What causes LD?

Oh I forgot to add something else.
I’ve alway have had problems with math starting in second grade, but at that time my reading was tested and I read at a ninth grade level then. When I tested in college the psychologist said my vocabulary and reading skills were in the genius range while my math and auditory were the lowest range.

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/ - Cached
Please go to this site. It was a tremendous help for my son.Your mother doesn’t sound too supportive. If your IQ was 145 early on and is 125 now that is probably because of the nature of the test. It is harder to compensate the older you get. Linda Silverman says that you should use the highest IQ score you ever had. Mensa says that too. Your LD was probably from hypoxia at birth although noone knows for sure. My son was not hypoxic and he has LD. I think you would benefit from someone knowlegable in the uniquely gifted.What are your talents? You should develope your talents and quit worrying so much about your deficits. You might need a tutor to get through college.If you have documented LD they should provide accomodations for you. Please let me know how your doing. Jan

Childhood and adult IQ scores don’t always match up. It’s most likely that hypoxia at birth is the cause for both your LD and eating disorder. The CAPD is probably the result of damage to auditory nuclei in the brainstem and/or the auditory pathways in your thalamus. You may also have damage to structures such as hippocampus and striatum (these would cause a wide range of difficulties such as ADHD, memory problems, and even various mood disorders, and yes, even anorexia.)

And no, I’m not a doctor. I just have a strong interest in the subject. You might say I’m motivated by my own disabilities. If you’re really interested in the subject, you can learn a lot by searching on google. To get medical papers, you want to use terms like hypoxia, perinatal, striatum, cerebellum, inferior colliculi, etc. There are a few good sites with general information on the brain and brain damage. I’ll see if I can find the list I keep.

I’m more concerned about getting my math level up to an acceptable level than anything else. These days you can’t get a decent job if you can’t do math at an Algebra 2 level. That’s the level I have to pass to get my A/A degree. I’m not really talented at anything because it takes me a longer time to learn things than everyone else (unless it is reading skills.). I’ve taken art classes and I’m always the worse in the class because I can’t get all the technical stuff down due to I cannot concentrate as well as everyone else. :cry: I still remember when I was eleven I took a keyboard class and flunked it. A boy with a brain injury had passed with an A. The school I went to had a special ed class next to my fifth grade classroom, and when those students found out I couldn’t do math or play the keyboard they teased me and called me “retard” every day. After that experience i figured out that i have no talent in anything at all.

My mother’s problem is that she’s physically disabled and thinks i need to have more self esteem. She says that it’s my eating disorder’s fault that i am this way so I should stop feeling sorry for myself. After what i’ve heard about the self esteem movement on a conservative talk show I think self esteem is blown way out of proportion. Life is all about pushing yourself to be the best 8)

Amber,

In my opinion a lot of the people who come here are a bit full of you know what but you sound very genuine.

I know exactly what you are going through except fot the eating disorder thing but I think that I understand why you do that.

Please know Amber that you are better than most people.

How you became LD is not all that important but I would suspect the circmstances of your birth is the likely reason.

I think your challenge may be in finding your niche in life. I would not expect much outside help from the people who say they are there to help LD folks.

I would advise you to take a good inventory of your strengths and weaknesses and work on a plan.

One thing to be thankful for is you are not a fat slob. Look around you at all the fat disgusting women waddling around. You are better than everyone of them.

Work on getting your brain healthier and get the acedemic help you need.

I also advise LD victims to cheat whenever possible. Do not take the moral high ground. You are more important than any societal rules.

