The question “Is it nature or nurture?”, sometimes called nature vs. nurture, or genes vs. environment is meaningless Take a human trait. Almost any human trait. Some of that trait is almost certainly caused by nature – by one’s genes. Some of that trait is almost certainly caused by nurture – by one’s [Continue]
Although I have given a mathematical proof that no one is normal, it is nevertheless the case that people use the word. And, as I note in that article, it is possible to be normal on one or two dimensions. So, compared to NVLD people like me, i guess some people are normal, in some [Continue]
All people, whatever their abilities or disabilities, deserve to be treated with dignity. The free online dictionary defines dignity thus: The quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect. What does this mean when dealing with people who are learning disabled and, more specifically, when dealing with people who have NLD? To me, [Continue]
I have read that some people make a useful distinction between impairment and disability. Impairment is about actual neurology, biology, physiology and so on. Disability is about the effects of that impairment on life in the world. There is an old saying that “in the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king”. It [Continue]
If the world were logical, competence would bring confidence. You ought to be more confident about things you are good at than things you are bad at. In many cases it does work that way. Sometimes, it does not. In my case, particularly in my childhood, it did not. If we are lucky, some of [Continue]
I got the idea for this post from Rick LaVoie’s book It’s so much work to be your friend. A lot of people make their bed every morning. Maybe you’re one of them. And, if you’re NT, it’s probably pretty simple. You probably do it the same way, each time. There’s some set of steps [Continue]
There are some people in the learning disability community (often the ones who insist on calling it a learning difference) who dislike the term “learning disabled person” and prefer “person with learning disability”. They often also object to describing a person as “learning disabled”. As you can tell from [Continue]
You’ve had a baby! Congratulations! Now all the questions that were about the mom-to-be will be about the baby and you and your spouse/partner/whoever will be roundly ignored. And there he or she is: Something like 5 or 10 pounds and a size to fit on your forearm (unless, of course, the baby is NOT [Continue]
In this article I introduced the idea of nonverbal learning disabilities, or any disability, as a mountain between where you are and where you want to go. In this article I discussed socialization skills. In the present article, I will discuss how the mountain analogy can be used to help with these skills. I didn’t [Continue]
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]
