disablities: social, learning ect.

[Dawnatello Turtle Chick]

Originally Posted by blindturtle02

Well, my mom always says,"You reap what you sow." Some day someone will find her out.

Truer words may never be spoken. Pity that students will be hurt by her words/teachings in the meantime.

The biggest problem with school districts IMO is that they are governed by people that aren't teachers (or at least aren't teaching in the schools currently) and as such, can't be aware of the current needs/issues with students or teachers. I've seen the cascade effect this has. School boards and superintendents have different goals and priorities, they are concerned with budgets, changing populations and how that impacts the different schools, approving/denying changes, etc. and while those are necessary to keeping things working smoothly, they often forget about how the ground level people are affected- students or teachers. Many school boards get it right, but sadly many are completely unaware of problems or don't want to be aware.

My mom got laid off because she made the most money in the Special Ed department- never mind she was doing 3 different peoples' jobs and that she made sure that each Special Ed teacher on each campus had what they needed to do their jobs and made sure every kid was getting what they needed. The new Director laid off most of the Special Ed dept because it made financial sense. She got a raise. She has since moved on to do it to another school district. That school now has a special ed dept that is almost completely gone, kids are going without the services they need, teachers are ill-equipt and parents are frustrated. But hey, the school saved so much money! Public schools aren't about being profitable, they are about educating kids. I firmly believe it is just plain wrong for a Superintendent to get a big fat raise (after already making 6-figures) after eliminating tons of teaching positions. I want to go all Arrow on them: "Superintendent, you have failed your school district!" And I'm not even in school anymore... I grieve for the youth of today.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

You guys are all amazing. I don't "know" that I have any disabilities, but over the last couple of years I've begun to suspect I may be slightly dyslexic- and someone earlier brought up the mathematical type of dyslexia that sounds suspiciously like the problem I had all through school. I work in fast food (not a glamorous or "lucrative" job, I know, but it pays the bills and keeps us fed and a roof over us) and on occasion, I have problems with reversing or mixing up numbers on totals, remembering even simple math for counting change (on those times when someone hands me a bill, I punch in the amount and start to give them change- and THEN they tell me they have the change....) and similar instances. When I type, I often find that after I've written a bit, I'll look up and discover that I've switched letters in at least a half-dozen words, or run them together, without ever noticing it while writing it. I have to go back and proof EVERYTHING I type now, and that didn't used to be the case. Is there such a thing as adult-dyslexia? I've never heard of it occurring later in life, but it seems the older I get, the worse this problem is. It crops up when I speak or read something out loud, as well.

On a more "serious" note, my husband is diabetic, which he has been since he was 3. Having had It for so long, he has recently begun to have some serious side-effects, such as neuropathy in his feet, wounds that don't heal properly- in fact, one such very recently resulted in the amputation of half of his left foot after a blister on it developed MRSA- and other problems. He has episodes of VERY low blood sugar more and more, though most of the recent once were caused by the hospital's diabetic specialist changing his insulin to a new type that works much faster and for a shorter time- meaning that he had to take it much more often, but it worked too fast for his food intake to balance it! Some doctors really ARE idiots- if something works, DON'T F*** WITH IT!

I'm really sorry to hear about your relationship problems, LEO, but I can honestly say that not ALL relationships are like that. I was lucky with mine. Married to the same man for 13+ years, together for over 16, and we are still happy together. We met in high school (just friends then) but didn't get together until about a year after we graduated. There have been many trying times (both out of work at the same time more than once, living with my parents for a year and a half just a couple of years ago after having been independent for years, his medical problems, spending three years living with my grandmother and helping take care of three younger cousins, etc), but we've weathered them all.

My own parents have never seemed happy together, mainly due to my step-father (since I was three, and only "dad" I've ever known) being an a$$. He's anti-social, has anger-management issues, and has been abusive in the past (I went through twelve weeks of therapy when I was 12- long story, but it amounts to him doing things that were WAY immoral). He has never respected me or my mother, views women in general as "less important" or simply there to take care of the home and cook, (mysoganist, I think) and treats other people with disrespect, indifference, or outright contempt- especially my husband. He has even (I kid you not) offered to send me through college if I would move back home and LEAVE my mate. Who is a far better man than he is, BTW. He has at various times called me derogatory names, implied I was stupid, and taken out his own frustrations on me when growing up. He looks down on my own field of work, even though he himself has always had jobs basically running machines or more recently driving trucks. And he has consistently brushed off every accomplishment or aspiration I've ever had.

