Everything I Need to Know I Learned in 3rd Grade...

Related: , More TagsCentral Auditory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, ADHD, Adults with learning disabilities, Fewer Tags

by wheresgrant
Wednesday, April 29, 2009

3rd grade was a pivotal point for me in my life. The year was 1979. It was the first time I fell behind my classmates in homework. It was the first time I was first tested for a learning disability. It was first time my parents showed great concern. It was the first time a teacher made me feel terrible about myself. It was the first time I had entered a resource room program. It was the first time I felt.... truely different.

The truth is, even as I stumble around writing this blog (re-reading every missed phrase or misspelled word, and correcting as I go) I have to pinch myself and wonder how did I ever get here? I, like most people with learning disabilities, were given low expectations. Comments like "He'll survive, but I wouldn't plan a college path"... "Maybe a trade like carpentry, or plumbing would be a logical step for him". And here I stand, 25 years later, with a BS in Political Science, and a 10+ year career in computer book publishing, on the forefront of ebooks and digital content delivery... and I ask myself... "How did I ever get here?" Let's be honest, I haven't read a book cover to cover since the 9th grade.   

A little background about myself, and my disability. I've been tested several times in my youth and diagnosed with a neurological roadblock known as an "Information Processing Disorder". Although, at points in my life I have loathed 'it', over the years it has become my cold, dark friend. I have made a truce with the forces that prevents neurons from functioning properly. Why fight it... you will never win. So I've spent my life working around it. Embracing my creative side, while working with my brain (instead of against it) to provide order, and function. The truth is... I have to work twice as hard to be half as productive as my peers. It's quite alright, I don't complain. In the morning, I roll my sleeves, high on caffine and move from task to task with all of the agility of a drunk frog leaping from lily pad to lily pad in a pond. I cut away the fringe and work on tasks that truly matter. Basically any deadline that comes under the eyes and ears of my customers, my management, and my boss.

I don't want to get into the gritty details of my entire childhood right now... I'll just stick with school. It's important... it's experienced shaped me to who I am today. Suffice to say anything school-related was glum, and report card day felt like a sentence to death row. Grade school was a confusing time... I didn't really understand how other students could finish an assignment on time, when I was still on the first paragraph. I think I spent most of my 6th grade recess, inside working while my friends (the brightest in the class) were enjoying the outdoor air. My parents were always told that I was a student with exceptional aptitude, however I suffered from low achievement. Most of my problems were related to motivation and if I would just pay attention and focus on my studies I could be an ‘A' level student. I did pay attention... I paid attention to everything going on in that classroom. The chalk hitting the chalk board, the birds outside chirping, the clicking of the damn clock, a student tapping his foot 4 rows over and two seats down. I failed 4th thru 6th grade however, my IOWA scores couldn't prevent the school from advancing me.