I first realized I had dyspraxia in 2006 when I was diagnosed whilst studying Psychology in Edinburgh. I was having problems with working in a group and public speaking and was experiencing anxiety because of it and had to see a counsellor and then an educational psychologist who diagnosed me with dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia. Although it was a shock at first it actually made sense when I thought about the problems I had in school with teachers and other pupils with bullying and negative comments about what I said because I took everything literally. I had problems with getting homework in on time and doing assignments as my organisational skills were affected and I just completely zoned out in maths class as it started getting out of my depth which I realize now was dyscalculia, which affects numbers and how you process them. I liked basketball and swimming in PE but the school I went to was big on team sports, so we were forced to play touchdown rugby, which was a nightmare for me because my co-ordination skills weren’t good and I didn’t tend to get picked for teams. This affected my confidence massively and the bullying got worse. I left school at 16 without many qualifications and was depressed for a while , which affected jobs I had and my ability to keep them. I eventually took some highers and intermediate qualifications at college, which I passed so I was able to do the psychology course and get the diagnoses that I needed.
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