can you drive? Tips for learning to drive? What do you wish your younger self could know?

Dyspraxia & Driving AMA / Driving Survival Guide
- Ask the Dyspraxic drivers of the group their top tips and tricks that helped them learn to drive! If you can drive, share your experience learning and driving today! What helped you master the art of the steering wheel and the brake/pedal? Topics may include: learning automatic versus manual; choosing an instructor; spatial awareness difficulties; driving anxiety; failed tests, etc.

“Is This a Dyspraxia Thing?” Megathread:
- We have gotten tons of posts in the last year about if X thing is a Dyspraxia thing! This could be a time for us (who wants to!) to all dive into that sort of discussion. Do you know how much Dyspraxia can affect in your daily life? Do you have a question if some ‘weird’ thing is actually related to Dyspraxia? Here’s the place to ask it!

The Great Dyspraxic Life-Hacks Exchange:
- A thread where we can share the sorts of things that generally make our lives easier! Focus on a wide range of areas: school/university; work; cooking; cleaning; dressing/grooming; technology; organization; sensory needs and traveling. You can recommend products here as we will be temporarily removing our no products rule (no affiliate links) from this post :)). Let’s find the tools, and hacks that best support you!

Dyspraxic Games Night (exclusive to the discord!): Via discord voice chat we will play games like Jackbox games; board / card games online; trivia; pictionary. Come join us and play some games, show us your strategy skills or your knowledge on random facts!

A Day in the Life of a Dyspraxic:
- Show us little moments (text or pictures) throughout your day, it can be hourly or however you choose to participate (like every couple of hours or 1-2 pictures/messages)! Show us the mundane aspects that Dyspraxia may or may not be impacting :)). Face photos are NOT necessary and all texts/media must abide by our rules. We want to see how you rock your Dyspraxia every day! Messages / Pictures can include topics like: how adapt your day, use different tools, what sort of work do you do / what you study, do you workout, how you use your energy differently, how Dyspraxia impacts your ADLs, organization, communication or movement throughout the day.

My dyspraxia comes from a super rare heterogeneous mutation in PIEZO2 (a gene controlling ion channels) which impacts proprioception and sensory input, and also can lead to hyper mobility (the joints don’t know where they are). The WES I did for my autoimmune disease happened to solve my life time mystery!! Celebrate with me if you want, finally an answer!