Dating someone with dyspraxia

I will say a few things but the main thing is the last section. Also note that these things may not apply to your boyfriend at all, it’s just from my own experience.

I’ve been with my boyfriend for eleven months and he’s told me about a lot of things he deals with, and I super admire him for it. There's so much more going on beneath the parts of him he shows me though. He puts a crazy amount of effort into every bit of himself, how he acts and what he does. I'll never really know what it's like to work so hard and to need to keep track of so many aspects of life, but I try to let him know how much I appreciate his effort and how it shows he cares not just for me but for everyone around him too.

He has gained so much confidence since i’ve met him and that really is a big issue for him. Do you know what the main thing is that people will point out to another person? It’s when they’ve made a mistake. I think a huge part of why he doesn’t believe in himself is because every time he makes a mistake it’s pointed out. And to him it’s another failure and another reminder that he’s not good enough. But when he spends all day trying his hardest and he does it so damn well, nobody points that out to him and he never knows there’s something he can be proud of.

A lot of the time when i’ve pointed out something great that he’s done, he gets surprised because he didn’t even realise he did something. So I guess just try to notice when he’s done something you find to be a display of a good quality you like, and make sure he knows it!

But main thing is that he’s not different. He doesn’t need to be coddled, and I will never treat him differently to any other person. You don’t need an instruction manual for dating your boyfriend (and of course you were not asking for one). The things that I do with him are just naturally part of my life, I don’t think about it all. Him being dyspraxic has nothing to do with it honestly. I love him because he’s him. I’m not dating “someone with dyspraxia”, i’m dating my boyfriend and his needs are specific to him just as mine are specific to me.

/r/dyspraxia Thread