Right now, I work for myself. I’m a statistical consultant, and I’m trying to do some things with learning disabilities. But I’ve had bosses, and so have other people with NLD. This is a sort of pastiche.
Being afraid is the appropriate reaction to being disabled, but it shouldn’t be
February 14, 2011 by 3 Comments
I am learning disabled. Hey, it says so right on the title to my blog. All too often, in today’s world, being afraid is the appropriate reaction to being learning disabled. It shouldn’t be. But it is. Why should we not be afraid? The world teaches us, from the start, to be afraid. Afraid of […]
Celebrating our differences means honoring our disabilities
January 28, 2011 by 1 Comment
I’m sorry. You’re disabled, or your child is. Or grandchild. Or student. I’m disabled too. It sucks. On the other hand, being me isn’t so bad. And being different from other people, per se, is not so bad either. The world wouldn’t be very interesting if we were all the same, so it’s a good […]
Language is not just about speech
January 21, 2011 by 4 Comments
My friend Varda (SquashedMom) posted about language and speech and it got me thinking about language from the NLD (nonverbal learning disability) angle. Language has a lot more in it than speech – there’s a whole lot of nonverbal stuff that goes into it. And, since I have nonverbal LD, I am sensitive to that.
Strangers in our own land
January 16, 2011 by 2 Comments
Have you ever been a tourist in a foreign country? One where they don’t speak English and where you don’t speak the native language? Did you feel a little stress?
Accommodations for LD
November 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment
If you read about learning disabilities, you will quickly come across the topic of accommodations. There are accommodations at school and at work, at home and at play. Although I haven’t done a study, I am willing to wager that the most common accommodation at school is extra time. This is due to the fact […]
Pushing our limits and accepting them
November 13, 2010 by 2 Comments
All human beings have limits. Learning disabled people may have more severe limits than others. And I am pretty sure that we get told, more often than others, to push our limits. In addition, parents of LD kids get told to push their kids’ limits. Sometimes this is good advice. Sometimes it isn’t.
What if people came with emoticons?
November 7, 2010 by 1 Comment
The internet is great for people like me who have nonverbal learning disabilities. No faces to read, no tones of voice to interpret …. it’s all text. Well ALMOST all. Sometimes people use emoticons, also known as smileys. You know, like 🙂 or 🙁 for smiling and frowning. Wikpedia has a list of emoticons and […]
Box? What box? I don’t see any box!
November 2, 2010 by 1 Comment
Some people think inside the box. They think within rules and parameters set forth by whatever authority exists. Some people think outside the box. They ignore these rules and parameters, and do their own thing. And then some of us don’t see a box. I was in law school for one semester. It didn’t go […]
Getting organized when you are learning disabled
June 24, 2010 by 1 Comment
An alternate title for this piece might be “Getting minimally organized to avoid total chaos”. I am disorganized. I am disorganized in two ways: I am disorganized in space, and I am disorganized in time.
Drowning in the mainstream
June 12, 2010 by 5 Comments
It’s so enticing. The mainstream. Maybe our children aren’t so different, so unusual. Maybe they are ‘normal’. Maybe they belong in the mainstream. But maybe not. Maybe our goal ought not be a mainstream education but a mainstream life? After all, we will spend about 12 years in elementary and high school, and, if we […]
Things not to say to LD people (or their parents)
May 13, 2010 by 13 Comments
1. You can’t be LD, you’re so bright! Ummm, you can be smart and LD, average intelligence and LD, or less than average intelligence and LD. Just like you can be tall and fat, tall and thin, or tall and average weight. LD means that you have a pronounced deficit in some area of learning. […]
What is nonverbal learning disability?
May 11, 2010 by 10 Comments
So, what is NLD? How can a person be learning disabled (LD) and yet be good at reading and at math? Are labels like NLD useful, harmful, or both? What’s it like being weird? What is NLD? NLD is a neurological impairment that affects people’s abilities with many areas, typically ones that are not related […]
What it is like to be learning disabled
May 8, 2010 by 2 Comments
It isn’t pleasant. Suppose you’re required, for some reason, to go to some auditorium. The seats are banked, and dark, and there’s a spotlight on the stage. As you enter and find a seat, a man enters the stage. Silence falls over the auditorium. All of a sudden, the man yells and points. Right at […]
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