Celebrity Dyspraxic | Angus Munro,
Billy Stanley, host of ‘The Dyspraxic Help 4U Podcast’ , interviewed Angus Munro, a multi-facted singer/songwriter about his experiences with dyspraxia.
Born in Sidcup, London in 1987, Angus had a variety of obstacles growing up. By the age of 3, Angus developed glue ear which caused deafness which impacted his development. Losing his ability to walk, talk and communicate with those around him, this put him back by about two years at which point he was diagnosed with Dyspraxia a development coordination disorder.
In the podcast interview, Angus shared with Billy his experiences within his primary school years and details his struggles with writing, and other coordination based activities. Dyspraxia certainly does have a knock-on effect on one's self-esteem and mental health overall. Angus expressed how "I became quite frustrated that I couldn't do basic functions like writing with a pencil or a pen" Angus had a special needs assistant teacher to support with his additional needs to help with several activities. Some of these activities included helping with the pain that came with holding pens and pencils by trying differently shaped pens and would even encourage him to practice bouncing on gym balls to help with coordination.
Of course, no one ever "outgrows" their dyspraxia, they just learn new ways to cope, and Angus does touch briefly on how dyspraxia still affects him now. What struck a chord was when Angus shared with Billy, "Over the past couple of years, I've kind of become okay with being clumsy all the time or at peace with myself for being a bit Dyspraxic."
Angus also mentioned that when growing up he was told he would never be good at a number of coordination based activities like sport. "I was always told that I would never be good at sport and would never be able to do a manual job because my coordination was really bad. I ended up making singing and playing the piano my career. "
"It was kind of a 'fly in the face' of what everyone told me not to do, maybe that's why I've done it" Angus expressed. Many dyspraxic folk will certainly be able to relate to what Angus has experienced in terms of what others have told him he is and isn't capable of. It can certainly be difficult to push back and ignore the comments, but oftentimes it can give you the push you need to prove those people wrong. It certainly seems that this is exactly what Angus did.
Billy and Angus continue to discuss his earlier years and how his dyspraxia developed and changed throughout his teen and early adult years.
Angus mentioned how his view on asking for help changed a lot, from wanting help, not wanting help to finally "sometimes I need help, and that's ok too." And we couldn't agree more, it takes a lot of courage to ask for help.
When focusing more specifically on his musical career Angus mentions how he struggled with playing the guitar as it really hurt his hand, which was likely a result of dyspraxia. However, he found piano much easier and that's what made him decide to become a "piano singer-songwriter as opposed to a songwriter"
Angus continues to discuss more on his music career and experiences with touring, how he has coped as a musician during lockdown, and how publications had reacted negatively to him discussing mental health in the past. All of which can be listened to on the Dyspraxic Help 4U Podcast using the link below: