Home » Education & Career » Special Ed. Teaching » Living with Learning Disabilites - or....(part 1)

Living with Learning Disabilites - or....(part 1)

© Lise Hogan

...Why I learn everything the hard way. A view from the "inside".

I was born on February 3rd, 1958. Back in the days before special education was a glimmer in anyone's mind, with the exception of those whose children were seriously handicapped. I am an attention deficit hyperactive, learning disabled, dyslexic adult. I've had these difficulties to deal with all my life. It's hard to pay attention - it's hard to read - and a lot of times things I read don't go in correctly. It's very hard to concentrate with distractions, and I have to ADD teenage girls working over time to divide my attention.

My intent - in writing this article - is to hopefully help others gain some insight into what it's like to have these disabilities. Some of you might have a child with ADD or dyslexia, or you might have a spouse, friend, or someone in your family that displays some of the symptoms that I am about to describe. These are symptoms that are peculiar to me. ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities are never definite in their severity. There are some ADD people who function just fine without medicine, but need behavior modification help. There are some people who have been diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, only to find that it wasn't a reading disorder - all they needed was a pair of glasses. School systems are trying to get diagnosis correct so that children can be given the proper help. There was no such help when I was young. Not for me - or for my parents.

When I was young I moved all the time. I also did not sit down much. I wouldn't be still at all, come to think of it. A few years ago I put my parents home movies on video tape. There are several of me moving all the time. I used to do a little jig instead of standing still. Kind of hard to describe, it wasn't fast really - just constant. Always moving. Even when I was sitting down some part of me was moving - fidgeting - wiggling somehow. Transferring those movies told me that I am truly hyperactive. My parents said I would not even sit still in front of the TV. I'd do a sideways walk back and forth in front of the TV while I watched it. Some of it was trained out

The copyright of the article Living with Learning Disabilites - or....(part 1) in Special Ed. Teaching is owned by . Permission to republish Living with Learning Disabilites - or....(part 1) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.