I've posted this twice. It got some good comments. But the last time was two years ago, and there are lots of new people since, and so, I thought, why not repost? Well, we're not supposed to post duplicate diaries....so, I'm giving it a new title, and some new text, and I hope it gets some good comments, or informs some people.
I'm weird.
Not just in the ways many of us here are weird - liberal, progressive, etc. No. Not even just because I am an atheist. No. I am weird because I am learning disabled. And not even one of your common garden-variety learning disabilities. I have nonverbal learning disability (NLD).
If you'd like to read more, join me below.
Update [2009-3-17 7:25:9 by plf515]:] I'm awake again, and no work today, and this is still on the rec list. WOOT. So, I'll pay attention as long as the comments keep flowing. Tonight, a diary on how this relates to politics.
[Update [2009-3-17 16:31:58 by plf515]:] The diary I promised to post is up now, it's [here
So, what is this NLD stuff?
How can someone (me) be LD and really good at both reading and math?
What's it like being weird?
Is all this just a crock, an excuse for being lazy, crazy, or stupid?
Last question first: No, it's not.
First question next. NLD is a neurlogical impairment that affects people's abilities with many areas, typically ones that are not related to speech. Common areas of difficulty are reading body language, spatial perception, visual skills, physical coordination, and so on. There's a good web site about it.
Second question: Anything an adult knows that an infant doesn't know has to be learned. If you are much worse at one set of these skills than at most others, that's LD. It can be about reading (dyslexia), math (dyscalculia) or other things....(NLD, Asperger's etc). You can be LD and gifted. Why not? You can be tall and fat, can't you?
and finally the biggie:
Well, being weird genearlly sucks.
By the time I was 4, it was clear I was, in my father's words "Screwed up somehow, but not stupid". There were no schools for such children back then (40 years ago), so my mom started one - Gateway school of New York. She handled everything that wasn't education, and Elizabeth Freidus (pronounced 'freed us' - amazingly apropos) handled education. That school helped me a lot. Now, I am on the board.
I'm also writing a book called "Screwed up somehow, but not stupid"
After that, I went to mainstream schools and was miserable. Really miserable. Suicidal for much of adolesccence. Absolutely no friends (I mean NONE). I had one date (disastrous) before college, and only a couple in college.
Things got better. College was MUCH better than HS. And post-college was even better. I'm married (15 years in June!). I have 2 great kids. I have 2 MAs and a PhD, and a job (as a statistician).
But I am still LD, and still weird. And it still sucks.
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow I will cover how this relates to politics.
If you have questions, I will try to answer.
If you have comments, I will read them and be generous with mojo.
If you think others should read this, I would appreciate recommends.