Learning Disabled

Does anyone else have problems with learning disabilities? I think it's the bane of my life really. It's the cause of my social awkwardness and the reason I will never make more than minimum wage.

I have trouble following verbal instructions and remembering what most people consider simple facts and common sense. I have a hard time picking up subtle social cues too that most people have no trouble with. I get picked on all the time for being retarded and it's the reason I am so beta/omega.

Has anyone with this type of trouble turned their life around and figured it out? I would go to therapy but their method to "cure" the problem is to try to convince me that my problems are all in my head or something to that effect.

Is there some kind of adult learning disorder therapist that can fix my problem. I don't want to go through my life having people adjust to my deficiencies.

I have two learning disabilities. Check out this website: link removed He has a lot of great books and other resource that might be helpful to you.

Well, you don't have such a disability where you cannot write and articulate. If you understand written instructions but mess up verbal ones, are you sure you are learning disabled? I would say that's more like ADD or a concentration problem then a developmental delay. But I am no expert. I would cope by writing down instructions when people tell you so that you may examine them and get it right. that's what I would do if you respond better to written instructions.

Yeah your post seems pretty well articulated; it doesn't really sound much like a learning disability from what you're describing. I would try and avoid labeling therapy before you try it as there are so many different kinds out there. If nothing else, therapy could be a good avenue to take so you can see yourself from a different perspective.

Thanks everyone,

I know I can articulate myself well, but that was the result of very hard work when I was a kid I would assume. I always am slower to process my thoughts and what other people are saying to me. I can barely keep up with complex instruction. Today I was doing a lab and I was following some written instructions, but after I went to go back and try to do them through memory I couldn't remember a thing while everyone else seemed to do fine. I just couldn't do it, and then the ridicule started. My life is just full of disappointments and brain farts.

My internship went horribly this summer because of those same reasons. My supervisor referred to me as "not the sharpest tool in the shed." It * * * * ing hurt. It just confirmed what everyone has said about me my whole life, even my family. I hate to say it, but I think I get my mental capabilities from my mom. She seems to get just as easily confused as myself.

The worst part about it is, I get called lazy AND stupid, when really my "laziness" is just a result of my stupidity. What motivation do I have if I am just going to fail, like I always do?

I hate to think it, but I don't think my problem has a cure.

Well, then you will just have to write things down or ask someone "let me see if i got this right..." and repeat the instructions back. Or you will have to find out some coping mechanisms to concentrate. Some people have little tricks for remembering people's names, etc., and maybe you should do that too. Also, why not look at your diet? when i cut out refined sugars and starting eating small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big ones I could focus better too. Everything helps.

if you found ways to work hard and cope as a kid, you can find them now. Even find out if there is a support group or you can talk to a therapist or even someone who works with job skills to learn more. There are also groups you can join that teach the Carnegie method (remembering names, etc). And what about memory games like brain age?

You sound pretty bright to me! It could be many things. A family member of mine is a child psychologist and has helped many kids in schools. Adults do not have testing at their disposal, and who knows, whatever you have could have gone undetected throughout your educational years. I would highly recommend seeing a psychologist and having a full medical check up. I found out I have ADD at 30, and wished I discovered it earlier in life. But, its never too late. If people kept calling me stupid, I would probably start to believe it too. You need a good psychologist --one with a Ph.D. and a background in learning disabilities. Good luck!

I have the same issues you have. I didnt find out until I was tested into the learning disabilities center at my old college. I have an auditory disability. I tend to misunderstand what people are saying to me and tend to forget or completely misunderstand instructions completely. This is if these instructions are told to me verbally. If they are written down I am fine, or if they are shown to me through examples. I struggled in college because of it but eventually graduated, just took me a little longer. It was hard while I was working though because you cant really explain that you have a disability. I did my best and I made it a point for people to email rather then speak with me concerning anything at work. It did make work much more difficult at times, I wont lie.

Ha! Amanda, I was going to suggest a hearing issue. Glad you did.

I have the same issues you have. I didnt find out until I was tested into the learning disabilities center at my old college. I have an auditory disability. I tend to misunderstand what people are saying to me and tend to forget or completely misunderstand instructions completely. This is if these instructions are told to me verbally. If they are written down I am fine, or if they are shown to me through examples. I struggled in college because of it but eventually graduated, just took me a little longer. It was hard while I was working though because you cant really explain that you have a disability. I did my best and I made it a point for people to email rather then speak with me concerning anything at work. It did make work much more difficult at times, I wont lie.

So just to be clear, you understand the words people speak to you, but you just can't process them as quickly as they talk? Because if that's the case then I'm with you. If it is this, have you found any help to get over the problem?

I thought auditory processing disabilities involved not being able to understand words being spoken to them if the conditions for sound wasn't perfect, or near perfect.

