THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF DYSPRAXIA | Written by Charis Gambon

I personally felt that the only aspects of Dyspraxia you hear about are the negative aspects and I did not feel that it was a fair portrayal of us as Dyspraxic individuals. I aim to demonstrate the positive aspects of Dyspraxia within this piece to prove that having Dyspraxia is not a bad thing at all. Everyone should be proud of their Dyspraxia as it is what makes them who they are. It is a great thing to be unique and having dyspraxia certainly makes you unique.

I personally feel that my biggest positive that I have due to my dyspraxia is my determination and drive. If you were to ask anybody who knew me what the best aspect of my personality is they always name drive or determination. Being a dyspraxic individual I find certain tasks within normal life incredibly hard but I do not like to quit. I will always persevere and as a result I almost always get to the end successfully in the end. It does not matter if I have to try quite a few times first. Dyspraxia has taught me that you should always get back up again.

Another positive aspect of my dyspraxia is the ability to think outside of the box. Due to being neurodivergent I am always able to come up with new creative and innovative ideas that others have not thought about.

We have now examined a few of the positives believe I gained from my dyspraxia we will now look at what other individuals with dyspraxia believe are their positives. Every person is unique and brilliant and individuals with dyspraxia are no different.

Here are the positives that Rhianne De Brouwer believes she has due to her Dyspraxia. ‘’ I have problems with things other people don't, which can be frustrating, however, the reverse of this is that I am good at solving problems.’’ Rhianne feels that she has used her negative experience of facing problems and turned it into a positive form which is that she is therefore good at solving problems. She also suggests that ‘’I have problems seeing the steps needed to get started on a task, which makes even relatively simple tasks seem nearly impossible. The flip side is that tasks other people see as nearly impossible look no different to everyday tasks. This leads to nothing seeming impossible and a reasonable amount of ambition. (I have completed a triathlon, earned a master's degree, cycled around lake garda).’’ Again, Rhianne has used a negative aspect and turned it into an outstanding positive, being able to earn her masters degree and complete a triathlon are certainly outstanding achievements that she should be proud of. Rhianne then added that ‘’I am yet to find my comfort zone so being outside of it is my norm- this has allowed me to try many different jobs in different countries. I have been a grouse beater in Scotland, an Aupair in Germany, an English teacher in Romania, a caravan cleaner in Italy, a camp counsellor in Thailand and a carer in Sheffield.’’ Rianne has used the fact that she does not have a comfort zone to push herself which has worked out incredibly well for her as a result. She is certainly highlighting that you should never be afraid to try new things.

Eleanor Howes

Eleanor Howes, Chief Executive Officer of Dyspraxia Foundation provided an image with some of the positive aspects she believes come from her Dyspraxia. Here are the words that featured within the image; spontaneous, caring, empathic, think outside of the box, funny, loyal, persistent, courageous, forgiving, good long term memory, intuitive, supportive of others, resourceful, polite, loving, hard worker, enthusiastic, sensitive, creative, lateral thinker, problem solver, artistic, determined, good with animals, generous and inspirational. It is truly outstanding that Eleanor was able to associate so many positive words with her Dyspraxia and highlights that she has a positive relationship with her disability. This positive relationship is certainly something that we all should strive to achieve.

Alice Aggrey-Orleans suggested that ‘’ I am great at problem solving. That is definitely one of my super powers. Finding solutions comes easily to me.’’ The fact that Alice is referring to the aspect as her ‘’super power’’ certainly suggest a positive relationship with her Dyspraxia and highlights that it is something she feels she is outstanding at. She then suggest that ‘’ I have a really strong work ethic which has always been a positive for me in my work life.’’ Again, Alice has used strong positive language when talking about her Dyspraxia and it is great that she has been able to use a positive aspect of her Dyspraxia to help her in her career, it is wonderful when we can identity traits of Dyspraxia that help us in the world. She also suggest that ‘’My driving skills were not very good in the beginning but I persevered and my driving is surprisingly good! What I learned from that was practice makes perfect.’’ Here Alice has taken a negative aspect and turned it into a positive, being able to preserve at something will certainly help in life and it is something that the majority of Dyspraxic individuals are incredibly good at.

Ben Robertson suggested that his Dyspraxia ‘’ made me more certain once I’d learnt a coping method.’’ Ben has become an incredibly certain person about what he wishes to get from life due to the fact that he has learnt coping mechanisms for his negative aspects which is certainly a positive. He also suggested that ‘’ I also think it made me fight harder to get things done because I know it takes longer.’’ Having that sense of fight for something is most certainly a positive because if you are willing to fight you are clearly very passionate about that specific thing. It proves that you care which a great aspect to have in your life. He also commented that ‘’ left and right was always a problem.’’ He did however not let this stop him, he commented that whilst in the army that he would ‘’carry something in my left pocket’’ this use of creative thinking, which is another positive of Dyspraxia, meant that he was able to overcome a negative and turn it into a positive.

Tor Stefan Elion Rotmark commented that ‘’What I like about my dyspraxia is that I feel like I am more understanding about how other people might struggle with things we don’t see.’’ To be able to start by saying what you like about your Dyspraxia demonstrates that he has a positive relationship with his dyspraxia and that he is happy with who he is. Tor also suggest that ‘’ we are the best at encouraging other people that what they do is good enough.’’ I agree with his comment that Dyspraxic individuals are great at encouraging others as
Dyspraxic individuals are empathetic and truly care about others. We also understand what it is to struggle and do not want others to not think they are good enough. Tor also comments that ‘’ I believe that dyspraxia makes me a more humble and understanding person.’’ We are able to see things from a different perspective which means that we can be more understanding to others. Lastly Tor suggest that ‘’whenever I find something that seems to difficult for me to do, I don’t give up. It makes me want to prove to myself that I can do anything!’’ The ability to keep trying even when something seems impossible is such a useful life skill and one that most dyspraxic individuals have experience with.

I hope that my fellow Dyspraxic individuals enjoy reading this piece and the perspective of those who have provided me with their time and experiences. I encourage every Dyspraxic individual who reads this piece to consider what they believe is their positive aspects or traits that they get from their dyspraxia. Viewing your Dyspraxia in that way will help you to begin to have a positive and healthy relationship with your Dyspraxia.