The Adventures of Dysfunctional Dan

In which I reflect on things... Hello, I hope you are well. October half term has arrived and I'm excited to have my first proper Autumnal holiday in my flat. I often find that the start of the holidays for me are a time I can slow down and reflect on things so that's really what this post is about- abstraction is the "state of being lost in thought" This time last year I had the dreaded Covid a year on I can reflect that it was one of the very worst weeks of my life. It definitely changed me in some ways, not least with the fact I haven't spent a day just sat in my flat since because I can't face that cabin fever ever again. I've also tried to avoid the isolation I left and have reconnected with old friends and regularly attended social events in a way I haven't done many years.  I'm somehow already 25% of the way through my teaching course. Whilst I'm still ultra-cautious about what lies ahead, I'm amazed at just how brilliantly things ha...

In which I have a dyspraxic discussion... Today marks the start of Dyspraxia Awareness Week 2022, a week dedicated to raising awareness of the condition I and millions of others have. Whilst most neurodivergent conditions have an awareness week it feels like this one is especially important. There's still plenty of work to be done but conditions like autism, ADHD and dyslexia are now pretty well known to the general public and even more so to those working in education. But dyspraxia has been somewhat left behind and to many remains an unknown condition.  I've discussed dyspraxia quite a bit here in the past but a quick recap feels important. Dyspraxia has been historically known as 'clumsy child syndrome' though that's not a very useful or accurate name. Essentially it is a condition which affects how a brain processes information and this is often visible in the way it affects both fine motor skills (like using a pen or sewing) and gross motor skills (like catchin...