Hi I was hoping someone on here could give me some advice as a think I might have a learning difficulty and I have no idea what to do about it. I’m 19 and in college. I have never been diagnosed with anything but these are things I have always struggled with.
I find speaking is quite difficult and takes a lot of effort. I tend to slur my words and mumble. And I find it difficult to know the right words to use or what order to say the words in. I have problems understanding other people when they speak and sometimes have to ask them to repeat themselves a number of times before I understand. I also find it difficult to grasp how to integrate myself into a conversation. How/ when do I start talking? I can’t seem to pick up the social cues or body language that other people just get.
I also find it hard to control my hands, things like using a pen can be difficult and if I want to write neatly it takes a very long time. If I don’t pay close attention then my hand jerks or moves in a way I don’t want it to. I always struggled in school with sports. I can run swim and ride a bike fine. But things like football or tennis was always impossible. I don’t seem to be able to judge speeds or distances at all, which is making learning to drive very difficult. I can’t tell how close I am to curbs etc, or tell how long it will take me to stop at the traffic lights.
I have always been told that I am slow. To the point where my friends nicknamed me Snail. It takes a long time for me to process what someone has said or done. If I am in a group dynamic I often find that by the time I have figured out what they are saying and am ready to answer they are already talking about something else. I have very slow reaction times and find unexpected things very hard to process. Course work seems to take me a lot longer than others in my class. I can work almost constantly, stopping just to eat shower etc, from 9 o’clock one day, when I get up, till two the next morning and still not manage to get as much done as I wanted to. My tutors keep complaining that I don’t put enough effort in, because I often don’t manage to complete my work on time. But I know that I put a lot more effort in to my course work than some other people in my class, as I rarely do anything else. And yet I always feel like I’m running behind because I can’t do things at the same speed as other people. It doesn’t help that I have a very short attention span; I find that I can’t concentrate hard on something for more than 10/15 minutes before I drift in to space. My mind jumps around from one thing to the next very quickly, it seems like all the speed that I have lost in my body and reactions etc. has gone in to my thoughts instead, but simultaneously I can never tell the passage of time. Hours can go past without me realising it, and the whole time I will have been staring blankly at a wall or something.
I have a very bad memory as well; I can’t remember the big things in my life such as my sister’s wedding etc. I know that they happened but I can’t remember any details about it. I struggle to follow instructions as I forget them almost straight away. I always forget what day of the week it is or how many days/ weeks it has been since… happened etc.
I’ve been seeing my doctor for three weeks now for chronic depression, and I realise that some of these things can be attributed to that. But I just have an overwhelming sense that there’s something else that isn’t right with me. I am going back to my doctor on the 21st. would this be something that I should bring up with her? If I do what happens from there? Does it sound like I might have some kind of learning difficulty? I really don’t know much about this stuff at all and I don’t want to bother her if I am totally off the mark.
Thanks for reading, any advice/ input would be most appreciated.
I was going to say it sounds like you have some ongoing depression and possibly some symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder. By all means tell your doctor what you are experiencing so that she my help you to her fullest potential. You have every right to be heard my dear. After all, you are paying for it.
Your doctor will be able to tell you if you have some cognitive problem or the aforementioned concerns and she also may want to do some testing of sorts.
I wish you all the best and that you get the help that you need. Sincerely, searchin
You should defiantly speak with your Doctor about the issues. I would say it sounds like you may have a Non Verbal Learning Disability from when you speak about social ques and how you interact with others and some sort of ADHD in terms of when you speak of attention issues.
As for the other items which you raised I am not too sure what they could be. The memory issues, distance depth perception, etc. But, you bring it up with your Doctor so you can address the issues and find some techniques to help. Especially the driving depth perception issue as that could prove to be dangerous if not addressed.
It sounds like you may have an Auditory Processing problem and Cognitive Learning difficulties. The lost time and staring could be absence seizures, so be sure to mention that to your doctor as well. Take care and let us know what you find out.
Thank you so much for replying. Im definately going to tell all this to the doctor. Im a bit worried that because it was never picked up at school etc she might not take me seriously, but I have to try I guess.
my daughter has Auditory Processing problems where she has trouble processing information as quickly as most people... she also has trouble seperating speak from noise when lots of people are talking. She completed the "scientific Learning's Fast Forword program... AND made HUGE gains with her reading, processing and understanding. It was sooo impressive that we did the second program. It was expensive and took an hour out of each day/5 days a week (at home0 for 26 weeks the first time and 22 the send. It was the best money we ever spent!! There are so many learning disabilities and many ways to help in each area... just a matter of finding out what your difficulties are and someone that can help. out doctor has no clue about learning disabilites (she also has mild autism)... so I had to do hours of research and testing to find out more.
Hope you are able to find out how you can best strengthen the areas you are finding difficulties in. All the best.
I was just diagnosed with Auditory Processing disorder. I am 31yrs old and am having a most difficult time getting anyone to help me!!? Do you have any suggestions?
