"Were trying to build up my self esteem because I was hopelessly intellectually disabled. No joke." quote Teacake

You were not intellectually disabled really, you just didn't learn the way they were teaching you. You are "self taught" on a lot of things, you figured out how to learn "your way".

I raised a daughter who had a high IQ, but she did not learn and process information the way others learned. I was lucky that at the time I had access to a study taking place by Yale and they were able to explain to me how her brain works and where her weak areas are. I read to her as soon as she could hold her head up practically. Her cognitive skills were off the charts. I thought she was reading because she remembered every word on a page, she was not reading, she was memorizing everything. So, that is how I helped her learn, everything she was learning we would work together on creating a story around whatever it was, it helped her process and memorize whatever she needed to learn. She cannot remember 9 things, but she can remember 9 things three things at a time, (1,2,3) and (4,5,6) and (7,8,9). Younger than age one she had the entire alphabet memorized, but just the song of it, the story of it, not really each letter of it. Most dyslexics don't like to read, she does, she always wanted to read like mommy did and hear those amazing stories in those books all by herself in her own mind. Formulas, she memorized formulas, that is like memorizing the stories of long ago that I always read to her and taught her how to learn by seeing everything as a story, which is a formula.

She doesn't like clutter, why, because it is too much to organize. Ugh, my husband is the opposite, he clutters and collects and his stuff is everywhere. But, because he has compulsive ADHD, he "can" be good at cleaning and organizing, his brain battles that way constantly, what a curse to be that way huh?

If you read the depositions they did for the opposing side, you will see how they do not remember like I do, they just don't and pushing them to do so doesn't bode well because they simply do not have a sense of "time" like I do and they never did nor will they ever.

Telling someone they are smart doesn't cut it, I hear you, you have to show them how they are smart, not like you, but the way they "can" do it. I learned that so long ago when I was the only one that decided to see if my brother "could" instead of telling him how much he could not. I do not know "how" I knew that at such a young age either, I just did. But, I could not "fix" what EVERYONE else kept breaking and yes, he would rage and I would have to run. I kept the secret only because if I told, then he would only be punished even more. N

I was often too tired in school after that horrible bus ride. So, Teacake, in many ways I am self taught too. I "do" know about the grieving of "what if" someone really saw and took the time, what if, because I could have been so much more.

OE