I say this not for sympathy, but to show that yes, we CAN break the kind of behavioral trends of our parents. My husband, while always having worked the same kind of low-earning jobs as myself, is far more compassionate, caring, considerate, and well-liked by those around him than my "dad" has ever been. It's sad when I can talk to his(my step-father's) own family and co-workers (Some of whom are also my customers at my job- lesson to be learned, service workers get around when it comes to knowing things about the people in a town!) and they tell me they don't like being around him! But somehow, I've managed to keep from marrying the same kind of jerk that he has been. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it CAN be done, we just have to look at what is worst in those relationships of our parents, and learn to avoid those kinds of destructive habits and traits. I made it a point whiles still growing up that I would never tolerate anyone who would treat me the way he treats people- especially my mother and me.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by Sage Ninja

I keep coming back to this thread and everytime I have the intention of writing in it I lose my nerve. But after reading about 3 pages of people not only revealing their disablities but also bearing the darker areas of their soul i'm just gonna dive in.

I have a learning disablity called an information processing disorder, and boy does it affect me in almost every area of my life. It means I have a disablity with problem solving and my calculation skills are very poor. This affected me growing up because I trouble interperting nonverbal codes and facial expressions. I also have hard time undersrtanding people with accents at time, but I have gotten much better at this. The thing that sucks most about this is that I know that even close friends and family tend to look down on me just a little bit. They make off comments like "oh, if Pamela can do it, than means anyone can." or "It must be simple if pamela understood it." I had a I.E.P while in school and sometimes my friends would make off comments about how I must have it so easy. Some of my friends didin't really respect me on some level. I remember one instance where I commented about how I stressed about making all the things I had to do for a project and my friend looked me in the eye told me "I don't want to hear, do you have any idea what I have to do being in the honors program. I assure you your stuff is like elementary stuff." I learned not to complain about acedemics to my friends.

I grew up believing I was just stupid and even to this day sometimes I still think I am just stupid. I know I am an intelligent person but when it comes to actually learning something it possiably the hardest thing for me to do. It takes me forever to learn something and truth be told I don't actually learn anything from a class room setting. I almost always get the majority of my learning from sitting one on one with some who instructs me step by step on how to do something. Thats how I actually figured out I wasn't genuanly dumb growing up, because I found that if I had someone giving me extra intruction and giving me enough time to understand (even if it meant several hours to learn something everyone else learned in one class hour) I could get it and be on par with the other people who learned in an regular class.

However, that is not always possiable. Sometimes I had teachers who would try to help one on one get very impatient with me and give up me before I could have a chance to get it. And worse sometimes being accused of "not paying attention" or "being lazy" or I was wasting their time "pretending to be stupid." That really did something to me because I always thought "if you think I'm pretending to be stupid, does that mean if I genuanily don't get it I am stupid?" I didn't know what was worse getting yelled at and punished because they thought I was not trying or being lazy or the them actually believing I was stupid. I always hated the moment where their expression kind of freezes when they realized I genunienly was not understanding the concepts. And then the tight expression and patronizing manner they would have afterwards explaining "oh, it's ok. If you don't understand that doesn't really make you dumb." And when I pointed out that a few minutes ago when they thought I was pretending "to be stupid/dumb" that they said if I didin't I was dumb. Sometimes they would get angry and turn it around on me saying "if you think your stupid then everyone will think you are." I had one teacher who tried her hardest to get me out of her class room in elementary school because she didn't want to deal with me.

I hate how my learning disablity makes me inflexiable. I'm very routine oriented and if I get of my routine it screws me up. For example I tend to simplfying things into a series of steps to be acomplished to reach the completion. If I miss a step it doesn't completely throw me but people have commented that I have a moment of pause where I'm processing this new unexpectede change. Sometimes no one notices this slight pause on my part and others do. I also have crappy short term memory. I can litterly forget where I put somthing almost imediately after I set it down.

