Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional New to the Forum

Hello everyone:) I wanted to introduce myself and my situation to see if anyone else has had these issues. When I was younger (i.e. elementary school-4th grade) I was moved to a gifted program in school (GATES?) but always felt I had a learning disability. Its not that I had to try hard to do well on tests, it is actually the opposite. If I paid attention in class (sometimes an issue) I would do well, without studying. It is best for me to learn from a teacher and if I can understand how they understand then I do well. It got harder as I got older and by high school I gave up. I think it got too hard and giving up seemed better than failing. I remember it was math, I always did well in math but because they advanced me before I learned pre-algebra I didn't understand the new material. I must not be smart and I am socially awkward, what did I have going for me. So I tried to copy my older and very socially aware sibling, leading to barely graduating high school. Just as a note, I always had to take notes, I would read them once to study when I did or read the chapter. As long as I had an idea about the material and the fundamentals, I could do well.

Hi Amanda1 - Welcome!

I was always pretty sure that there was something wrong with me because stuff that was hard for most of my classmates was super-easy for me, and stuff that was easy for my classmates was super-hard for me.

Spelling just doesn't seem to stick in my head at all, and my handwriting was very babyish for many many years.

Like you, I seemed to absorb things if I 'tuned in' to them during class.

It wasn't until my son was identified as 'more than usually gifted' and I started learning how many myths of gifted kids I had floating around in my head that I realized that I too was gifted.

Watching my son and his friends grow up, I think that a child who has to study 30 minutes in 3rd grade every day after school has a tremendous advantage over someone like me who 'picked things up quickly and effortlessly' in elementary school in getting used to working hard in order to learn. Almost everyone I know who has achieved much as an adult has had to learn 'work ethic' at somepoint in their journey.

What I love is that work ethic can be learned at any age! Finding a subject that you just love can make the lessons much less painful. So, if you are asking for advice, I would ask you what you really love to do and learn about, and advise you to keep looking until you find something.

So, don't keep us in suspense, you graduated High School, then what?

I love to know,
Grinity

Thanks for your reply:0) It is funny you mention being a bad speller, when I was in elementary I clearly remember getting an F on my spelling test. It was the only thing I remember doing poorly on. It was pretty devestating at the time, but in the long run it helped because now I try to pay particular attention to how things are spelled:0) As for after high school I joined the military. I knew I didn't want to be a loser, it just wasn't me (I didn't have the money or grades to go to college). It was also something I was always interested in since my parents were both in. I wonder if subconciously I knew it would give me the structure I needed. It is funny that when I first got out I took a personality test and was an ISTJ (a very military person from my understanding). I think that was just the military talking because it is not me. Although, I would love to have those organizational skills. Now I am going to college with my GI bill and enjoying learning.

Good for you Amanda1 - 'to everything there is a season' and it looks like you got the structure you needed and some great life experience. I think that being a contribution to society is a great privalage.

Smiles,
Grinity

I can't resist. Devastating (And now that we have computers, who needs to be able to spell? I only need to know which of the little red lines I can ignore because they're trying to make me spell Merkin ;-)

Or because it's a weird word. I get a little red line for "irreparability," even though Google says that's the correct spelling.

I was a better speller before the Internet, when my main source of printed words was books. After you see a misspelling enough times, it starts to look right. Words most people think of as homophones, but which I pronounce distinctly (you're / your, for instance, which I say as ewer / yore) particularly get jumbled up, because I have to see the wrong spelling and "hear" the right pronunciation at the same time.