What is Dyspraxia?
A look into the hidden disability being portrayed in the new season of Doctor Who.
The new series of Doctor Who, which started on the BBC on October 7th, has seen a few changes to the show over its 50 years. Most notably, the Doctor is a woman for the first time, and the show's usual Saturday night viewing slot has been moved to Sunday.
Along with a new Doctor comes new companions, including Ryan, yet another new element to the show, being one of the first characters on a major TV show to have Dyspraxia.
The co-ordination disorder is represented almost immediately in the new season, as the opening scenes show Ryan wobbling across the Peak District on his bike - a struggle familiar to many Dyspraxic people.
Being one of the first main stream representations of the disorder Ryan has received widespread positive reactions from viewers.
Edward Towers, aged 21, was diagnosed with Dyspraxia when he was 18, and said: "I cried before the opening credits had even run, because I recognised the struggle that Ryan was going through. Representation isn't something I'd ever called for before watching Doctor Who, but now I know what it feels like to have someone who I can identify with it's more important."
Edward Towers
Edward Towers
Although easily recognised by those with experience of the condition most viewers will have never heard of Dyspraxia before the latest season of Doctor, so will have no understanding of how it affects people.
The next obvious step is to ask what exactly is Dyspraxia?
The NHS describes it as a physical condition that affects how someone may perform in everyday activities, and may make them appear clumsy.
It affects each area of the body differently, and the infographic below gives some of the examples of this.
To gain a fuller understanding of the condition and the effects it has on those who live with it, we spoke to Katie Lukey, a senior Occupational Therapist at Sheffield Adult Autism and Neurodevelopmental Service (SAANS).
Katie Lukey, Senior occupational therapist at SAANS, with beloved Pomeranian Bailey.
Katie Lukey, Senior occupational therapist at SAANS, with beloved Pomeranian Bailey.
A week before the interview Katie had been at a training week for Dyspraxia, which she laughed was almost like prep for the interview - after refreshing herself with a handout she gave her own definition of the motor neuron condition, So Dyspraxia is part of a group of neurodevelopmental conditions, a large spectrum that includes Dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, executive function problems, autism, Dyscalculia, auditory processing.
"It’s something that has to have been in existence since childhood and can’t be explained by any other cause – not caused by brain injury or traffic accident, brain damage or any other kind of disease. It's something that’s developmental, that is there as the baby or child grows up and is there till adulthood and does go away. "
The topic of Ryan and Doctor Who was almost unavoidable in the conversation - Katie praised the decision to give a character in such a well-known show, as people who had never heard of the condition before were recognising symptoms in themselves. While useful, she also noted there was very little help available for adults with the condition, "It’s interesting because we have a really excellent service for children in Sheffield, I think we probably have the best DCD service in the country. They offer all sorts of wonderful things such as bike riding course,hand writing courses, learning how to cook – lots and lots of sort of therapy I suppose. Whereas for adults I’m afraid it’s much newer, and it’s mainly a diagnostic service – if there’s an identifiable need then support can be offered. For example, with a woman I saw today I am going to go on and look at her major organisation issues, and help her with planning."
Katie also has lots of first hand experience of living with someone with Dyspraxia as her son Tom, aged 17, is Dyspraxic. She laughed at the appropriateness of the fact that she'd come home to Tom covered in blood from slipping when cutting vegetables for dinner - the affect Dyspraxia has on fine motor skills can make this a tricky task.
For people living with Dyspraxia, the condition can affect many elements of their lives on a day to day basis, but Ryan is a positive demonstration to people with Dyspraxia that with a little determination you can still achieve almost anything, despite the struggles.