I don't know if I'd say that I have what you have, although I have experienced similar things all throughout my life.

There would be times where I'd have trouble in class, where I might answer a question wrong. Then others would laugh and tell me I'm stupid. The more they said it, I started to get concerned that it might be true.

I don't remember this, but a while back, my mother told me that when I was in kindergarten, the teacher told her about how I'd always finish my work before everyone else, and even seemed to have a grasp on the material. So it's too bad that I couldn't have been that great throughout all my years of school. When I was 11, I was made to take this test somewhere that I believe was supposed to test my intelligence. The test proved that I was indeed smart. So if I might have been having trouble with something in school, perhaps it just had to do with the way it's explained. So even if I am actually smart, I apparently still end up doing things that say otherwise. All in all, it's basically that **** happens, and it's both inconvenient and annoying.

I've also been accused of acting as though I'm not smart if I really am. There were times where I'd be asked to help someone with something, and I'd have to tell them that I'm not the right person to ask, since I don't have the knowledge on what they're doing in order to be able to assist them. Then there would be times where I'm doing something and I actually appear to be capable of doing it. That's when I'd be accused of acting like I'm incompetent. It's just that there are some things that I'm good at, and there are some things that I'm not good at. I know myself. I know my abilities. So if I know that there's something I can do well, then I'm happy to do it. Otherwise, I'd have to suggest that the person go to someone else. I mean, you don't go to your dentist to deal with you if you've got a cataract.

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by blindturtle02

I can tell you guys some pretty horrifying stuff about idiotic teachers being given degrees. There are some that are training up-coming teachers who have no business teaching. We had to do quite a bit related to the special education field in my teachers' certification course last semester. One person with a recently acquired doctorate compared students with severe mental disabilities to those little bobblehead dogs people used to put on their dashboards back in the 50's or so. She was saying you could train those guys to nod after everything that is said in order to make it appear as if they're understanding topics. And get this, this person was pretty high up in the special education field. I was very disgusted when hearing this. It wasn't amusing at all. I think she started that class period off by telling us this sob story about no students being left out of the education experience. I hope it eventually comes back to bite her in the butt. She's about the same age as my parents, but she doesn't deserve such a degree in my opinion. I hope to go into the special education field eventually. Possibly after teaching in a regular classroom for a few years. There need to be teachers out there who practice what they preach. So yeah, it's amazing who they give degrees to these days.

Whoa, that is messed up. Yeah, it's sad that most teachers these days don't even have a teaching degree and only have to take a test to do it. My sis found that out while subbing at a school, and she said she wants to do it. I told her it was a mistake and that she'd be better off taking classes first before actually taking that test as there's a lot that goes into teaching these days. I wouldn't do it at all even though my sis said I'd be qualified to do it.

[blindturtle02]

Originally Posted by Dawnatello Turtle Chick

Truer words may never be spoken. Pity that students will be hurt by her words/teachings in the meantime.

The biggest problem with school districts IMO is that they are governed by people that aren't teachers (or at least aren't teaching in the schools currently) and as such, can't be aware of the current needs/issues with students or teachers. I've seen the cascade effect this has. School boards and superintendents have different goals and priorities, they are concerned with budgets, changing populations and how that impacts the different schools, approving/denying changes, etc. and while those are necessary to keeping things working smoothly, they often forget about how the ground level people are affected- students or teachers. Many school boards get it right, but sadly many are completely unaware of problems or don't want to be aware.

My mom got laid off because she made the most money in the Special Ed department- never mind she was doing 3 different peoples' jobs and that she made sure that each Special Ed teacher on each campus had what they needed to do their jobs and made sure every kid was getting what they needed. The new Director laid off most of the Special Ed dept because it made financial sense. She got a raise. She has since moved on to do it to another school district. That school now has a special ed dept that is almost completely gone, kids are going without the services they need, teachers are ill-equipt and parents are frustrated. But hey, the school saved so much money! Public schools aren't about being profitable, they are about educating kids. I firmly believe it is just plain wrong for a Superintendent to get a big fat raise (after already making 6-figures) after eliminating tons of teaching positions. I want to go all Arrow on them: "Superintendent, you have failed your school district!" And I'm not even in school anymore... I grieve for the youth of today.

