Wednesday 06-10-2021 - 12:19

We thought for Dyspraxia and Dyslexia Awareness, we talk with students – current and past, to get a better understanding of what their experiences were during their studies and how they found life once they completed their course. The name Gemma Jones was whispered to us as a strong recommendation to interview because of their atypical student journey.

So here’s a little info on Gemma…

Bio:

• Left home at 17 years old and travelled the world for 2 years. She worked in many jobs, ranging from a safari in Zimbabwe to working in McDonald's in Australia. She actually had 11 different jobs over 6 different countries during her time away.
• Studied Outdoor Pursuits Management (Sports Coaching and Business) at Scottish Rural Colleges (SRUC) which then she continued at the University of Glasgow.
• During her time at SRUC, she was elected 4 years in a row by students to represent them as a student officer and then onto NUS Scotland as Vice President.
• Gemma has worked in 28 different jobs, sometimes 3 at the same time whilst studying.
• Achieved a 2:1 BA(Hons) from Glasgow University and SRUC.

 

First things first – what is dyspraxia? Dyspraxia, also known as developmental coordination disorder (DCD), is a disorder that affects movement and coordination. It can affect your coordination skills – such as tasks requiring balance or playing sports.

Gemma's neurodiversity is not just impacted by her dyspraxia but she also has other conditions that can affect her executive function. The executive function area of the brain controls and maintains actions like working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. Having trouble with executive function can make it hard to focus, follow directions, among other things. Due to the combination of conditions - dyslexia and mild ADHD, Gemma does find it difficult to identify where one begins and the other begins, so her experiences are unique. She also noted that she received a diagnosis until she at the beginnging of her studies so during her time as a student it was trial and error in finding what could work to help her manage her studies.

As a Sports Management student, Gemma told us that she found things a little more difficult than most because of her dyspraxia. Things most people take for granted like throwing a ball and catching a ball were affected because of the impact of dyspraxia on her coordination skills. However, where she struggled in one area, Gemma found sports where strength and flexibility were easy to pick up.

Gemma told us of her general positive experiences in college, trying to cope with the barriers she faced and did admit that there were instances of bullying and coming to terms with requiring additional support to get through studies and life was difficult. Nevertheless, Gemma remained positive and since she studied at a smaller institution, she was able to find peer support from others experiencing similar obstacles and the shared experiences helped create a sense of community among the students.

Moving onto university, Gemma’s experiences changed and she felt more barriers were affecting her studies. She found some tutors were not aware of how dyspraxia affected learning and assessments. Time-keeping has been something Gemma has struggled with and she found that while some tutors were patronising and unhelpful, others aided Gemma by reminding her when assignments are due or offered additional flexibility on hand-in dates.

Now that she has completed her degree – you’ll find her living her best life in Germany with her partner. She now has her own business and a keen interest in roller-skating. She is pursuing her goals as a rapid e-learning and graphic designer! A lot of the things Gemma was told would not be possible because of her dyspraxia and other differences that have not slowed her down. She was kind enough to share a few tips and hints students can use to help them cope or maybe find out more about dyspraxia.

 

Gemma’s Tips & Hints:

• Be realistic with your deadlines - accept you will need more time to make deadlines and take into consideration what might cause you to lose focus.
• Dyspraxia glasses not only look cool - they may help with hand-eye coordination.
• Celebrate the small things - they are your wins!
• Having a physical diary might help remind you what is due - as notifications can be switched off on a device. Using tabs to mark important events/appointments is handy too!
• Masking is a term used to describe the actions one takes to attempt to hide illnesses or conditions that can affect how you are perceived by others. It is especially an issue for those who are neuro-divergent. You will find it difficult, to be honest without feeling like you are letting others down. Nevertheless, you can learn to discuss your differences with others and start to feel like you can be yourself around others at your own pace.

 

Follow Gemma Jones on Instagram (@gemjamjones) or check out her awesome shop (@gemdesigns).

Photo by Gemma Jones