I don’t believe in cheating.but I do check out what teachers would be best for me on a website called www.whototake.com. There former students critique their teachers. I found a good Algebra 1 teacher who allows everyone to use notes on tests in his class ( even on finals! :D ). This is a good thing since i can’t remember math concepts and formulas too well.
Just recently i had a graphics teacher who teased me because i forgot how to do things on a MAC computer. So i just quit his class and took watercolor painting with a teacher I’m familiar with and who has worked with students with all sorts of disabilities. My painting teacher always says “Don’t talk about your disabilities in this class! Tell us about YOUR abilities.” If you know what I mean. :wink:

Hello, Everyone; Hello Amber –
Dealing with “neighbors”, and people in the neighborhood, can be
tough, if you have LD. For me, I think it was part hereditary, and
part minor brain-injury after a fall into a brook. My mom’s younger
brother had a form of LD — though not defined well; Dyslexia related.
I was originally diagonosed with Dysgraphia, and computers and I
are OK ( though I don’t have the patience for programming) .
I was stubborn, and into the TV News; did not like to write, but
I did like to read and learn that way. I read High School stuff in
First Grade. For me, also, Math has been a problem.
See my posts in “Secondary Education”; as well as “Social Skills”.

Sometimes, it is tough, to do a task in an OK manner; yet different
from other people. Sometimes, It is better not to say too much,
when meeting new people. It is tough to determine how well
others know about Learning Differences; skills and abilities.
It takes a lot of effort, to be a good person, sometimes.
Sometimes, you just have to shrug, and move on.

Good luck, this semester.

Joe Tag

– end –

Amber, I’m very worried about your self esteem, even if you aren’t. Who ever gets to the “TOP”! ?No one that I know. You must have a lot of talents, but you were probably not given the chance to develope them as a child. Most parents of children like you do everything in their power to see that their children get the help they need .Being anorexic is a symptom of some other disorder.You needed help when you were very young and your mom let you down. You need to take the bull by the horns and start advocating for yourself. I’m afraid you are depressed and that you need some help to do this. PLEASE get help!!! You can be whatever you want to be. There are millions of people that would give anything to have your brain!! My son KNOWS that he will excell even if his schooling isn’t conventional. We have done everthing we know of to help him develope his talents and we spend some time on remediation of LD but not the bulk of our time. His self esteem is great and he knows that we will support him in everything he attempts.Please get help because you can succeeded!!! Lots of Luck and Email me, Jan

Please leave my mother out of the subject. She has done her best (besides having a physical disability and being a single mother) to raise me. I developed an eating disorder because I was obese as a teenager and a scruopulous dietician put me on a strict diet.I was only allowed 900 to 1200 calories a day and only under 20 grams of fat. The doctor found out the dietician had an eating disorder herself and had her fired . I had not dropped enough weight to become fully anorexic ( I was 109 at 5’2’) so I was considered “borderline”. The dietician was threatening parents who brought their kids to her that she would have the CPS investigate if they took their kids off her diet. My weight problem was from taking medication for ADD and depression and not the fault of my family.

Also I have a perfectionistic streak in which could have caused me to diet like that. I still strive to be perfect. I can’t stand it being like I am! I look around and other people are so much better than me! Sometimes I wish I were someone else. :cry: Just want to be perfect like everyone else when I’m always comparing myself to other ladies at school. It seems as if everyone else has it together.
Not too long ago I found a website of a young lady with auditory processing disorder who won a scholarship. She has a 3.80 G.P.A. . I wonder why I can’t get perfect grades like that. :cry:

My mother and grandparents also homeschooled me from the time I was thirteen because they thought maybe my problems were the way the teachers were teaching me. They thought public school was a waste of time especially the JR high I went to the teachers would yell at the kids and call them names. This disrupted my ability to concentrate on my work. Anyway i went from only knowing fourth grade math to knowing some basic algebra when i got my G.E.D..

