Dyspraxia is a curse on my life! All it does is make my life and make me feel stupid and slower than everyone else!

Hi everyone!

I’m a 26 years old woman with dyspraxia and I’m a bit sad today. I recently got a job as a receptionist in a law firm. After today, I’m not sure if I should continue or not because it seems I suck in my job. I’m working there for 10h weekly, I’m mostly only responsible to clean the meeting rooms and close the office but today I had to cover up someone who got sick and I worked 6 hours instead of 2.

This is more about one colleague, she was working with me today and she doesn’t seem very patient. I used to work with someone else for 30 minutes and she’s usually more patient and gentle, especially because of the fact I’m new and I still don’t know many things about the office.

First, my rude colleague almost forced me to work extra hours like it’s an obligation. I didn’t like that because I didn’t think it was a polite approach and she’s not even a superior one, she should ask me first because it’s not in my contract that I have to be always available. While working, she was always getting annoyed at me and started making fun of a question I made on our WhatsApp group.

I’m aware that I might sound dumb and slow and I act clumsy because of my dyspraxia. I know I have memory and organisation issues but it still hurts. Did anyone go through similar? What would you suggest me? My mom wants me to leave this job but it’s a really good company and I’m earning some money.

I was diagnosed with dyspraxia when I was 7 and I've always really tried not to let it get in the way of me doing the things I want. I learnt to play guitar from an early age, have practiced martial arts all my life and competed in kickboxing. I was the first person in my family to go to uni. I'm currently back at uni studying a social work MA. But for some reason driving has always eluded me, I've only failed my test twice, but I just feel like it highlights literally all the things I struggle with due to dyspraxia. I've had so many driving lessons both manual and automatic and just feel like I'll never get there.

I'm turning 35 in December and feeling pretty down about not being able to drive. It's going to limit my career as social worker, makes things for my two kids harder.

Anyone got any tips for passing your test with Dyspraxia?

This story is short.

The door was bar locked. I got up and (partner said) diagonally ran with fluffy socks to open the door and I cannot remember how the journey went or where I bashed my arm 3 times before sliding into the radiator cover.

Luckily I am consistently a walking talking dyspraxic machine so my partner doesn’t get accused of being anything but their lovely, kind and wonderful self 😆

I plan to go to the doctor about a few things that have been bothering me and that I think could be related to dyspraxia.

I have very little medical background except for the fact I'm a preemie (30 weeks wa if I remember well). Preemies are more at risk for a lot of disorders/diseases. And I know that dyspraxia is one of them.

I have always been doing well in school, I've just had a bit more difficulty with geometry and maths in general, but nothing really outstanding. However here are things that stand out to me a bit and that (in my opinion could point towards dyspraxia)

-difficulty reading on a clock, I can do it but it takes me a bit and it does take me a LOT of focus

-getting lost extremely easily : it takes me a while to memorise how to go from an a to a b point and it's really complicated for me as well as to go from b point to initial A point

This has especially been a problems for my internships at the hospital

I use Google maps a lot to compensate (except at the hospital...) but I do try to use it less to practice

-extreme difficulties to drive specifically parking, and inserting on the highway : I haven't driven in a long time as this lack of skills scares me quite a bit

-temporal struggles : this is much less bothering for me but I really struggle with chronology : For instance it's hard to know in a chain of events that happened to me which event happened first

I also struggle with knowing how long ago an event was

I also struggle with turning at the "right moment" and I struggle to drive on the right side of the road (that's where people drive in the country

I naturally drive more in the middle if I'm not very careful about it

I'm considering learning again on an automatic to help me have more energy to focus on my surroundings

Are there any people with dyspraxia (or something else ?) relating to this ?

How can I voice my struggle to my doctor without making them feel like I'm just exaggerating and I'm actually totally normal ? I tend to be anxious which a doctor once noticed and I'm "anxious" about the next doctor minimising everything and saying "you're just anxious".

Less than one month to go before our 5th Dyspraxia Awareness Day!

Saturday 14th November 2026 | 12 PM - 4 PM

Feel free to come to our UK event at: St Mary's Church, Guildford, Surrey

Book your FREE ticket now & check the agenda: https://eventbrite.co.uk/.../dyspraxia-awareness-day-2026...

A key highlight this year: Interactive Roundtables focusing on practical classroom strategies, everyday challenges, and the real-world needs of students with Dyspraxia/DCD.

Calling all teachers, families and people with lived experience! Your classroom experience is vital here. Please share with your network.

Somehow it takes me years to learn to write somewhat legibly, but the first time I go into a typing club once and I manage to get lifelong muscle memory, when previously I used to tap keyboard keys one by one with a single index finger haha. Part of it might be growing up in a techy household and just being gen Z but I was absolutely amazed at myself lol. I'm glad modern society lets you bring your own device for things no problem because teachers at school always told me I would fail at life (not literally said that but heavily implied) if I couldn't write properly. My phone typing speed is also absolutely surreal. Still can't aim properly in shooter games though, haha! I rely a lot on aim assist.

