Join us for our 30th year Anniversary Conference/AGM on the 23rd of June in London. There will be dedicated workshops for Youth again this year and with the Spring time special offer you can come for FREE. Just sign up to join the Foundation as a Member and if you are within the first 25 entrance to this event is Free!
Follow this link for more information to the days agenda and the other link to how you can go about and join the Foundation, which means not only supporting this charity but a number of member perks.
The Dyspraxia Foundation is proud to be supporting Safer Internet Day (SID) 2018!
The Internet is a wonderful resource, it contains lots of information that is helping millions of people on a daily basis, but it is often a scary place where misinformation, online chats and discussions can create lots of doubt.
Safer Internet Day encourages us all, young and old, to think about how we use the Internet, and how we can make it a safer place for everyone who uses it.
The Dyspraxia Foundation are sharing our guidelines which you are free to download below, these include our guide to staying safe online and a guide on how to deal with bullying.
Join in the global conversation on SocialMedia with #SID18 #ItStartsWithUs and get involved on our own social media pages!
An Oxford graduate who only discovered she had dyslexia and dyspraxia when she started studying Ancient Greek and Latin at university has made a film about being diagnosed with learning difficulties as an adult.
Kaiya Stone, 24, has used animation to bring to life drawings of how she sees words and the world for the short Everything is Going to be K.O.
Directed by King ADZ and produced by Legendary Offspring, the film features a stand-up performance from Stone who shares stories from her childhood including hiding from teachers in the school toilets.
Digital arts company Canvas commissioned the short for its YouTube channel, which is funded by Arts Council England to try and get more young people into the arts.
She has also written, produced and will appear in a stage show with the same title at Theatre Royal Stratford East between January 18 and 20.
Stone said: “I was diagnosed when I was 19-years-old and that’s very different from being diagnosed as a child. I was trying to grapple with the all the information and that’s when I started writing the show.
“Having learning difficulties does not make you stupid. It’s not a lack of intelligence or ability, but it can stop you from fulfilling your potential. I feel I could have done better at school.”
Stone achieved 8 A*s at GCSE, 3 As at A-Level and graduated with a 2:1 degree in classics. She believes she had to work harder than other people to do well academically and could have benefited from being diagnosed earlier.
Dyslexia can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling and up to one in ten people may be affected to some degree, according to the NHS. Dyspraxia is a relatively common disorder affecting motor coordination and can also affect speech.
Stone, a performer and theatre producer, also believes she suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) although she has not been clinically diagnosed with it.
She said: “I prefer the term neurodiversity to learning difficulties. There are advantages. I’m a very visual thinker and that can help creatively. Some architects and engineers with learning difficulties find it helps them visualise a building or something mechanical.”
Student Ryan Dowling Cashman explains the background to the Podcasts he created on Dyspraxia as part of his studies.
Often when I told people I had dyspraxia they would say you mean dyslexia and wouldn’t know what dyspraxia is.
My name is Ryan Dowling Cashman I diagnosed with Dyspraxia at young age. Growing up with Dyspraxia was hard and Challenging but with great support I made it to my final year at university studying Broadcast Media Production at the University of Sunderland. I came over from Ireland on a Top up degree. This brings to me my final year at Uni, as part of my final year I had to do a dissertation project. My friend John and I decided to work together for it.
We started college at the same time and decided to come to Sunderland for our final year and be roommates. John didn’t understand my disability at first and wanted to learn more about it. We decided to do a podcast on dyspraxia as it was something close to me. I contacted Claire Cripps, Youth Information Officer for the Foundation and she was happy to help she invited me to join the dyspraxia foundation youth group on Facebook.
My thinking was Dyspraxia is a less known disability and it needed more awareness. The angle we took was to educate people who don’t know anything about Dyspraxia and to relate with people who do have it. We decided the best way to do this was to hear people’s experiences and stories on having Dyspraxia, while also having educational and medical professionals share their knowledge.
For me speaking with people who have Dyspraxia was great, I had never got a chance to do this before the podcast. I learned things about Dyspraxia I didn’t know while also being able to relate with other people with the disability. It gave me a better understanding of my disability.
We would like to thank everyone who took part in the podcast with a special thanks to the Dyspraxia Foundation.
To listen to the podcasts, click the player below:
Below you can click on subjects that may be relevant to you for useful information and links to other organisations specialising in the areas. More topics will be added here so keep checking.
See below for an article published in the monthly members update – sent out to all paid members of the charity – about our recent youth event at the Dyspraxia Foundation London Conference. Join today to recieve your monthly newsletter update and more!
Please click on the images below to read them full size.
Hello everyone my name is Daniel Arnold and I’m 25
I got asked to do a write up about myself and my successes with strongman. I was diagnosed with dyspraxia when I was about 5 years old and I have problems with speech, reading and writing, gross motor etc. Through my school life I was bullied and was told I wouldn’t get anywhere in my life by both kids and adults. This wasn’t so much when I was in high school. I did rugby for a few years but because of injuries I had to give it up. I am also in to cars and racing, mainly since the age of 18, I’m in the middle of building my own drag car too.