[quote=”Jan Raper”]Amber, I’m very worried about your self esteem, even if you aren’t. Who ever gets to the “TOP”! ?No one that I know. You must have a lot of talents, but you were probably not given the chance to develope them as a child. Most parents of children like you do everything in their power to see that their children get the help they need .Being anorexic is a symptom of some other disorder.You needed help when you were very young and your mom let you down. You need to take the bull by the horns and start advocating for yourself. I’m afraid you are depressed and that you need some help to do this. PLEASE get help!!! You can be whatever you want to be. There are millions of people that would give anything to have your brain!! My son KNOWS that he will excell even if his schooling isn’t conventional. We have done everthing we know of to help him develope his talents and we spend some time on remediation of LD but not the bulk of our time. His self esteem is great and he knows that we will support him in everything he attempts.Please get help because you can succeeded!!! Lots of Luck and Email me, Jan[/quote]

Amber sounds like she is doing OK. No one’s life is perfect. Amber is just more honest than most people. She seems to be advocating quite well for herself.

I think she is quite correct about the perfectionist thing. The eating issue is about control. Amber figures atleast she can control her body. Being plagued with LD the control that she sees others having in their acedemic lives eludes her. Amber has set high standards for herself thus the perfectionism and the strict adherence to rules.

Amber, please understand the rules are not for you. Break them. The rules are for douche bags like that graphic arts teacher who dissed you.

A pragmatic aproach would help Amber. Amber neeed to realize that the shortest path between 2 points is a straight line. You will not excel by following rules.

I also think there are some issues with mother. I am guessing alcohol is involved.

I could be all bummed out because Kobe Bryant is a better basketball player than me but if he even looked at my daughter I’d kill him.

People don’t feel that way about me and I can’t score 30 points a game.

Don’t go comparing your self to others so much. Did you ever think that maybe you are fine the way you are.

Perfection is a illusion. Perfection is not even a worthy goal or an achievable standard.

I on the other hand am perfect. I am the exception that proves the rule.

Amber, if you had ten million dollars would any of this stuff really concern you?

No my mother does not have a drinking problem.She has a physical disability ever since I was two years old. When I was a kid she was a bit overprotective and strict because I’m an only child. And being Christian doesn’t help when it comes to self esteem. Some groups say it’s pride so it’s one of the seven deadly sins, and some say God has commanded people to love themselves as well as other people. My problem is I want to feel good about myself but afraid to get a swollen head. Also when I have felt good about myself people pick on me more. One college classmate of mine always found an opportunity to chew me out after an artwork I did got accepted into the college’s annual art contest. She was a big snot nosed girl who thought she was all that. :roll:Maybe i’m just angst ridden because Itry to be like everyone else and at the same time many people’s behavior disgusts me.

Amber, a lot of people really suck but that makes finding a nice one so much more special.

Congrats on the work of yours going into the art show. Some people are jealous. Don’t take their hang ups personally.

Christianity is the opiate of the masses. That original sin guilt is terrible. I had that guilt trip laid on me when I was a kid. It’s hard to shake.

I look at it this way. If I am not good enough for god he/she/it can go to hell. I guess that makes me and God even because the god I know isn’t good enough for me.

I am not well liked and when I consider the people that don’t like me I take it as a compliment.

Amber, you got cursed with LD so I would not worry about getting a big head. You deserve to feel good about yourself. LD has humbled you enough. I really don’t think you are the prideful type. Enjoy your wins. If that pisses off god, flip him off. God owes you big time.

Amber,
I have a migraine and am only running off four hours sleep but I’m going attempt to give you some coherent advice.
I’d suggest you stop caring what other people think of you and start focusing on the things that do matter—truth/knowledge. That is why you’re in school, is it not?
They say it’s not the size of a person’s IQ that matters; it’s how they use it.
As for me, I’m pretty intelligent; I have a reasonably high IQ, but just having an above average IQ means little; it’s what you know that counts. Want to know a secret? Most people are /idiots/. Most people are anti-knowledge; they say whatever they can to justify their ignorance—these are the real losers/animals. -sigh-

I shouldn’t be doing this. However I agree with misanthropist. The U.S. is hugely anti-intellectual. I cringe at all the bumper stickers I see, “my dog is smarter than your honor student” “my kid beat up your honor student”. I can’t imagine the message these people are giving their children.

