Learning Disabilities - Part 1

     Page Thirty-Seven.
     Does you kid have learning disabilities? Here's an interesting story for you.
     My primary education years saw me as a less then stellar student. In junior high, I had awful report cards. In high school they got a little bit better, but that's not saying much. I always attributed my poor grades to complete disinterest, deadly procrastination and teenaged distractions. I graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1980 anyhow.
     By the time I got to Cleveland State University the first time, '82-'83, my grades improved, however microscopically. When I went back to CSU in '86 they were quite stable in the C plus B minus range. This really bugged me 'cause I knew I was capable of better. Now, I should admit that homework wasn't my strong suit, nor was studying in general. I certainly didn't have teenaged distractions anymore, but I rarely found myself just sitting and studying. My friends tried to help. They gave me books on how to study and tried to teach me good study techniques. The problem was that every suggestion they gave me required me to sit and well... study. I just couldn't do it. Nothing worked. I really was very upset over the fact that I just couldn't magically get good grades. I was having serious issues over this.
     But I kept on going. I was a psychology major the first couple of years. But as my interests are very diverse, I took many classes in art, science, english and anything else which fit into my schedule. I flunked the occasional class, too. For example, my psych major required that I take statistics. But I flunked. Then, for the general college requirement, I had to take some advanced math, which I did in the form of logic, which I flunked. In the foreign language category: well... um... first I went to Israel to learn Hebrew... flunked. Then, I came back and took Italian. Flunked. Then I took Spanish... flunked. These F's all translated to the occasional Academic Probation on my report card. I discovered though, that when I took an art or science class I could simply show up and get a decent grade. In art I rarely got lower than a B (mostly I got A's) and in science if I simply graced the doorway to the class I got a C. (And, as I didn't do homework, gracing a room and getting a C was fine with me.) So I took extra studio art and science classes whenever I needed to artificially increase my GPA to avoid being kicked out. Incidentally, I eventually switched majors from Psych to Interpersonal Communications because I couldn't pass statistics.
     You see, I was good at showing up for class and remembering what happened there. But the moment outside work was required, there were problems. I was fine with projects or reports. I'd work on those. But general studying... no, no, no! For tests I rarely studied (even in science.) As the years wore on I acclimating to my low GPA, again about 2.5, but I was also getting concerned about my imminent graduation. Israel was in '89 and Italian was in '90. And I couldn't pass a stinkin' math class to save my life. In '90, as a new senior, I went to see my guidance counselor for some unrelated issue and she noticed the inconsistencies. She suggested that I might have some form of learning disabilities as my strengths and weakness appeared to be textbook cases. She said that I should get tested and perhaps the school could work with me on their requirements.
     A few weeks after she said that, I started doing the hair of a new client. Jeannie was very pretty and charming. As I was doing her hair in her recently renovated, stunningly beautiful Cleveland Heights Arts and Crafts home, I asked what she did for a living. "I own and operate Penobscott Learning Centers. We tutor kids in SAT's. We also tutor kids who are having problems in school. And we test for learning disabilities."
     Well at that point, I knew that the Great Spirit of the Universe was in my corner. I told her my story and she said, "Of course we can test you!" A few weeks later, I was sitting in her office and we were testing. It  actually took a couple of days.
     A couple of weeks after that I went to get the results. "Jeremy, let me ask you a question. the first time you walked into my house, a couple of months ago, what did I serve you for a beverage?"
     "Raspberry New York Setzer."
     "That's incredible."
     "What?"
     "Your memory for detail. According to my tests, you're hyperactive, slightly dyslexic, you have a huge problem integrating symbols and you're smarter than average. You remember what you hear, more than what you see. You have no focus and can't pay attention. And your memory for detail is off the scale. Because of the nature of your symbol problem, I'm sure you could eventually get any foreign language or mathematical concept if you just sat and studied a little bit longer than the average person. The problem is that you can't sit."
     "You mean there are real reasons I can't sit?"
     "Yes. You're hyperactive. If you could sit, you'd be fine. Over the years you have learned to overcompensate. That's why you remember what you hear so well. Your attendance is great because on some level you know that you're going to have to remember things for tests. And you know you won't study. So you essentially taught yourself to memorize what professors say, while they're saying them."
     "So what do I do now?" 
     "Let me write a letter to the university. We'll see if they stick by what they said and waive some requirements."
     To be continued...