Confession: I have a learning disability
Posted by Susan Epstein on September 10th, 2009 at 09:19am
I have a learning disability. It affected me most
of my life. It has kept me from taking risks, exploring
new lands and living my best life.
I get lost. I get lost when we go out to eat and I
go to the rest room. You can find me trying to
get into the broom closet in the restaurant. I get
lost on family vacations and had to rely on my
school age children to navagate me around.
“No mommy, the hotel room is this way.”
Big cities freaked me out. Driving alone somewhere?
Forget it. Always lost. In every gas station asking for
directions. I used to have to allow an extra hour or
two for getting lost.
I was teased by my family and friends and I really
got on some people’s nerves.
I once didn’t go on a job interview because I was
afraid of getting lost. Let me tell you this…living
with this for almost fifty years has done a number
on my self esteem. For years I felt literally “stupid”.
Then two things happened. I got a GPS and I also
read an article that getting lost has something to
do with the innability to sequence. OMG!
I started remembering experiences from early childhood.
KG classroom, we had to listen to a set of directions
and then walk around the room doing them. The
teacher lost me at the second one. I was embarassed,
ashamed and cried. (I think she yelled at me.)
Don’t even get me started on Math. Major disaster,
struggle in school. Barely passed even with help,
dad, tutors. Talk about feeling stupid!
Here is a biggie…thought I might get a Ph.d in
psychology…but knew I’d have to take statistics.
Opted for the MSW…research methods I could
handle.
I can’t learn dance steps. I have to stand in the front
row and the teacher must be with her back to me so
I can follow. Once in a step aerobics class the
instructor told me that I shouldn’t come back because
my steps were not in sync with the class!
I can’t play any games with strategy…like chess or
even checkers without getting whipped really bad.
This is humiliating when your 4 year old beats you
and you haven’t let him.
But now, I have been freed! At least for driving to
unknown places. I take Glenda Garmin with me
and if I take a wrong turn, she politely tells me
that she is re-calculating!
I also know now that had I been tested as a child-
I could have had an IEP (Idividualized Education
Program)…Who knows? Maybe I could have been
a rocket scientist!
If you suspect your child has a learning disability…
get them tested.
Need assistance?
click this link and check out how to get help without
leaving your living room…
What a huge difference you will make on your
child’s life. Not just in school, but for your child’s
lifetime.
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Tags: IEP, Learning disability, Parenting Advice. low self esteen children
Under Children+ Teens/Tweens
3 Comments for Confession: I have a learning disability
1. Marcia | September 10th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Susie,
This HAS to be genetic!!! Everything you described I have experienced too. In first grade I tested at a 4th grade reading level, but that was just reading, sounding out the words. I couldn’t make sense of what I read. It showed up big time for me in the fourth grade when the teacher would instruct us to take out our little books for studying how to read maps and bar graphs. I had no clue as to how to look at these. I would tune out and the teacher would tell the class “Marcia is my prize dreamer.” Not fun . . .In language, I couldn’t understand how to distinguish where to make a paragraph from one sentence to the next. When we took the IOWA Test of Basic skills, I scored in the high 90s in everyting except work/study skills — in the 60s. In fifth grade I got A’s and B’s except for math, a D because I couldn’t remember what I just read, and these were the problem solving ones where Johnny has 5 apples, Mary has 3, and Judy has 2, how many do they have if Johnny eats one, and etc. –I couldn’t remember what I had just read, so I couldn’t figure out the answer! I flunked statistics in college, and got d’s in many other classes — psych was science and math oriented — I finally stopped going to classes, and passed courses becasue I could crank out a good term paper to compensate for exam grades. but I almost flunked out of undergrad! I’m famous for my lack of sense of direction. I often have to use the alarm beep on my remote car key (I only let it go once) to find my car in parking lots. I scored in the 300s on the GREs! Large buildings make me anxious too because it is like wandering through a maze to find my way out.
And that’s why it took from 1983-1995 — fourteen years — to complete the degree — I had to read music history tomes for huge exams, and I just couldn’t get into it (it didn’t help that I wasn’t interested!). It took 4 years to prepare for the exams, and then some.
I’m a really good cook, I improvise and make up recipes because if there are more than 6 ingredients in a recipe my mind goes blank.
However, do you have a strangely compensatory exceptional memory for things people said and when things happened (exact day) and what your first phone number was, etc? Things that most peole would “file away” are right there on the mental desktop. I was just told the other day I was “frightening” and
my mother once said that too . . .
Anyway, thank you for sharing. l’m so sorry that you had to experience this in such a difficult way as a child, especially. Heaven knows you have an IQ way over 80! I think you will probably be hearing back from many people. Parents need to know that if they have more than one child, if one has this type of problem or ADHD, then the other kids should also be evaluated. Talk soon.
Love,
Marcia
2. Susan Epstein | September 10th, 2009 at 11:02 am
It is! Not only you and me, but my Father, your Uncle! I think it made us stronger, but wish I had help when I was a kid!
3. Mindy | September 12th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Hi Marcia and Susan:
First I want to emphasize that it is never too late to get evaluated. I say that becauseIwhat you have described could possibly fall under Information Processing Disorder and more specifically Visual Processing Disorder. But without a thorough Neuro-psychological evaluation there is no way to validate that theory.
Secondly I also wanted to emphasize that most children and adults who are diagnosed with learning disabilities are either average or above average intelligence.
here are some helpful links for more information:
http://tinyurl.com/r9c6cl
http://tinyurl.com/r9c6cl
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