Here's how it FEELS to have a learning disability....try it!

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We recently attended a Special Education conference to gain a better insight into our daugher's needs and gifts.

I have NEVER been able to understand Learning Difficulty/Disability at an intellectual level.

I don't even 'understand' why anyone finds High School academically difficult (although I KNOW that many/most do)

Here's how to FEEL what it's like to have a Learning Disability.

I tried this and felt like I was walking further and further into deeper and deeper mud until I couldn't move and my mind literally for the first time I can remember, just seized up.

Ok.....

1. Select 2 Nursery Rhymes.

2. Recite them (FROM MEMORY NOT BY READING THEM) like THIS

3. First word of 1st Nursery Rhyme, First word of 2nd Nursery Rhyme, Second word of 1st Nursery Rhyme, 2nd word of 2nd Nursery Rhyme................

4. Continue this, until you get stuck.............


Now I understand, emotionally AND intellecually, what an incredibly strong person my younger daugher is and I am SO proud of her.



To clarify the Poll question is:

How did the TEST feel to you when you did the TEST

Last edited by Blindspot149 on 18 Feb 2010, 11:42 am, edited 3 times in total.

I got stuck on remembering two nursery rhymes.

Were you taught to do this by your daughters school? Sorry, I don't understand well.

I'm finding this task difficult because my executive function is bad at the moment, but it's quite fun.

I do not know what nursery rhymes are.
Nurseries never taught me any rhymes.
I can remember whole songs, though.
I don't get stuck on them.

I struggled with even remembering one nursery rhyme.

I have a learning disability according to North American terms, and I'm glad that you've started this thread.

Hello Mike and thanks for your contribution.

In my book this makes you a Hero.

For Kajjie and anyone else who is curious, I learned this from Special Education professionals who are school staff and who were running a special Special Ed conference.

What was interesting is that the information they were sharing on communication/learning styles would apply equally to those WITHOUT learning difficulites

I was in the presence of greatness and deeply humbled by their knowledge, effective communication and kindness.

These were the ONLY public presentations I can remember where I learned something as effectively as if I had taught myself.

It's only frustrating to have a learning disability because people constantaly are telling you to give up on your dreams and thus you have no modivation to do anything.

I received 2 Mensa membership cards this year by mistake.

They are plastic and include the name of the member and the expiry date and membership name.

My younger angel has (so far) tested on the other end of the 'IQ' spectrum.

I am going to Tippex/Snow Paint out MY name, member number and the expiry date on ONE of them.

I am going to write my daughter's name where mine WAS and SHE is going to write in HER member number when she is accepted to membership.

I don't actually use her real name that much any more; I call her 'Champ' and 'Superstar'


YOU FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE, IGNORE AND AVOID THE DREAM STEALERS AND YOU SPEND TIME AROUND PEOPLE WHO SEE OPPORTUNITY AND POTENTIAL AND SAY YES A LOT

When you shoot for the stars, you hit the moon if you miss, while everyone else is wondering how anyone can get TO the moon.

I have a saying that I use which helps me reach my goals and it is this;

I am going to do get this, or I am going to die trying

I tried your experiment.

I selected "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". It took me a very long time because I had to "reload" each rhyme into my head after about 3 words. I also lost my place several times because both rhymes have "little" in them but in slightly different places. So I get their point. The whole "reloading" process is cumbersome and frustrating. If I were taking a timed test, I'd have done very poorly on it. If I were doing this as a classroom exercise I would do it the absolute minimum amount that is required because it is aggravating. If every other person around me could do it quickly and easily I'd be simultaneously bummed out and angry at them for the unfairness of it. So I get their point.

And I need to work on their point because as a parent I have often overlooked this with my own daughter. I learned to read with so little effort that it was probably as easy teaching me as teaching a baby bird to fly. Just push out of the nest and it's done. My daughter struggles and struggles and I wish I could download my own childhood ability into her and when she was born I assumed I had because I thought genetics worked that way and she would learn to read as easily as I had because she is my daughter. But it doesn't work that way and she isn't me. And this exercise is a good reminder for compassion and understanding.

For the record, the way I eventually got through the exercise is because ultimately rote memory kicked in and I wound up memorizing "Mary Twinkle had twinkle a little little" etc. so that with each pass I started farther into the blended rhyme because I had already memorized part of it. And I think that's what's happening for my daughter too and for a lot of people whose learning disability inviolves something other than rote memory. What I observe with her is that she doesn't actually "get" reading quite the way I did, but rote memory comes into play and she's learning that way. But relying on rote memory for so many things is its own kind of cumbersome so I can see how it would get frustrating and exhausting to have to work this way all the time.

I was in special education classes for learning disabilities from 2nd grade through graduation. Unfortunately, constantly being reminded of my deficits led me to think I wasn't capable of higher education, and I never went to college.

When I finally got into a more technical job, I found out that I excelled. Then people started commenting on how "smart" I was... constantly. I didn't know what to think of this. It was such a HUGE contrast to my history and perspective of self.

During my AS assessment my IQ was tested. I discovered that I was also gifted. The biggest score difference between sub tests was 9 standard deviations. Most of my scores are above average, some are very high, and one is almost in the intellectually challenged range.

I was really upset that my strengths never received any attention when I was in school. I'm sure things are a bit better now, but I'm sure allot of people still go through with undeveloped strengths... because all the attention is paid to their difficulties.

I'm trying to get myself positioned to go to college to become a special education teacher. I want to help others who have: learning disabilities, gifted/LD, or ASD's develop their strengths. It's so important for people with strong gifts/deficits to understand their strengths; to counter act things they struggle with on an academic and perspective of self level.

Weird......I just tried "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Twinkle Twinkle," and got to "as / are" almost effortlessly. But I didn't want to go any further on the first attempt, as it certainly demands rock-solid focus, and I never get that in my workplace. I was sitting in relatively quiet surroundings, and I vocalised the words, which helped me to remember them long enough. I got the feeling that the most likely way of failing would be if I hesitated so long over one word that the short-term memory would then drop the previous one, from which the next word is found. I also noticed that I cocked my head to the left when I said a word from "Mary," and to the right when I said a word from "Twinkle." That probably helped to avoid confusing the two rhymes. Interesting how the mental techniques clicked into play without my having to deliberately start them.

So I guess for me it wasn't the revelation it should have been, though of course I already accept that Aspies usually have to struggle harder with some things in life. I'm just wondering why I didn't get those brain-cramped feelings - I get them often enough when trying to listen to people for too long.

I didn't even need to understand because I already have it so I know what's it's like.

Also I didn't vote because there was no option for the level of difficulty I had with it. I didn't feel it was easy, but it wasn't all that hard either, at least up to 10 words (or 20, depending on how you measure it).

I thought "easy" meant easy to understand so I voted that option.

Thank you for these beautiful words; from a loving Mother