Dear Shandrea:

“I was never called a hero before this website“- it was about time then, that someone would spell out the truth!

“Maybe I do have a disability. I still want to accomplish my goals of paying my bills and being able to afford activities. I am stressed a lot. But I have accomplished so much, if I do have a disability I can still do it“- (1) ongoing stress is indeed disabling, temporarily or permanently. We are less likely to think rationally and act effectively when under the influence of heightened stress, (2) all of us humans are disabled to one extent or another, in some way or another,  some more acutely and noticeably than others, (3) I very much like your attitude, and yes, you have accomplished so much already, and you can accomplish more!

“I didn’t know you had a learning disability /ADD, I do not look for flaws in others, I have flaws of my own“- thank you for trying to make me feel better about my learning disabilities and ADD. At this point, I don’t feel badly (shame or guilt) for these, only empathy for myself. I think of these as Facts, not Faults.

Without the ongoing crushing stress involved in feeling shame and guilt, I function better.

“A while back did you say you were a teacher? What grade did you teach? With the learning disability how did you become a teacher?“- middle and high schools. When I was a student, I remember that I wasn’t  able to follow one professor’s lectures at all because she talked too fast and not in an organized way. To pass her tests, I copied information from the textbook assigned to her course, re-organize it, and then re-organize it again, and again,  until I was able to understand it. Shortly after the test, I ‘d forget almost everything. Another teacher’s lectures were slow and organized, and I was able to take notes while she lectured. But regardless, I’d forget almost everything I memorized after the tests.

As a full-time teacher (for a couple years only), I taught in a school were most students spoke very little English, so my little knowledge on the subject matter was not challenged. I prepared for a lesson by reading and studying a chapter from the textbook, then taught it the next day (I was good at simplifying the subject-matter and presenting it in an organized way), then read the next chapter, and teach that the day after, etc.

anita