Amber, I also agree that you need to focus on your strengths. Find and do what you love. If you need the degree, and need the math to get the degree, then get a tutor and get through the class. You only need a passing grade. Then let it go and get back to focusing on the good.

Molly

I’m very sorry if I offended you by saying anything about your mom!! I got the impression she wasn’t supportive by your post that said she blamed your LD on anorexia. Sorry I misinterpreted. Hope you will take some of the advice people have given you here and have a better life. Jan :oops:

:D I accept your apologies. I just feel as if parents get blamed for their kid’s problems all the time even if they are trying to do their best to get help for their child. When I was a kid i was on Medi-Cal and their doctors never ran any test on me when Mom asked them to. One doctor just looked at my behavior in his office and said ” Lady. Your daughter has ADD.”. :roll: And because he thought Ritalin was poison he put me on herbal suppliments and a low sugar diet. Then being in public schools where teachers thought i wasn’t listening or paying attention. The worse was being told “Don’t worry about math. Girls can’t do it anyway.” :roll:

Molly,
I do get tutoring in Algebra at my college. Also I know how to pick teachers through a website that i mentioned earlier on this thread (or another one). I found it handy for all subjects even my art classes.

Oh! I had forgot to log in. The above post is mine. I’m so forgetful!
:lol:

It sounds like your primary problem is depression (yes LD is also a problem, but it’s not as big a problem as depression). In fact eating disorders often go hand and hand with depression. You may also be ADD as well, although depression also affects concentration. If you’re just feeling blue most of the time and not suffering from some major clinical depression (it sounds like you’re not, but I could be wrong), then you can probably deal with it without resorting to medication. Here are some tips from someone who has fought depression and LD:

#1 avoid focusing on negative thoughts or feeling sorry for yourself. This will make a minor depression into a major one (I speak from experience).

#2 don’t compare yourself to other people. You need to set personal goals that are meaningful to you and follow those goals. These goals should not be impossible ones like “Win Nobel prize in literature” or “Become famous artist”. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t set difficult goals for yourself, but the bigger goals are usually longer term, and what you need are shorter term goals.

#3 Forget dieting and your weight. I have a cousin who is both bulimic and bipolar. When she was at her worst, she was painfully thin. This is not healthy or attractive. Ask most men and they will tell you that while they don’t find obese women attractive, they also are not attractive to extremely thin women. In fact, if you follow my next suggestion and eat three to four normal meals a day, you will not have to worry about your weight (and should probably never get on a scale ever again)…

#4 Exercise. Take up running, swimming or something else that makes you sweat and that you find enjoyable. This is not just for your physical health but your mental health. Exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, and I feel that it also improves concentration (at least it does for me). It may even reverse some brain damage, such as damage to the hippocampus. Of course, it will generally take 2-3 months before you start to feel the benefits, so hang in there.

#5 Work on your concentration. Some people find that meditation is very beneficial. Find some books on TM, Zen, or even Yoga. In fact, a combination of meditation and exercise might be all you need. BTW, if you are a Christian and concerned about taking up non-Christian religious practices, don’t be. Meditation is something that even Christians have practiced through the ages. It is as simple as attempting to clear your mind and focusing on a single idea or word. This could even be your concept of God or Jesus or whatever. You can pretty much ignore any of the metaphysics or religious ideas that come attached to practices such as Yoga and Zen and insert your own bliefs. Think of it as getting in touch with Grace or God (or not).

#6 If nothing you try works (and you give it at least 2-3 months), then consider going back on medication. It’s true that anti-depressants cause weight gain, but if you also exercise, then you should be able to ameliorate this. In fact, as I mentioned above, exercise will improve your mood and concentration with or without medication.