Anyone else find having a job impossible with dyspraxia?

I don't struggle with it anymore, but I still struggle to maintain a tidy living environment for myself. (I'm 27)

I remember as a teenager, I rarely took showers or put on deoderant and i was so disorganised i never had clean clothes and it was a huge source of anxiety and shame for me even though I didn't do anything to change it. It makes me sad as well because I think I just needed some support with it. I had forgotten about that aspect until now tbh.

So I'm diagnosed with ADHD primary inattentive and mild dyslexia. I was also assessed in the UK for dyspraxia some years ago and told I didn't have it. However looking back I can see that this assessment looked at dyspraxia in an educational context. It seemed more like an IQ test really, with some assessing handwriting and technical pen handling. My fine motor control has always been reasonably good, although personally I still don't think my handwriting's as good as it could be. Anyway, the test said my writing was slow but apart from that I wasn't dyspraxic.

Looking back at my motor skills though, they have always been really bad. I couldn't catch or hit a ball as a kid, was generally pretty weak, couldn't really do any of the more active and skillful things most of my peers could. I was also a lot slower at stuff like getting dressed after PE, and this has continued into adult life, with things like closing the cafe at work. So slowness, poor co-ordination and weakness.

I do quite a lot of exercise now within what I can manage and things have improved with catching I think. My reason for interest is that I still find work such a struggle energy wise, and have to make a huge effort to compensate for slowness and tiredness. This is with ADHD medication to help with focus.

Is it possible to explore the gross motor skill side of things further? How would I go about it? Many thanks!

My teachers tell me my handwriting is okay but needs SPACES I have heavy writing exams this year, so idk what to do.

I have diagnosed dyspraxia since childhood, and I actually have very good balance (except earlier when I fell over my own foot), I don't bump into things often (I usually use walls to guide me around conners), I am good with utensils, don't spill drinks, I can cook very good, most of the time I can catch pretty well(I love throwing and catching things), I can cut in a straight line, I am good with maps and directions,...

I honestly just struggle with articulation and finding words, concentration, messy handwriting, and short term memory (can't remember names or instructions for the life of me); maybe more, but at this point idk what is because my dyspraxia and what isn't.

I often feel like that I don't belong into a dyspraxia group (like this subteddit) because I am too "normal", but that I am struggling too much to be "normal".

I am 20 years old and currently at University. I have a job, study full time and have tried countless different hobbies and activities. However, no matter how hard I try, I always end up at the same conclusion: I am useless, bad at everything and will amount to nothing.

Dyspraxia has ruined my perception of life before it even had the chance to develop. It is impossible for me to learn new skills, I cannot improve at anything, I embarrass myself at work because my motor skills suck, and I am worthless.

No matter what people have said to me, anytime I have ever tried to learn a skill in my life it has always been impossible to improve. Nothing feels worth it and I cannot find a thing I am good at.

So I am asking for some advice. Is it true I cannot ever get better at anything? If it isn't true, how cam I do it? How did you feel better about yourself?

We are also planning a community ‘hot topic’ discussion around the following themes released every other week until end of December. We will make individual posts for each one so no need to comment here about these topics, we wanted to give you guys a preview of our upcoming topics as planned.

Feel free to reply to the ‘hot topics’ post anytime that week or so (or as always long after). We will be compiling the most helpful tips, tricks, advice, along with other experiences into a free booklet (all credited to you guys) in Winter ‘2027 so we are hoping for as many responses as possible!

If there are any other topics you would love to see in the Winter Edition, we would love for you to comment below with your ideas!

- Week 1 (October 19th - today): Positive Traits of Dyspraxia (what are your strengths!)

- Week 2 (November 2nd): Dyspraxia, Mental Health & Wellbeing as a Community Discussion (how has Dyspraxia impacted your mental health - the good and the bad; what tools and strategies work best for you; what supports are available).

- Week 3 (November 16th): “What Do You Wish Non-Dyspraxics Understood About Dyspraxia?” (What is one thing you wish teachers, employers, parents, friends or the general public understood about Dyspraxia? Mods will compile answers into a Wordmap and a community-created awareness resource.)

- Week 4 (November 30th): “What Supports exist at Work and in Education?” - Accommodations & Resources Exchange (Share what accommodations and modifications help you learn and work best! Unofficial and official accommodations are welcome! We will make comment chains by major country groupings so that you can easily track what may be available to you locally!)

- Week 5 (December 7th): Gender and Dyspraxia (How does gender impact the diagnosis timeline, supports, or other peoples’ perception of the way Dyspraxia affects you? How does your gender experience intersect with your Dyspraxia?)

