We in the world of learning disabilities get stuck with labels. Or, rather, the labels get stuck on us. Often, these labels are shortened into acronyms, usually ending in D. D for difference. Or disability. Or disorder. Or something. ASD, ADD (or ADHD), NLD, LD, PDD (sometimes with an NOS!), SPD…. sometimes it seems like [Continue]
Temple Grandin is famous; perhaps the most famous autistic person in the world. She’s written books, she’s got a great career, she has a PhD …. it’s amazing. But she’s autistic. I’m not. In this post, I detail some difference between me (and some others with NLD) and Temple Grandin (and some other people with [Continue]
My friend Varda asked me to write something about siblings for her blog Squashed Bologna. A lot of other people also wrote about siblings, and you can find their posts here. Here’s an edited version of what I wrote Me and my siblings I’m learning disabled. It even says so on my blog, which I [Continue]
1. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me”. WRONG. Wrong wrong wrong. And hurtful. Names hurt. Names can kill. Telling people they shouldn’t be hurt by names is telling them, once again, that they are weak, bad, stupid, lazy or crazy. Of course names hurt. Instead of this sophomoric [Continue]
When you journey around the ballpark of learning disabilities, you run into lots of acronyms. LD, NLD, ASD, PDD, NOS, SPD. At this point, I say WTF? and try to remember something. We aren’t acronyms. We’re people. All those NT (that’s NeuroTypical! The acronym for people who think they don’t need one) people sometimes miss [Continue]
What is the “autism spectrum”? Lately you hear a lot about the autism spectrum. People say things like “he’s not autistic but he’s on the spectrum”. Just what is the autism spectrum? [Continue]
My friend Varda (SquashedMom) posted about language and speech and it got me thinking about language from the NLD (nonverbal learning disability) angle. Language has a lot more in it than speech – there’s a whole lot of nonverbal stuff that goes into it. And, since I have nonverbal LD, I am sensitive to that. [Continue]
Have you ever been a tourist in a foreign country? One where they don’t speak English and where you don’t speak the native language? Did you feel a little stress? [Continue]
Juggling is an interesting activity that can be helpful to many special needs children (or adults). It’s got several advantages, which I spell out below, and is much easier than most people think. MANY people can learn to juggle. If you can toss a ball from hand to hand, you can learn to juggle. If [Continue]
If you read about learning disabilities, you will quickly come across the topic of accommodations. There are accommodations at school and at work, at home and at play. Although I haven’t done a study, I am willing to wager that the most common accommodation at school is extra time. This is due to the fact [Continue]