My fiancé's parents say the exact same thing pertaining to folks on the school board. They've been responsible for some very ridiculous dicisions around here. Funny you mentioned going Arrow. Whenever I watch that show, I always think of him going after corrupt individuals in the education field. It really would be terrific if such individuals were found out and made to pay back all the money they've squandered over the years. Kids with disabilities in our district are really hurting because of some very very corrupt workers in our Special Ed dept. Our district has had more than a few lawsuits slapped on them by parents of blind children as well as those with other disabilities. I'm not sure how all that's going as of Oct 2013 but I hope justice wins the day.

[Davetello]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Reading through all those rants on the previous pages has made me roll my eyes. Jesus.

Let's be fair here, you're probably the last person on this site who should be rolling his eyes at anyone's posts.

[Davetello]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Sh*t, if I hadn't decided to take an unrelated internet break for a few days, I damn sure would've if I'd been around to read the last 4 pages. Holy f***. Glad I missed that.

And what exactly was wrong with it? I said that I dislike those who put down disabled people, unaware that the word 'spaz' wasn't intended in your country as it is in mine. This led to a debate about the actual connotations of the word - a debate which was somewhat pedantic in retrospect but was still passionately argued from both perspectives. Then there was a bit of debate about the evils of Western society, which is a view I'm pretty sure you share. I insulted your country yes, but I insulted my own too. I think we both grew up in disgusting, hypocritical countries governed by bloodthirsty madmen who have played a large part in destroying poorer parts of the world. So what? It's a view many people share. Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel anyway. Therefore, if you could tell me what you found so cringeworthy about the debate, other than possibly the pedantry and a refusal from both parties to back down, that'd be great.

It was a decent debate, other than Jester somewhat sidestepping my point at times.

If you were British you'd understand why the word 'spaz' is treated with disdain here. It was a decent discussion. I generally consider you a very good poster, and not the type to make snide comments without elaborating on why. That's the sort of sh!t you rightly condemn other posters for.

I've never had these sort of confrontations on any other forum I've been a member of...

HOWEVER, in other news, I've read through the entire thread and many of you people are an inspiration. This is probably the best and most important thread on the entire forum (other than myself and Jester's debate).

[Leo656]

Ah, man, I can't honestly even remember. Possibly half-drunk? I wasn't singling anybody out, or anything, from what I remember I was just gobsmacked that whole back-and-forth went on for so long. In any case, I'm over it.

And I'm Irish, so I hate a little of everybody regardless of where they hail from.

[Davetello]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Ah, man, I can't honestly even remember. Possibly half-drunk? I wasn't singling anybody out, or anything, from what I remember I was just gobsmacked that whole back-and-forth went on for so long. In any case, I'm over it.

And I'm Irish, so I hate a little of everybody regardless of where they hail from.

It felt like you were having a go at me, that's all. You're not the only one who suffers from paranoia Perhaps I should stop taking things as personal attacks.

Other than that, I enjoyed reading your post, as well as those of others such as Dawntello, blindturtle etc. I knew a blind person on a university forum and she was one of the best students there. It's great to see that physical and mental barriers can be overcome.

I also understand your point about suicide, as controversial as it may be. I often wonder why people are so desperate for others to live, why people make a career of talking people out of suicide. It probably should be a choice, as you're right that life is essentially mundane, tedious and overly difficult for most people. I suppose suicide carries such negative connotations because if it didn't we'd probably have an epidemic on our hands. The misguided sense of shame of feeling suicidal is actually enough to stop some people.

For me personally, I have suffered from existential crises. Most things in life seems too trivial to me relative to the bigger picture, although over the last few years I've managed to simply take things as they are and enjoy the smaller things in life. I also despise my own hypocrisy in enjoying things created in the very Western culture I abhor. I don't particularly lack self-esteem, but I am part of the mental health service and have been since I was 19. It's really hampered my 'prospects' career-wise but there's no point in carrying bitterness over it - it just leads to circular negative feelings. I could elaborate further but I feel I've said enough for now. I was just inspired to say something as everyone else had the good grace to open themselves up.