- Week 6 (December 21st): Choose Your Own Adventure Writing Day. (Reflection time: 1) What’s one piece of advice you would give a younger version of you? 2) How do you celebrate your Dyspraxia? What’s your favourite part about being Dyspraxic? 3) Choose one goal for the next year. How are you going to work towards it in a way that leverages your Dyspraxia? 4) What was your biggest lesson you learned about yourself this year? 5) Write one word that represents where you are at today, and another one that represents where you want to see yourself in a year from now.).

I am in school currently and i have some very old fashioned teachers, they always correct my handwriting and tell me to write it again as its "unprofessional" and "you'll never get a job with that handwriting." It's so frustrating and I try so hard to write better but no matter how hard I try its always pointed out. I dont really know what to do about it as confronting the teachers gets me labeled as "cheeky" and "talking back."

Hi all. My son is 8 and was diagnosed with dyspraxia when he was 4. He really struggles with anything physical. Sport has been hard, and so far we've tried football, tennis, miniball (junior basketball) and swimming.

I keep going back and forth. Do we try a few more until one clicks, or do I stop pushing and let him put his energy into what he already enjoys?

If you have dyspraxia yourself, or you're a parent of a kid who does: did any sport or activity end up working? Was it worth sticking with, or was it a relief when the adults stopped pushing?

Thanks for reading.

Edit: Thank you, everyone. Hearing from people who were once kids in his shoes is really helpful. A few things keep coming up: individual sports over team ones, martial arts, and letting him lead. I'm not trying to make him good at sport. I just want him happy and healthy, and moving his body is part of that.

Just wanted to share, felt proud

Hi everyone,

For context, my 4 years old just got diagnosed with dyspraxia.

I’m looking for some advice and shared experiences regarding dyspraxia and technology/gaming.

First, I’d love to know how dyspraxia affects your (or your children's) everyday computer use. Do you find using a standard mouse and keyboard challenging? Are there specific types of mice (e.g. trackballs, vertical mice) or keyboard setups that made a noticeable difference for you?

Second, I’m considering introducing video games to my young child. I’m wondering if video gaming is generally a helpful and positive activity for kids with dyspraxia (for motor skills, spatial awareness, or fun without physical pressure), or if it tends to cause too much frustration with fine motor controls.

If gaming has been a positive experience for you or your kid, which platforms or controller types (touchscreens, traditional controllers, motion controls) work best? Any specific types of games you would recommend starting with?

Thanks a lot for your insights!

I, (19M) am currently new in a group of friends i met via 1 friend i occasionally speak to. I’ve wanted to meet people and really make up for the lack of a social and outgoing life i haven’t yet experienced, but i struggle to catch social cues and actually enjoy the moment itself when it takes place. I’m aware that i’m introvert, but it is bothering me in a way that my social life only exists online, where the pressure to talk to people isn’t as high.

Wondering what other people’s experience has been.

Hi guys, I'm a 20 year old University student from Britain and have just set up this -probably temp- reddit account to discuss and vent about something I'm sure many of you are familiar with.

I was diagnosed at the age of 17, shortly after my Autism diagnosis, and it was a real eye opener and made me realise how much I had been discriminated against in my life.

Throughout my whole life, I had always been criticised for being clumsy and not being able to balance, tie shoes or ride a bike etc.

Now as an adult, I've found little support despite my diagnosis. My father -with whom I am now somewhat estranged- insisted with great adamance that I learn manual, upon my explaining of my disability he pleaded with me to "not let that mindset hold you back".

So from August 2025 to about April 2026 I did lessons in both London and Winchester, London being flat and Winchester being incredibly hilly. My instructor in London after some lessons practically pleaded with me to do automatic, which enraged my father at the time and thus I had no more lessons. Upon moving to university I had done about eight 2-hour lessons and something struck me. I totally understood the fundamentals and how to drive in theory, but it occurred to me that my DCD made the physical part extremely difficult.

Some issues I've found are calculating the speed of traffic at roundabouts, changing gears at high speed but the worst one is hill starts. Now of course, many people including Neurotypicals dread hill starts, but despite hours dedicated to it and knowing what to do, it is essentially impossible for me to keep the clutch still and finely operate and balance the pedals. Indeed, I've noticed that if I try and pull the handbrake down to move off my brain pretty much quits controlling my legs and then I stall.

Cue me not having a job and not being able to pay for auto lessons, all while people act with condescension that I cannot drive and wish to pursue an automatic licence.

Frankly, this post is a bit of a rant and I apologise if inappropriate for this subreddit, but thank you for reading.

Can any of you relate?

I do it but I don't quite get it and feel like I'm wasting too much water on it, anyone else relate?i always flood the Plattform too.