Dyspraxia Awareness Week 2021. Tricks for teens, from teens

This week is Dyspraxia Awareness Week 2021.

This years awareness campaign is themed Primary and Secondary Education.

We are celebrating the week with dyspraxia tips and tricks for teens.

This advice has been shared by teenagers with dyspraxia, their parents and some of the professionals who work with them.

As each person with dyspraxia has a unique profile of strengths and challenges, the strategies that work will vary from individual to individual. We hope you find some new ideas here.

Read these ideas on social skills. See the links below to get help with things like bullying and your emotions.

Social skills

Remember you are a unique individual and you don’t have to do things that make you uncomfortable just to fit in.
Consider a social pastime, like drama that may help with communication, team work and body awareness.
Volunteer with an organisation or activity that interests you, such as a drama group or at your local community centre. Great for learning new skills, making friends and for self-esteem.
Join a club – photography, rambling, computing – something enjoyable where you can have success and be with people who have similar interests.
Rehearse social situations where you might feel uncomfortable. Ask for advice about how to deal with situations from people you know and trust, like your brother, sister or cousins.
People-watch with someone you can trust. Look at their body language and social cues. Discuss them together so that you can interpret situations yourself more easily in the future.
If you feel uncomfortable about something someone says, especially if this is online, let someone that you trust know. This could be a sibling, parent or another adult. Unfortunately some people like to take advantage of others and it’s not always easy to spot their intentions.
Don’t beat yourself up when things go wrong. We all make mistakes and experience disasters.

Useful Links

View a short film about dyspraxia, produced by a young lady called Abi Hocking who has dyspraxia.

Contact your school nurse if you are being bullied. If you are 11-19 years old please use the School Nursing Text Service. Text 07507 331620.

Kooth offers free, anonymous online counselling and a range of other support for children and young people.

Young Minds is for young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health.

If you feel that someone is taking advantage of you online or is asking you to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable you should talk to someone you trust, or contact CEOP.

If you need to talk to someone in confidence contact Childline on 0800 1111.

Join in with the conversation on social media with #dyspraxia21.

This content was originally published by Dyspraxia Foundation – 30th Anniversary | Dyspraxia/DCD Awareness.