Diagnosed with learning disabilities in adulthood?

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justanothergal
Tufted Titmouse
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Age: 38
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05 Mar 2011, 5:22 am

Just wondering if anyone else, like myself, has been diagnosed with learning disabilities later on in life? I was just diagnosed with learning disabilities a couple weeks ago and am now starting the process of disability accommodations.

My story:

I've always had good reading skills, but had a lot of trouble learning to spell, write longhand, and with social skills. I just didn't seem to "get" social cues, even though I had age appropriate interests. I've also always had issues with multi-tasking and short-term memory, which drives everyone around me crazy because my long-term/rote memory is so good. I know lots of facts and have a good vocabulary. This had made me wonder for the past few years if I had some sort of autistic disorder.

In secondary school, I started having an increasingly difficult time with math; physics, chemistry, triginomentry, and pre-calculus were a total nightmare.

Anyway, I've specifically been diagnosed with the following:

learning disorder in mathematics (due to issues achieving in math related subjects and a 37 point difference between my math score and my IQ).
learning disorder not otherwise specified (due to a combo of "average" spelling, poor and laborious handwriting, past trouble with social relationships, and a poor visual/working memory.



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Deinonychus
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05 Mar 2011, 1:41 pm

Hi,
I am 54, back in school, just had an instructor ask if I was ADD, off I went to the "students with disabilities" office, had a discussion with the top person (only diagnosis over the years were PSTD, OCD, depression, double depression) and that was enough to get some help (tutor for one class, going to try some audio books, already went to one workshop that was amazing).
I don't really care what terms they use, or what labels they want to put on me, but having support that will enable me to do the best I can, for the first time in my life, is amazing.
So, if you received a diagnosis that allows you to get some type of assistance or accomadations, , GREAT, take it, run with it, do well,

I really think those of us that have these issues are not really understood, that there is so much more to Aspergers (which I have been told I DON'T have), and that we are capable in ways the "normal" can't even dream of.
At the very least we see the world differently, and the world needs us.



kostopsykologi
Tufted Titmouse
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12 Mar 2011, 4:34 pm

I had difficulties all through school and into adult life. They said there was nothing going on. At 34, I got a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, dyslexia and dyspraxia.



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Deinonychus
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12 Mar 2011, 6:25 pm

It's hard going through life struggling with things and being told it's nothing, or you just need to try harder, or learn to be this way or that way.
I don't have an asperger's diagnosis, am 54, and for all the other labels and BS therapies and drugs they have put me on, it was so nice to find this site years ago.

Good news, some organizations are recognizing that those with things like OCD, depressions, PTSD, struggle with certain things as much as those labeled with actual "learning disabilities", so at this ripe old age, being back in school, have actually been offered assistance with some things. The program is a dream, they have finally made the "learning disabilities" net so wide that someone with anxiety disorders, in addition to the things listed above, can have the same benefits of assistance, as those with the official dyslexia, autism,, etc, and the "depression/anxiety" diagnosis is enough for vocational rehabilitation to pay for the things that cost $$.

Lesson I learned, maybe I don't have to always do it all alone.



barnett
Hummingbird
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12 Mar 2015, 6:31 am

It is natural for symptoms of learning disabilities to go ignored in the early phases of life. You may have dismissed the issues you faced as idiosyncrasies or a lack of comfort with dealing with certain subjects and areas of life.
Now that you have got a diagnosis, you can start working on remediating your problems. The great thing about the modern world is that they have figured out a lot about compensating for and correcting the exact problems faced by people with learning disabilities. Wish you all the best and remember that even though it may be tough to deal with your challenges, they are what make you ‘you’.



betruetoyourself
Butterfly
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13 Mar 2015, 12:51 pm

I was diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder,a non-verbal learning disability and major depression in my late 30's after many years of misdiagnosis.