:D Amber, Thanks for accepting my appology. You know it might be worthwile for you to have some educatiional testing by a competent neuropsychologist that could tell you exactly where the problems lie and also recommend accomodations that would help you in college. I know it is expensive, but if it is billed with a dx:neuropathy etc. your insurance should pay for it. All the things the last post said would probably help too. I have had depression before and it sounds like you might fit that dx. I just am very concerned about you because I can see if I don’t make the appropriate choices now that may son might suffer as you are. Please think about getting the help you need and deserve. Jan

The college I go to has a disabled assistance center where I got tested last year when my Japanese teacher suspected I had a hearing problem.The psychologist ( who is an expert on learning disabilities) tested me there at the center.Now I get help in my Algebra any time I want and can take tests at the center since it takes me longer than everyone else. Last year I went to a school counselor after I was diagnosed and she said I have an “Identity crisis”. Now I can’t see her anymore because the school only allows two months of counseling sessions for each student’s attendance at the college. I do not feel depressed all the time just frustrated a lot. Even though I know I’m certainly not “stupid” it’s frustrating to me that I can never be “Little Miss Perfect” (even though there is no such thing.) There are a lot of mixed messages out there of the differences between excellence and perfection. I’ve compesated for my disabilities by pushing myself really hard and being an overachiever at the expence of my self esteem. It has made me a highly competitive person who doesn’t except anything but the best from myself.
Anyway parents do what they can when a child has a medical problem, but when they don’t have money to spare it’s hard to get their kids proper treatment. There are no special LD or depression clinics like there are for kids with cancer that give free treatment.

Somehow when we become adults we just are supposed to disapear.

Your school is doing right by you. That is not always the case.

Be careful about letting someone lable you. You are a person not a lable.

Do not believe that the symptoms and the cause of your problems can’t be remediated with proper therapy and medication. I have had good results with Huperzine -A

I asked my Doc for Selegiline but no dice so I’m gonna get it on line and give it a try. I,m getting a new Doc.

I am definitely NOT going to take any meds for this! After my experience with Triavil and Etrafon as a teen I will not put any more mind altering drugs into my body! As a teenager I gained 70 pounds, hallucinated at times, and had terrible nightmares while on these drugs. Right now I take an herbal suppliment (SP-14 Nerve Blend) to help me concentrate and it really helps. A doctor I went to as a kid recommended SP-14 because he said Ritalin is poison. Unfortunantely when I was sent to another doctor as a at thirteen they put me on a bunch of junk that screwed up my brain more. Also I restrict my water intake. I read that too much water intake can cause swelling of the brain and cause problems for people with all kinds of brain dysfunctions.

I’m not totally against traditional medicine. If a person has a condition where they might endanger themselves or others (such as schizophrenia) than they do need meds. A cousin of mine needed Ritalin as a kid because he was so hyper that if he was not on drugs he would have hurt himself or others seriously. But how does anyone know if he’s got permanent damage to his body from taking meds from six months old to eighteen? It’s a miracle he’s in the Air Force now because the military used not accept anyone who had been taking psychiatric medications as a child.

Amber, you may or may not have ADHD. I believe most ADHD drugs work as dopamine agonists, which would boost functioning in the frontal lobes (ie, more concentration). On the other hand, too much dopamine or dopamine agonists results in hallucinations and such. Usually ADHD meds work for those with ADHD, but cause problems for people who do not have it. There are many other things that can affect concentration. As I said, depression or anxiety or even just a lot of stress cause problems with focusing.

I realize that learning disabilities can add to the frustration. I’ve always been a perfectionist and highly critical of myself as well. Sometimes you just have to slow down and take a deep breath. There are more important things in life than getting high grades and competing with your peers. For one, you should focus on doing what you enjoy, not what others expect from you. If your success is driven from your own personal enjoyment of what you are doing with your life than you are truly successful. If it is just driven by the demands of others, then you are letting your life pass you by.

amber , just be careful with the herbal sup. as well you need to now how they react in your system also you need to find what yo do well and enjoy that is where success will be not in comparing to others . what is impotant is not how but you now know the what the issues are and you can work with them. you are no longer running in the dark ? why things are harder you can now seek ways to make your life easier