A Child’s Perspective: Living With Dyspraxia and Invisible Disabilities

This collection of posts (below) are my son’s original thoughts and insights of living in his world of invisible disabilities. They provide a rare glimpse and offer a unique voice, and outlook of a child’s life with dyspraxia (DCD), dyscalculia, dyslexia, complex motor stereotypies (CMS), intense imagery movements (IIM), and more. They are taken from conversations my son and I have had over the years. This is his way of helping.

Why We All Need Some Kiids’ Perspectives

My son has always been the kindest and most empathetic goofball you’ll ever encounter, and at the same time, so articulate and expressive with his words, his play, his emotions and his ideas when pressed for them. Growing up, he loved talking to adults who obliged him, and engaged with whichever stranger would give him the time and space - undeterred by their age or their station in life. It was at the young age of 5 (maybe as early as 4), I would often ask him what he was thinking about when immersed in (what I later learned) his IIM (Intense Imagery Movement). With his words, he would paint me these very full, amazingly complete and vividly detailed scenarios of what was playing in his mind. These talks helped me understand that it was an intensely beautiful world that was fully immersive - if he chose. More importantly, these conversations showed me that he wasn’t trying to escape into this world, but rather was too young to learn to control and utilize this gift, this immersive perspective (see CMS and IIM Section for more). The combined ability to visualize through his IIM and the ease he has to express and encapsulate his thoughts, really helped me see his world and what it is like for him living with his neurodivergent condtions and appreciate them. It helped me appreciate him - all of him.