Wednesday 15 October 2014

Ask a Dyspraxic: Daily LIfe and memory/organisation

Thank you so so much for all your views and comments of my previous blog for Dyspraxia Awareness week on confidence and self esteem. Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to the Houses of Parliamemt where I saw inspirational speeches especially by MP Emma Lewell Buck she even said said she was proud of me which meant so much. In her speech she talked about quirkiness and what a valuable thing it is to she celebrated. It was such a good evening too celebrate a charity so close to my heart. I also enjoyed meeting up with good friend Kerry Pace. I've decided to do do blogs in one as I was exhausted from all the travelling done yesterday both blogs seem to coincide with each other.  Organisation and memory has been the bane of mine, my boyfriend's and my families lives for as long as I can remember. It's probably one of the things which I've struggled with the most whether it be organisaing myself, my body in relation to space or my day to day life. I've been incredibly lucky to have such an important network of people around me my mum has helped me out so much and got me out of so many pickles over the years.  Her anxiety levels of nearly going through red lights or me nearly missing trains. On a personal level my organisation and memory has definitely had a huge impact on my anxiety often feeling anxious way before leaving the house due to having forgotten somethung or not being able to find something. I describe the feeling of disorganisation as spaghetti head or chaos this can lead to anxiety and panic attacks and have a detrimental effect on my emotional wellbeing so I hope some of these questions can help yourself, a family member or a friend. Even if you aren't dyspraxic.

1. Do you have any tips on organising yourself for work/ school/ college?
  • I try to make my lunch the night before and have my bag packed so it's all good to grab.
  • I write lists of the things I might need for the day on a whiteboard opposite my bed so it's the first thing I look at when I wake up so I know where to look and can mentally check them off.
  • I make sure I put my Oyster card in the same place
  • I make people around me aware if I need something important to be reminded about.

2 how do you deal with chaos? 
  • Breathe
  • Try and work out why chaos has happened and what you could do differently.
  • Find something positive to do to build your confidence back up later
  • Sleep- it often takes dyspraxic people 10x more effort to carry out simple day to day tasks to a high standard this can be very tiring, make sure you get enough sleep.
  • Spend time with a pet/take a dog for a walk
  • Have a hug never underestimate the power of a hug
  • Tomorrow is another day

3. How do you deal with sensory overload when in crowds/busy places

  • Choose your time to go
  • Listen to music to block out the noise of busy crowds
  • Plan journeys in good time
  • Have a copy of your journey saved on your phone.
  • Make people you're close with aware of these needs.
4. How do you not loose things?

  • Have specific places for things like phone purse etc
  • Have special places in a bag/handbag to keep certain things
  • Don't overload bags with things you don't need.

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