But that's the thing. He doesn't have the desire and determination that is needed to do the physical things. He just doesn't care about doing more physical things. He says he would rather work on things that he has a better chance of learning to do well.
He does have the drive and determination he needs for learning things he knows he will need later in life and he is very willing to work on those things. Typing for instance. He knows this is a very useful skill and that he will need this ability later in life. Learning to type is more difficult for some people with dyspraxia and he is working really hard to increase his speed. But for other things that he doesn't think he will need later in life, he is not willing to put in the effort. He thinks it is a waste of time to learn to do something that he can never, ever be as good at as most other people. For example, bike riding. If he really wanted to ride a bike, he probably could since he has worked on his balance issues, but he knows that even if he learns to ride the bike somewhere, he might not have the endurance that he needs to get back. Another example is hiking. He could go on hikes with the other Cub Scouts and only go about half the distance they go and then have to turn around and go back before they had to and this makes him feel even more different. Boys his age are not kind to the kids they think are physically weak.
He was willing and worked very hard to overcome a fear of learning to swim because this is a life skill that he knows he needs. He is willing to continue working on this.
A lot of people with dyspraxia have trouble with spelling and he had not spent much time on spelling before he decided to try out for the spelling bee. He knew that he would have to learn to spell thousands of words and do well on a written test when handwriting is a problem for him, but he didn't let it stop him. He certainly had the tenacity to do what it took to do well in that, but it was something he wanted to do.
He just accepts that there are some things that he can't change and he thinks his time is better spent on the things that he feels are important.
He also knows that he can hide his disability if he isn't required to do anything physical and he is at an age now that this is what he prefers to do. He knows there are plenty of jobs that he could do later on that don't require the physical skills that he is lacking. He knows that he needs to get plenty of exercise and he says he can get enough of that by working out with a weight machine and treadmill at home. He is not overweight and he looks healthy and he rarely gets sick except for headaches so he doesn't see a problem.
