Thank Who for shining a light on dyspraxia
Despite being diagnosed with dyspraxia, Aby Watson refused to let it limit her and proved she could become a dancer. Now she wants a theatre company full of performers with neurological disorders
Dancer Aby overcame a debilitating condition to pursue her dream. Now she says the sci-fi show’s character Ryan can help others do the same
Everyone else would pick up the routines without having to think. I had to put in so much effort
ABY Watson’s earliest memories are of her mother pushing back the furniture to disco dance in the living room.
She said: “I remember not being able to sleep and coming downstairs and finding my mum dancing in the living room. For me, dance has always been about expression, connection with music, joy and togetherness.”
It’s not surprising that Aby made it her life goal to become a professional dancer but it wasn’t necessarily going to be a predictable path, given she has the neurological condition of dyspraxia.
Barriers of ignorance around dyspraxia are being broken down and a lead character with the condition in the new Doctor Who series can only help.
Once defined as “clumsy child syndrome”, dyspraxia affects the planning of movements and co-ordination as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body.
Many may experience difficulties with organisational skills, memory, processing speed, perception and, in some cases, speech but it doesn’t impact on intelligence.
Aby describes it, as “dyslexia of the body”.
But her family wasn’t aware of her condition as a child. When she fell over, her mother would just pick her up and smile.
Just as dyslexia didn’t hold back talented writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, dyspraxia certainly didn’t constrain Aby, who has just finished a twonight run of her one-woman dance show as part of the Tramway Theatre’s Unlimited Festival.
Like all neurological disorders, dyspraxia manifests
uniquely in those who have it. In Doctor Who, Ryan, played by Tosin Cole, is seen struggling to learn to ride a bike and he never does master it, although he is good at fighting aliens.
Aby said: “It is brilliant. This character is making dyspraxia visible on a platform that is viewed by millions. He is also strong and charismatic, smart and intelligent. I feel like they are showing the condition in a way that dyspraxia people would be happy with.”
Aby excelled at school by using lateral thinking and smart tools, such as creating her own hieroglyphs to memorise language.
And like many of those with the condition, she also has dyslexia, although still got an A pass in English.
She said: “The way I approach things can be innovative. The thing about creativity is thinking outside the box and, with dyspraxia, I naturally think like that.”
It is estimated about six per cent of people have dyspraxia, roughly one child in every classroom on average.
The 27-year-old was diagnosed after she struggled learning dance choreography.
She said: “Everyone else would pick up the routines without having to think about it. I would have to put in so much more effort, drilling it into my head.”
Yet Aby won a place on the Contemporary Performance Programme at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
She is currently doing a PhD on dance and dyspraxia and hopes one day to be part of a theatre company of performers with neurological disorders.
She said: “People with disabilities are seen in the mainstream as being a problem. I think we should think about the person and the potential they have, because of their impairment not in spite of it.”
In the past, Aby pretended she didn’t have a disability, which added to her anxiety.
She said: “I was fearful of doing something wrong. Now I reject that and say I am who I am. I will never be a ballet dancer but that’s OK. I am a dancer and I am good at it.”