My life really changed when I was 21, my best friend (Nathan) asked me if I wanted to train with him in the gym, at first I said no. So weeks went past and then he asked me again. This time I said yes, I was 68kg and had never done anything like this before. It was not easy at the start because of my dyspraxia, but he supported me at every step- I found keeping to a healthy diet hard and eating 6-7 times a day was really tough. So when I turned 24 I decided I wanted to have a go at a strength sport, so I tried strongman and found I loved it. I did my first competition with only a few weeks of strongman training under my belt. I came joint 11th, my 2nd competition was Norfolk’s strongest man in novice class, I came 7th out of 15 people. I have just done my 4th competition which was my biggest comp and had some of strongest novices in the UK competing. I came 32nd out of 50+ people.
I often get asked ‘how do I deal with worried/nervous/anxious feelings I get?’ Well I battle with that every day. Some days I want to give up, but then I look back at how far I have come. That gives me the incentive to keep me going. I have awesome friends, family and a great personal trainer (Jenny Todd). They all support me at every step! But my successes are down too being determined. I just wanted to show all the people who said “I wouldn’t get anywhere in my life” That I can do it and I am successful. Over the last year and half I have met loads of awesome people doing strongman who have helped me to achieve my goals. Now you ask what I want from strongman in future, I want to do the under 90kg class and see how far I can go!!
Thanks to all the people who have helped me over the years and to those who tried to hold me back, there’s no stopping me now!
We are delighted to announce that during the upcoming Dyspraxia Foundation London Conference, Saturday 24th June, we will have two full hours of dedicated events just for youth members. If you are aged between 16-25 please join us for an amazing day!
The main conference takes places with speakers from Professor Amanda Kirby, Dr Angela Webb and a very entertaining talk from former young ambassador Liam Plumridge – one of the first young people to appear on national television to talk about Dyspraxia!
Further to this we have a dedicated session just for 16-25 year olds, which includes:
and much more. It’s also the perfect opportunity to meet other members of the Dyspraxia Foundation Youth, network and chat in a safe environment, share experiences and more!
As part of the Youth presentations and workshops being held throughout the day we would like to create something made by you; Dyspraxia Foundation Youth! Its an opportunity to be involved in producing a piece of art work that we can use to raise the profile of dyspraxia and show what Dyspraxia means to you.
We can then share the finished work to raise awareness as part of Dyspraxia Foundations Awareness week and share on Social media.
Working with the support of Olivia Page we have 3 options of what we can look to do on the day please vote for your preferred choice. For those not able to attend the day you will still be able to submit your piece to be added to the final piece.
A group of 4 of students including DF youth Facbook members Gemma Conlin and Anne Perham as well as Nadia Samir Abu Sakran and Natasha Evans at the University of Exeter Penryn Campus, wanted to raise awareness of dyspraxia, dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. Two have dyspraxia and/ or dyslexia and the other two wanted to learn more about what they were. So for the past year, they have been organising a week to offer information and support to people.
The list of events held over the week of the 13th to the 18th February were as follows:
Across the week, there was an exhibition running in conjunction with Humans of Falmouth showcasing the stories and journeys of those with dyspraxia, dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. This was the biggest event and many people visited in person as well as engaging with it online. If you would like to see the stories, they can be found here on the Humans of Falmouth Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/humansoffalmouth/photos/a.811331952329928.1073741828.810973319032458/1092470644216056/?type=3&theater
Other events included, an information fayre held at two of the University Campus alongside the Don’t ‘Disability Society. From this fayre, 3 people inquired about being tested. Dyslexia Cornwall were there to provide more information and Dyslexia Services from their university came to support.
A discourse was held with the Politics Society discussing whether reasonable adjustments are fair to everyone.
A drop in session was held to talk informally about SpLDs and to provide information and support to people. About 6 people come on the day, who plan to get tested (on the exhibition, we printed definitions of dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia and some people came to the drop in session after reading them to gain more information). After the drop in session, Gemma and Anne were interviewed by 2 student journalists about how the week had gone and explain where people could access information and support if they needed it.
Fantastic work and awareness raising!
Are you feeling down? Need someone to talk too? Need advice?
Please call our Dyspraxia Foundation Helpline on 01462 454968 (weekdays 9am – 5pm)
If we are closed, or you prefer to speak to someone else you can speak to the Mind mental health Charity on 0300 123 3393 (weekdays 9am – 6pm)
You can also call Anxiety UK, 08444 775 774 (weekdays 9am – 5.30pm)
If you need to speak to someone out-of-hours the Samaritians are open 24/7. You can contact them on 116 123
Join us for our 30th year Anniversary Conference/AGM on the 23rd of June in London. There will be dedicated workshops for Youth again this year and with the Spring time special offer you can come for FREE. Just sign up to join the Foundation as a Member and if you are within the first 25 entrance to this event is Free!
We are delighted to announce that during the upcoming Dyspraxia Foundation London Conference, Saturday 24th June, we will have two full hours of dedicated events just for youth members. If you are aged between 16-25 please join us for an amazing day!
