What It's like to Be LD (learning Disabled)
It Ain't Pleasant
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 YOU!
"YOU! Tell me the last book you read that starts with the letter M!"
You are clearly expected to respond. But ... but .. last book that starts with M? What?
Other people are looking at you. You hear some of them whispering.
"Well?" the man says
You're still flummoxed. The whispering grows louder. You hear some giggles.
"Don't you read?" he asks, sarcasm dripping from each word.
"Yes sir, I do read".
"Well do you read BOOKS????"
"Yes sir, I read books"
There's outright laughter at this point
"Well, perhaps you don't know the letters? Did you learn the ALPHABET at some point?"
Then, thankfully, he switches to another person, another topic.
You want to leave. But you aren't allowed. And the questions will, inevitably, swing back to you. Again and again.
"What's your home phone number backwards?"
"How many buttons are there in your house?"
"How many steps did you walk today?"
and on and on. And you can't leave. Ever.
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Now imagine that, instead of being an adult with a fully developed sense of self, you're a kid.
And imagine that, instead of one lecture, this went on all the time.
And imagine that, if you got the courage to complain, people looked uncomprehending.
Welcome to my world.
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You might say "But no one asks those kinds of questions!"
Well, not to you, if you're normal. To you, those questions all seem normal. I made up those questions to be things that you NT people won't be able to answer, won't even BEGIN to be able to answer. Because that's how we are with some of what life demands of us. That's how we will react. Because, too often, you NT people are asking us to do what is simply not possible for us to do. And you're reacting with disbelief when we say we can't.
Published by Peter Flom
I am a statistician, working with a wide variety of clients, mostly researchers in psychology, education, medicine, social sciences and other fields. I also have given talks and written articles on learning... View profile
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