Is this considered being dumb?

[Acitnoids]

I can't imagine being the only one like this and yet I can't assume that other people experience what I do. Twenty-five years ago I was said to exhibit something called a "learning disability" and was advised to repeat the first grade. By fourth grade I was attending my fourth school district and can still remember going down to the "special classroom" when it was time to teach the English lessons. My senior year of highschool the councilor advised me to finish out my English credits by taking a freshman course. They awarded me a state indorsed highschool diploma (which means nothing in this new economy) with a literacy level lower than an average twelve or thirteen-year-old.
I'm not trying to play the victim card here. In no way can I let my inequalities prevent me from communicating. Embarrassed yes. Deterred no. This is not a case of lack of effort on my part (I'm kind of sensitive to this allegation) but instead a conflict of translation within my brain. The way I see it is, the written word and the spoken word use similar brain functions. If you were to hear me speak/read, you would notice that I speak very slowly, in a monotone voice and with irregular spacing in-between my words and phrases. If I try to speed up my speech and emote (like when telling a joke), I wined up stuttering or I trip over and can't recall my words. When I try to translate a thought (spoken language) into written words, I can feel in my head the same type of conflict that causes me to stutter.
Now I don't claim to know what a "learning disability" is, all I know is how it manifests itself within me. Who couldn't see the frustration in having to decode misused words and run on sentences? This can be too aggravating for some people and that's just the way it'll always be. Could they call me dumb? If so what's my alternative, stop communicating? I'm obviously not a dimwit but how do I live with the sigma of being one?
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Note: No members have called me dumb due to my grammar.

[mathman]

It sounds like you could have a neurological condition. Have you gotten any medical diagnosis?

[Michael]

the areas of the brain that process information are kind of discrete - there is an area for vision, and area for hearing and an area for spoken language and written language .. etc. these are "primary" cortex - all this information are assembled into something meaningful in "association" areas. You may have a problem in one of these areas? I'm no expert, but, if might be a good idea to try and get some neurological tests (even some simple psychological tests may reveal something?)

Secondly, you write English well, I don't think you are "dumb" you may need to learn in a certain manner (for example listening to information instead of writting it? or maybe your math skills are much better? it's all hard to say)

- -hope that helps.

[Bebelina]

Maybe it's them who don't understand your interpretations.

[Acitnoids]

The only "diagnosis" I've had was done through the public education system years ago. I remember being taken aside all the time to be tested though I have no idea what they were testing for let alone the results. So the short answer to the question is no, I have not been medically diagnosed. Health care is not cheap in my country. By the time I was old enough to notice what was happening I had already started my career so it wasn't a high priority. Reading blueprints had nothing to do with how good my English skills were. Now I have no job because of the manufacturing slump (this area was hit hard) which means I also have no health insurance so it looks like no tests for me for awhile. As for my English skills, well ... lets just say that the OP took more than seven hours to write and read and rewrite and reread and so on. I can recognize most of my grammatical mistakes after the fact but it I didn't have a spell checker and a dictionary I probably would have never signed up to SF. You're probably right. This could be neurological. I had been hosptalized a few times as a child due to head injuries ("severe concussions") but I've never seen a neurologist. I'm not looking for pity or anything. Hell, I've lived with this for so long that I'm pretty much use to it by now. I was wondering why it is considered "understandable" for somebody to assume that I'm inept due to my spelling and grammar (first impressions and such). It happens all the time. Now that I'm out looking for a new career I can see how this will adversely affect my choices. In a face to face interview I can "knock'em dead" but the application for employment may be too messy to give me that opportunity. What do you think of "learning disabilities" in general? What doed that term even mean? As far as I know it means nothing. Just another vague, overreaching label.

[TBodillia]

I'm dyslexic. I wasn't properly diagnosed until after I entered college. I guess I went to school in a time, or just the area, that didn't fully understand dyslexia.

I've never been called dumb, far from it. But my mistakes in school have made quite a few people laugh and befuddled my teachers. When I had to take math placement tests, I would both test out of my grade level AND fail basic math. I had to do a semester's worth of basic math in about a week (to show that I was able to do it) and take the class I tested into. The teachers just kept calling me to their desk, shake their heads and say they didn't know what to do with me, and laugh.

Your "learning disability", you need to get a diagnosis. Your disability needs a name so you can find a treatment. What works for dyslexia won't work for high functioning autism...and on and on. If there is a treatment to help you, you need to find it.

People call you dumb based on your spelling & grammar because, well, people can be cruel. Even the youngest child automatically connects bad spelling & grammar with stupidity. I can't spell because I'm not sure what I'm writing. My hands cannot keep up with my brain, or sometimes it just all comes out backwards. Spellcheckers are a godsend for me, except I usually see a "sea of red squiggles" when I'm done typing. Then I have to decide what was the word I wanted to use in that spot.

[John99]

to the op, maybe you can find a work around. granted it is a bad problem to have but not much different than a person who is color blind because they are very similar just the way the brain interprets thing isnt functioning as it should. sometimes you can find workarounds for these things. i knew someone who couldnt read because he had trouble deciphering the letters but he was very good with numbers afa adding and remembering phone numbers etc. so in that respect he was above average intelligence.