Ah sorry for the late reply. Well I dont always understand what people are saying to me. I dont always understand what they are saying to me many times and I dont process what they are saying as quickly as they talk. I only had help when i was in college. I could have people take my notes for me but I never used that, I always took my own notes. The only thing I used was the extended test taking time that was offered to all students with learning disabilities. Thats the only way i was able to pass my accounting courses, lol. My brain just must be very slow at processing things all together. I would sometimes ask people at work to show me how to do it because I do better with visual aids and actually seeing the process.

Work was much harder because its not as friendly as the school setting was. Nobody ever knew I had a problem, they probably just thought i was slow. It was VERY HARD for me to take orders directly from my bosses mouths. I had to ask them several times to repeat and that made me feel very stupid. I was lucky when i was trained because she showed me mostly everything and i took very good notes of the steps and would actually draw diagrams at times.

Conditions dont have to be perfect for me to not understand them. Its hard to explain because I dont know whats normal. Anybody can be speaking to me and I just wont understand what they are talking about or even miss parts of the conversations because im processing slower. Sometimes I dont truly understand what they told me until minutes have gone by our even hours.

Despite all this I did well in all my english courses in college and any course that I had visual aids for. I just had issues with people who only sat up there speaking all day long. Work is my biggest worry because I am currently unemployed and I have to worry about training for a whole other job and it makes me very nervous that I will not understand what on earth they are saying to me.

Its kinda sad to admit but there were many times I didnt answer the phone at work because I knew that I wouldnt understand what they were telling me. I would wait for them to leave a message or send an email.

I hope this helps, I apologize for the delay

My son also has a hearing processing disorder. When he was little he needed speech therapy but we did not discover he had a hearing processing disorder till he was 9 years old. While his hearing is perfect, it is his brain that does not interpret the sounds he hears correctly. In very noisy situations he can not discipher what is being said.He has an FM system at school so he can hear clearly.He has other learning disabilities as well. He has a kind of memory aphasia when it comes to spelling words and he is classed on his IEP as written communication disabled.

I understand where you are coming from and it REALLY irks me when people call others with disabilities "stupid or lazy" because they are far from either.

Whoever said to have things written down I agree with that. My son has troubles sometimes if instructions are complicated but if he has something to refer to he is fine.

Has anyone ever suggest aspergers syndrome to you? The inability to process social cues leans more towards that than a learning disability.

it's okay! thanks!

yeah, that sounds like me pretty much. thanks for letting me know someone else is going through this same crap as i am.

Has anyone ever suggest aspergers syndrome to you? The inability to process social cues leans more towards that than a learning disability.

it could be, but i think i just takes two or three extra seconds to pick up on jokes compared to other people. i pick on them too late i guess, just a slow processing brain. would people with aspergers syndrome not pick up on them at all tho?

it could be, but i think i just takes two or three extra seconds to pick up on jokes compared to other people. i pick on them too late i guess, just a slow processing brain. would people with aspergers syndrome not pick up on them at all tho?

Haha. I made a new account just to reply to this. As someone with aspergers, I can say that my issues do tend to stem from social and visual cues as well. Someone with aspergers generally needs to teach themselves social cues (forcibly), whereas most others pick up and learn them naturally/instinctively. I've learned and mastered sarcasm enough to use it in every day speach, but often misunderstand and have a difficult time picking it up from others. Because it's not an automatic process for me, I'll take a couple seconds to pick up and 'decode' the tone you decide to speak with. SO yes, if you have aspergers, it is not unrealistic to say you can pick up on a joke but only seconds (or minutes) later.

Also, instructional issues could also be a matter of 'how' someone is explaining something to you verbally. I have a difficult time going through training and generally need to ask several times and create a 'for instance' scenario in order to fully comprehend what's being said to me (if that makes any sense). I also learn much more quickly when trained with visual examples (show me what you're doing, don't tell me). Likewise, if I try to train someone else... they often have no clue what I'm telling them to do. I just have different methods of learning (and teaching, apparently). There's also a matter of processing multiple things. For instance: if I'm driving I can't both listen to music and follow non-verbal instruction from someone directing traffic.

When I first started my job, my boss thought I was either stupid or had low self esteem (constantly asking questions). I've since learned how I can effectively learn and make sure I convey that to my employers/teachers, etc..

Anyway... you might have aspergers, you might not. The best advice I can give you is to get tested. And if you do decide to get tested, have some conviction about it. Testing is expensive and insurance normally requires you to jump through hoops or won't cover it at all.

If you're an adult, I would suggest only getting tested if you can explain why your life is negatively affected, and that you believe diagnosis can affect your life in a positive manner (and then list how). You can normally just call a local behavioral center and ask about testing. They'll either be the place or will point you in the right direction.