Warren Fried
Dyspraxia Foundation USA
Highwood, IL USA
"With our conditions come great gifts, like drive and care and empathy and dedication. We know how hard everything is, but we also know how to look at the positives."
Career Roadmap
Warren's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Getting through school was really difficult, not just from a learning standpoint, but also socialization. I had teachers bully me just as bad as kids, saying that I wasn't trying or that I was being defiant. This caused a lot of anxiety and depression issues as I got older. It took a really long time before I was able to get the support I needed and understood more about my disorder so that I could manage it better.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Associate's Degree
Sport and Fitness Administration/Management
University of Chichester, England
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Says dyspraxia is “like a modem where all of the lights are blinking green except for ‘connectivity’”; his intelligence isn’t impacted, but his response time is slowed.
2.
As a child, he had good and bad days with his dyspraxia; since his teachers saw him doing fine one day and poorly another, they assumed he was being defiant or lazy.
3.
Not knowing where to place him or how to work with him, his teachers separated him from the other students; this only exacerbated his social anxiety.
4.
While he was working at a summer camp at age 18, he met kids from Australia and the U.K. who completely understood his struggles.
5.
He realized that although dyspraxia wasn’t well-known in the U.S., other countries had well-established support groups and foundations for dyspraxia.
6.
In order to better understand his condition, he decided to travel to the U.K. and visit some of the top experts in the field.
7.
When he moved back to the U.S., he knew he had to bring his insights home with him; he didn’t want more American kids to go through what he went through.
8.
Says it’s been a long, uphill battle to promote awareness of the disorder, but it’s worth it knowing that he’s positively impacted the lives of kids like him.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
Why aren't you trying?
How I responded:
Getting through school was really difficult, not just from a learning standpoint, but also socialization. I had teachers bully me just as bad as kids, saying that I wasn't trying or that I was being defiant. This caused a lot of anxiety and depression issues as I got older. It took a really long time before I was able to get the support I needed and understood more about my disorder so that I could manage it better.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I have dyspraxia, a neurological disorder that impacts my ability to plan and process motor tasks.
I am a recovering alcoholic. I haven't had a drink in 8 years. I used to use alcohol to cope and manage the suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and frustrations caused by my condition.