I’m preparing myself next year for the transition of being labled LD to being labled a slow learner. I would appreciate it if any of you know of any examples of people who’ve shown that you can lead a successful life despite having a lack of mental horse power.
Re: success despite label?
THey’re everywhere. HOnestly.
When you get to *know* people (welp, especially if you’ve spent a few dozen years doing educational testing and diagnostics :-)) you realize that there are lots of jobs and families that don’t require *speed* or even lots of abstract thinking.
They require figuring out what **works** in what kind of situations, and practicing that stuff until it is what happens all the time.
My godchild’s IQ tests out in the fifties or sixties (though if you used a nonverbal test it would probably make it into the 80’s). Nobody in the world would believe she was in special ed. She works at Safeway and Domino’s. She’s competent and reliable because she has the social skills to keep working at her jobs until she has ‘em figured out. (She’s only 18 so I’m sure there will be bumps in the road, but she’s finding that being on time and trying hard *and* having a positive cheerful attitude and good social skills are ‘way important and can make up for the things she struggles with, and she *does* struggle with things.)
People don’t make the news for leading a successful life (welp, except maybe something like “it’s a wonderful life”). But really, it happens every day.
An awful lot of the people I work with at the college could be labeled slow learners. (They could not possibly write the concise communication you did.) They’re leading successful lives & trying to make theirs better.
Sometimes it’s hard … not everybody does succeed at college. But that’s another long essay…
Re: success despite label?
Yup.
One thing would be to try to think of the “ideas” going on behind concrete things.
You might want to look at some of the “reading comprehension” exercises on my site; I’ve used them to get to the abstract of reading with people.
Einstein was supposedly a slow learner. Edison was such a slow learner that his mother home schooled him, great movie with the late Henry Fonda about him that is uplifting. Tom Cruise was a slow learner. Bill Gates and Stephen Spielberg some say had/ have a mild form of Aspergers.
I think that labels are for cans. Just be yourself and if the occassion warrents just try extra hard in the workplace or get to work early or do what you have to do.