[Leo656]

"The unexamined life is not worth living." I can't remember who said that.

And if I have a poke at someone I'm usually more blatant about it than that.

Things are going pretty well for me lately, so it's pretty weird looking back at something I wrote when I was out of sorts like that. I don't remember it very well at all. I think most people have a defense mechanism that blocks out or wipes over stuff like that so they don't go crazy.

[Davetello]

Originally Posted by Leo656

"The unexamined life is not worth living." I can't remember who said that.

And if I have a poke at someone I'm usually more blatant about it than that.

Things are going pretty well for me lately, so it's pretty weird looking back at something I wrote when I was out of sorts like that. I don't remember it very well at all. I think most people have a defense mechanism that blocks out or wipes over stuff like that so they don't go crazy.

It's fine mate. As I say, I take things the wrong way and lash out at others sometimes too (though not often strangers, more family members and friends). And that quote is spot on.

I'm glad you're doing better at the moment - it's a long, hard slog indeed. Every day and week blurs into the next and nothing ground-breaking ever seems to happen.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

Originally Posted by Davetello

I also despise my own hypocrisy in enjoying things created in the very Western culture I abhor.

Funny you should say that. An Indian writer recalled how, back in the 1960's, the hippies of the era told him how they thought India was really cool. His response was to ask what was so cool about it. The poverty? The hopelessness? Arranged marriages?

"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

[BubblyShell22]

I can see why some people aren't fans of America, and it's getting worse with everything that's happened, so I don't care if people insult it or not. Heck, I live in America, and there are times where I really despise this country when I used to be so proud to live here. Most of that though is due to politics, so Dave, if you want to insult America, I won't be offended by it one bit.

And congrats to you, Dave, for being brave enough to share a little of your own disability. That's what this thread's for, and I'm glad you were able to open up a little.

[Davetello]

Originally Posted by Type 97 Chi-ha

Funny you should say that. An Indian writer recalled how, back in the 1960's, the hippies of the era told him how they thought India was really cool. His response was to ask what was so cool about it. The poverty? The hopelessness? Arranged marriages?

"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

Nah, I see your point mate. Other parts of the world have their problems too, we know that. I'm not saying I think the grass is greener. However, the west clearly exploits developing nations and that sort of thing really gets to me more than anything. The west is still the best place to live on the planet, but a large part of that is exactly because of said exploitation. As one historic example, look into counter-factual claims of the Atlantic slave trade.

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

I can see why some people aren't fans of America, and it's getting worse with everything that's happened, so I don't care if people insult it or not. Heck, I live in America, and there are times where I really despise this country when I used to be so proud to live here. Most of that though is due to politics, so Dave, if you want to insult America, I won't be offended by it one bit.

And congrats to you, Dave, for being brave enough to share a little of your own disability. That's what this thread's for, and I'm glad you were able to open up a little.

I don't mean to constantly take pops at the States. As I've said I feel exactly the same about Britain. Both countries have a lot of problems at both micro and macro levels, and are partly responsible for the state the world is in right now.

Thanks. I didn't really wanna say anything but seeing as everyone else was opening up, I felt I would too.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

Originally Posted by Davetello

Nah, I see your point mate. Other parts of the world have their problems too, we know that. I'm not saying I think the grass is greener. However, the west clearly exploits developing nations and that sort of thing really gets to me more than anything. The west is still the best place to live on the planet, but a large part of that is exactly because of said exploitation. As one historic example, look into counter-factual claims of the Atlantic slave trade.

I've heard that too, but it's an old wive's tale, certainly nowadays when Western nations have long since lost control over their former colonies. Even in Africa and Asia, people realize that their economic and political problems can no longer be blamed on colonialism many decades after it ended.

And BTW, guess who is practicing slavery and the slave trade nowadays? The Mideast nations. And only a small part of their populations are wealthy.

