Dear Dyspraxia

This is an open letter from Chessie Renata Hudson to her dyspraxia. Chessie was diagnosed with dyspraxia and autism in 2022, aged 33. Chessie’s pronouns are she/her and you may know her by her former name Francesca Alcock.

She is on X @ChessieRenata and would encourage you to engage in conversation with the great writers there. Chessie’s greatest inspiration is incredible author, woman and human J.K. Rowling, who changed the way she saw the world, for good, starting 25 years ago at Hogwarts, and continues to do so, in so many ways. Check out her writing, such as the thoughts she shared on social contagion on 2 October 2026, and she may change your view, too…

Dear Dyspraxia,

I’ve started the letter that way because it’s a conventional way to start a letter. But also, because I want to tell you that you are dear to me. You are special to me. You are a big part of me.

I know I haven’t always treated you that way, and so I want to begin this letter with an apology. Several, actually:

I’m sorry I blamed you for every single clumsy moment, even when it wasn’t your fault. I’d do it instinctively, like a dog owner blaming their dog for every bad smell. I’m sorry I would get so angry and frustrated with you. That anger was misdirected, and it is now aimed squarely where it belongs; at the ableist expectations and those who mocked or judged us.

I’m sorry for always treating you like you are less important or relevant than autism. I would even celebrate just my autiversary even though it was our anniversary too. This year, I will consciously celebrate my dyspraxiversary. I’ll have two cakes, and one will be specially for you. You deserve it. I just invented a new word specially for you, and you deserve that, too.

Which brings me neatly onto my next point. There isn’t a word because it’s not just me that has overlooked you. The media and society do, too. You’re not spoken about much, nobody is creating television shows with dyspraxic characters, there’s no #ActuallyDyspraxic hashtag on social media, and I just had to invent the word dyspraxiversary because it doesn’t exist.

It’s actually a small miracle we’re celebrating a dyspraxiversary at all. Even the psychological and medical community overlook you. Before my diagnosis, I researched you. Some websites claimed you were your own condition, distinct from autism. Others claimed you were so inherent to autism that you should not be separately diagnosed. I was, naturally, confused. That confusion led me to ask my assessor the question “autism and dyspraxia, or just autism?” And she told me I had both. Yet, had I not asked the question, I’d be sitting here with half a diagnosis. I wouldn’t be writing this article.

While I could fill an entire article with a long list of my autistic role models, there are very few dyspraxic role models, so the list fits neatly into this little paragraph. I am grateful for each and every single one of them for the visibility and awareness of you they provide. The celebrities: Millie Mackintosh, Daniel Radcliffe, Christine McGuinness, Cara Delevingne, Holly Smale, Elle McNicoll, Harriet Kemsley and Florence Welch. And the cartoon character: Clumsy the Smurf.

I’ve actually adopted Clumsy the Smurf as a visual representation of you in my mind. It’s hard to be mean to a cute little blue Smurf who is just doing his best. But you shouldn’t have to be portrayed as a cute little blue Smurf to get the kindness you deserve. You deserved it all along.

I hope that you will one day also get the awareness and recognition you deserve. It’s why I’m writing this article, to contribute to the conversation. I’m going to start using #ActuallyDyspraxic on X, too. Hopefully, it will catch on.

You deserve credit for a lot of wonderful things that you bring to my life. Here are just a few of them.

• Creativity, imagination and storytelling. You’re literally co-writing this article about yourself, right now! And you’ve invented your own dyspraxic fictional characters in your own stories, Clio and KJ.

• Hyperfocus. Often credited to autism and ADHD, but you play a part, too. It’s why this article is my sole focus, right now.

• Problem solving, innovation, and big picture thinking. I bet #ActuallyDyspraxic came from you!

• Empathy. One of the best parts of you, that got squashed by those who stole our softness, and which is now beginning to beautifully bloom once more.

• Attention to detail. We’ll proofread this in a minute, and you’ll smash it like the demon proofreader you are!

• Resilience. You’ve had to be very resilient, in so many ways. From riding bikes, to handwriting, to tying shoelaces, to trying to figure out what on earth’s left and right…

We may still struggle with left and right. But now I understand that to write feels right. You helped make me a writer. And for that, I am most grateful of all. Thank you, Dyspraxia. I’ll write again, soon.

Love Chessie xxx