1) You don’t readily know Left from
Right. Instead you say “That way”.
2) You use brain game style reminders
for which way letters go. (Example: Since the age of 5 I’ve always remembered
Suzy’s Zoo or Suz for the writing direction of S and Z)
3) Tying anything from the opposite
direction takes 100% of your focus and might take multiple tries.
4) Doing anything from the opposite
(mirror image) direction you learned to do anything, such as painting someone
else’s fingernails, is difficult for your brain to navigate.
5) Your desk is messy, but you personally
know where each item you need is.
6) You’re better at showing someone how
to do something versus telling them or describing to them how to do it.
7) Same as 6, but in the case of you
learning something new you’d prefer to watch someone first then copy it. (It’s how I learned to “do” the computer and
use the Internet from my computer geek husband.
I’d just watch. He’d want to tell me, which caused confusion.)
8) When reading aloud you make bizarre
substitutions for words. Recently while
reading an Oz book to my son I repeatedly used the word “shoulder” for “soldier”
until I took a moment to re-route my brain.
9) Hunt & Peck is the only way you
can type, no matter how much Mavis Beacon tries to help you otherwise.
10) Auto-correct
is your BFF, except when it has no suggestions for your very wrongly typed
word.
So here's the deal...My husband
& I joke each other about our various neurological differences.
Always have. Always will.
For
years when faced with his questions on which direction I wish to travel,
whether in the car or on a walk my answer has always been the same, "That
way.", as I point with my finger in the direction to "go".
He’d then comment (especially
in the car), that I must be “mildly dyslexic”, as of course this pointing always
turned into an argument about how he can’t look at my hand when driving. “Why can’t you just say LEFT or RIGHT?” he’d
insist. As if I knew what the heck
direction I was pointing in. Ironically,
I can tell the actual compass direction, thanks to the amazing ability to be able to picture where Lake Michigan is in relation to where I currently am. ;) I just can’t make the distinction
for the more commonplace of direction telling.
It wasn't until, while
homeschooling our son, that I actually understood dyslexia wasn't just about
mixing up letters or numbers, but an actual difference in how one remembers
information.
Our son’s utter frustration
with trying to remember which way a 2 and a 5 “go” brought back a flood of my
school day memories.
Turning to the boy sitting
behind me in second grade,
“Bobby, how do you spell the word any? Help.
I can’t remember how!”
Bobby
looked at me like feathers were shooting out of my ears, before sighing and
muttering “A-N-Y” to me. I was grateful
he assisted. Our teacher was known as
being a dictionary stickler. You know
the type. “Look it up in the dictionary,”
was her answer to any student asking how
to spell anything. Even now I get a
squimbly (yes that’s my own word) tummy just thinking about having to go up to
her desk to ask her anything. How can you look up a word if you have zero idea what letter it begins with? How would I, an at the time seven year old child, known to begin with the letter "a" when the word begins with the NNNNnnnnnnnn sound?! It still makes me want to scream in frustration.
I remembered being taken to the
back of the Kindergarten room for extra time with early development
specialists. I knew I didn't want to be
different in school, as “different” got you belittled. I did everything I could to figure out the
things they were asking me to do.
Instead, I struggled through and plodded along all through my school
career. And, no, I do not have a
diploma.
Fast-forward to my son, now age
8, known aspie (person with Asperger’s Syndrome). Though his neurological wiring as an autistic
allows him to script, and remember amazing details, multiplication threw him
for a loop, writing numbers caused tears, memorizing his address still hasn't happened and phone numbers….forget about it.
He can’t fully use a remote control yet.
What I've learned from the
self- quiz I took (which if accurate states I am a moderate to severe
dyslexic):
·
Dyslexia is genetic
·
It’s often discovered at age 8, around the time multiplication
tables are being readily learned by peers.
·
About 1 in 5 people have dyslexia
·
Depending on the stats you read either “Approximately 50% of
people with dyslexia drop-out of school.” Or the “Dyslexia drop out of high
school at a rate that is approximately double that of those without dyslexia.”
Currently (Thanks to the advice of a trusted homeschooling friend/mentor) I’m reading and
working through the book, “The Gift of Dyslexia” by Ronald D. Davis.
For now, I keep our son's homeschool day succinct. Math writing is kept to a minimum for
him. He’s able to get support on where
to begin problems and how to regroup (carry) his numbers, as needed. We don’t care how well he spells at age 8
;) He can ask us how a word is spelled
with no belittling or nitpicking him into dictionary usage.