[Davetello]

Originally Posted by Type 97 Chi-ha

I've heard that too, but it's an old wive's tale, certainly nowadays when Western nations have long since lost control over their former colonies. Even in Africa and Asia, people realize that their economic and political problems can no longer be blamed on colonialism many decades after it ended.

And BTW, guess who is practicing slavery and the slave trade nowadays? The Mideast nations. And only a small part of their populations are wealthy.

Like I said, it's counter-factual. Africa is in a state partly because of the loss of so many people to Europe and the USA during the slave trade, and the effects linger until now. Of course, it's not black and white and some of their issues are their own responsibility too, but your view seems dangerously close to absolving the west of all blame. Your first paragraph seems like a colonial superiority complex; it's the sort of thing I hear often from Brits who believe that the United Kingdom is the greatest country on the planet and has never done anything shameful in its history. You know, the sort who are proud of the empire rather than ashamed. You've said it in a more civilised manner but there are certain undertones to your first paragraph which make me feel uncomfortable.

I can't really disagree with your second paragraph, and never have. However, 'they're doing it now too, and are just as bad as we were if not worse' isn't really an argument.

Are you a big supporter of the American military?

I'm not saying that the UK, USA etc are 100% to blame for the world's woes, but let's be honest here - we both have a pretty nasty track record and trying to hold Africa fully accountable for its issues is poor form given that we left it miles behind in the first place and hence are largely to blame for its lack of development.

[DarkLightDragon]

I have a mild case of Asperger's that I was diagnosed I believe around kindergarten or 2nd grade.

While it doesn't hinder me all that much since I can open up and talk to people and manage to leave a good impression on people, I just been one to prefer being alone and prevent any awkwardness that follows me around. It also helps that the people I feel like talking to share my common interests hence why I decided to join a couple years back. This forum isn't the only place I go to, but for a while, it was the forum I would visit the least.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

Originally Posted by Davetello

Like I said, it's counter-factual. Africa is in a state partly because of the loss of so many people to Europe and the USA during the slave trade, and the effects linger until now. Of course, it's not black and white and some of their issues are their own responsibility too, but your view seems dangerously close to absolving the west of all blame. Your first paragraph seems like a colonial superiority complex; it's the sort of thing I hear often from Brits who believe that the United Kingdom is the greatest country on the planet and has never done anything shameful in its history. You know, the sort who are proud of the empire rather than ashamed. You've said it in a more civilised manner but there are certain undertones to your first paragraph which make me feel uncomfortable.

I can't really disagree with your second paragraph, and never have. However, 'they're doing it now too, and are just as bad as we were if not worse' isn't really an argument.

Are you a big supporter of the American military?

I'm not saying that the UK, USA etc are 100% to blame for the world's woes, but let's be honest here - we both have a pretty nasty track record and trying to hold Africa fully accountable for its issues is poor form given that we left it miles behind in the first place and hence are largely to blame for its lack of development.

I don't agree. Asian as well as African nations were colonized too, and not just by Westerners. Look at how well China is doing after centuries of colonialism by various powers-or South Korea, for that matter.

It's easy to scapegoat the West for all the world's problems. But it's fallacious and not supported by facts by those who are willing to actually look for them. Certainly Asia and Africa were not nice places before the colonial era.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

I should also add that I did take one college course in Asian history and one in Latin American history (which I agree should be taught in lower grades too), and I've learned that many of the post colonial problem facing these nations were as much the result of post colonial leaders' corruption or stupidity as any aftereffects of colonialism. Example: in India, inoculating the population against diseases inadvertently caused the nation's population to explode because the death rate was reduced without slowing the birth rate.

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by DarkLightDragon

I have a mild case of Asperger's that I was diagnosed I believe around kindergarten or 2nd grade.

While it doesn't hinder me all that much since I can open up and talk to people and manage to leave a good impression on people, I just been one to prefer being alone and prevent any awkwardness that follows me around. It also helps that the people I feel like talking to share my common interests hence why I decided to join a couple years back. This forum isn't the only place I go to, but for a while, it was the forum I would visit the least.

Thanks for posting your story, DarkLightDragon. That's very brave of you to come out and talk about your disability. I'm glad it doesn't hinder you that much and that you're able to still function despite your disability.