u/Blackandtan251

At this point it feels functionally impairing. I’ve had 3 dismissals from fast-paced jobs partly because I was too slow/disorganized practically, and in other jobs (like retail) I experienced a lot of criticism/mobbing because coworkers saw me as slow, awkward, absent-minded, or not coordinated enough. I’m currently also on medical leave from a teaching job I held for 6 years because of difficulties with teamwork and work-related functioning.

The kinds of difficulties I mean are things like:

• getting disoriented easily
• struggling with parking/reversing or estimating distances
• coordination problems / feeling physically “out of sync”
• bumping into things frequently
• being unusually slow in fast-paced practical environments
• getting overwhelmed in 3D videogames or spatially busy environments
• failing driving tests multiple times because of spatial/coordination difficulties
• learning some motor skills unusually late (for example, I never properly learned crawl swimming or serving in tennis, and I only learned to tie my shoelaces properly at 23)
• forgetting things constantly and procrastinating excessively
• difficulty mentally organizing space or sequencing actions quickly

I also had a very low visuospatial WAIS-IV score (71) and low working memory (79).

Do people here relate to this kind of profile?

At this point it feels functionally impairing. I’ve had 3 dismissals from fast-paced jobs partly because I was too slow/disorganized practically, and in other jobs (like retail) I experienced a lot of criticism/mobbing because coworkers saw me as slow, awkward, absent-minded, or not coordinated enough. I’m currently also on medical leave from a teaching job I held for 6 years because of difficulties with teamwork and work-related functioning.

The kinds of difficulties I mean are things like:

• getting disoriented easily
• struggling with parking (failed the driving test 6 times because of parking)/reversing or estimating distances
• coordination problems / feeling physically “out of sync”
• bumping into things frequently
• being unusually slow in fast-paced practical environments
• getting overwhelmed in 3D videogames or spatially busy environments
• failing driving tests multiple times because of spatial/coordination difficulties
• learning some motor skills unusually late (for example, I never properly learned crawl swimming or serving in tennis, and I only learned to tie my shoelaces properly at 23)
• forgetting things constantly and procrastinating excessively
• difficulty mentally organizing space or sequencing actions quickly

I also had a very low visuospatial WAIS-IV score (71) and low working memory (79), so I’ve started wondering about possible DCD/dyspraxia overlap too.

Do people here relate to this kind of profile?

I already have an ADHD diagnosis, but I’m curious how much other people with ADHD and/or ASD relate to strong visuospatial/motor difficulties like:

• getting disoriented easily
• struggling with parking/reversing or estimating distances ( i failed driving tests multiple times )
• feeling physically “out of sync” or awkward
• coordination problems in sports. I feel exhausted when practicing sports. i did not even learn how to properly crawl.
• needing excessive conscious effort for practical/manual tasks
• becoming overwhelmed in spatially busy environments or 3D videogames
• difficulty mentally organizing space or tracking multiple moving elements at once
• I learned how to properly do my la es when I was like 24.

In my case this feels pretty significant and lifelong. I also had a very low visuospatial WAIS-IV score (71), which made me wonder whether this is still within the ADHD/ASD spectrum or whether people sometimes discover something like DCD/dyspraxia alongside them.

I’m mainly curious how common/intense this kind of visuospatial profile is among people with ADHD and/or ASD.

I’m an adult starting to seriously suspect dyspraxia/DCD and I’m wondering whether other people relate to this combination of issues.

I’ve had, across my whole life:

• very poor coordination
• awkward gait/posture
• feet turned outward while walking
• difficulty running naturally
• always among the worst in sports/PE
• coming last in races
• getting exhausted very quickly during sports
• fading/exhaustion during physical activity
• feeling physically “out of sync” with other people
• feeling like my body never automatised some movements properly
• difficulty learning motor sequences
• difficulty imitating gestures/movements
• difficulty dancing
• poor body awareness/body positioning
• clumsiness/bumping into things
• awkward movements under pressure
• Learned to do my laces when I was 23. I worked in a designer shop by then and feel like I needed to know how do properly do laces.

Sports-specific:

• terrible at football/soccer touches/control
• couldn’t properly learn tennis serve
• couldn’t properly learn crawl swimming
• team sports always felt unnatural
• sailing competitions were overwhelming and exhausting
• physical multitasking overloads me quickly

Fine motor / handwriting:

• terrible handwriting
• inconsistent letter size/spacing
• writing becomes messy very quickly
• difficulty writing neatly or fast
• graphomotor fatigue
• difficulty reading my own handwriting

Visuospatial:

• poor visuospatial abilities (My Wais IV was horrible here: 71)
• difficulty understanding part-whole relationships
• poor spatial organization.
• I get lost all times.
• difficulty estimating distances
• parking was extremely difficult
• failed driving tests mainly because of parking
• needed many more driving lessons/videos/practice than other people
• difficulty understanding vehicle position in space
• visuospatial tasks become mentally exhausting

Videogames:

• I genuinely like videogames
• but I’m mechanically very bad at them
• Getting lost in differen settlings
• poor timing/reactions/coordination
• difficulty tracking multiple moving things at once

Daily life:

• folding clothes neatly is difficult
• difficult to organize my apartment, work, time....
• manual/practical jobs felt extremely difficult. Im currently teaching.
• coordination-heavy tasks drain me fast
• chronic fatigue from compensating
• people sometimes thought I looked “drunk” or strange while doing manual work because of my coordination style

One thing that confuses people is that verbally/intellectually I function very well, so others assumed I was lazy, anxious, distracted or “not trying.”

But internally it feels more like my body and spatial processing never became automatic in the way it seems to for other people.

Does this resonate with anyone diagnosed with dyspraxia/DCD?

Btw, recently diagnosed with ADHD by 2 separate psychiatrists. A third one is suspecting autism. I also have OCD traits, though.