Travelling to Florida!

Hi all,

I promised I would give you an insight into my recent trip to Florida to visit with my Grandparents. Normally this should be a completely uneventful occasion, but as anyone with dyspraxia who reads this blog will know, that isn't the case for us!

As always, I was very nervous about the trip. I was concerned with how to get proper transport to the airport, remembering my tickets and how to navigate around the airports! I have come up with a little trick to make sure I don't forget anything, and that is just repetition. I count each pocket of my jeans over and over again - "left pocket wallet, phone, keys, check". "Right pocket MP3 player, tickets, check". I kept checking over and over again until I got to the airport!

After going through curbside check in, I moved fast worrying about how I would find my correct gate. Unfortunately, this lead to me leaving my boarding tickets at the gate... oh no! I was doing so well! Luckily one of the airline employees caught up with me and handed them over!

So, I make it onto the plane. What happens next? I left my phone on the whole time during the flight. I had accidentally forgotten to check my right pocket (seems my system temporarily failed) .

When we finally landed, I used a note I had written on my phone to guide me to the Local Transportation area of the airport. I also showed it to security who guided me to the correct location. I managed to then find a taxi. Instead of trying to explain to the driver where my Grandparents live, I called my Grandfather and let him talk to the driver and guide him in...!

What would I do without my trusty cell phone?!

Look out for my next update on Friday!

Birthdays and moving

Time to update on a few big things happening in my life! The month of July started with a big move for me. Well, not too big - I only moved up one level in my apartment complex but even that brought some challenges with my condition!

Even though the move was small, it required a lot of worrying on my part. I worried about how I would place things and how I would carry things. The anxiety, spatial concerns and depth perception really worried me also.

Luckily, the night before the move I managed to secure some help. I spoke to a person who works in my apartment building and he agreed to help me during the move! For example, while moving the couch, he would come over and slap my left or right hand so I would know which one to use whilst carrying heavy objects. He would also help place my body in the correct direction to spatially get things through the door. Finally, he showed me how to open the door and where I should stand on my balcony.

I am all moved in now!

It was my birthday on 14th July. I had invited all of my friends to join me in a bar to help celebrate. I was very nervous about the day, thinking about whether anyone would even show up or if it would all go wrong! When I arrived, I realized I was the first one there and started to panic. Luckily, my friend Tim arrived quite soon after. He helped me by telling me to stand up and get ready to chat to all the guests who would be arriving. That important social cue helped me interact with all 25 guests who appeared at the party!

Unfortunately, at the end of the party I was very tired and decided to just leave without telling anyone. Evidently I worried a few people by my disappearance! That was definitely a lesson learned that night. I know now that when I want to leave, I should tell each of my guests that I am heading home, and thank them for their company!

Well, every day is a learning day for someone with dyspraxia! I hope to learn all of this by repetition, so hope not to make that mistake again next time!

I'll fill you in on my recent trip to Florida in the next few days. I will explain how I managed to get through the whole journey with minimal upsets!

Thanks for reading.