Dana Dwyer

by Dana
(Buena Vista, Virginia, USA)

I always had struggles as a child. My younger brother was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was 13. Still no one ever thought that I may have a reason for my difficulties. I was just judged to be an unruly teenager. However, after I took the ACT and SAT tests my mother ordered the results to be sent back to her.

She was disappointed that I had not scored better. I actually scored below the national low average. As she studied my exam results she noticed that I scored very well on the questions that I answered. However, I barely answered over half the questions in any given section. This inspired her to ask me why I didn't finish the sections. I told her I didn't have enough time to complete the sections. So, she asked if I would submit myself for an educational evaluation.

Upon the evaluation I was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder and a visual memory dysfunction. However, 6 or 7 years latter I was in a foreign language program and could not understand what I was hearing. I told my instructors of my diagnosis, and they took me to a near by university medical center to have my auditory disorder tested. Their results said that I had no auditory disorder.

Yet, I still struggle with deciphering multiple aural input, large groups of people, aural / visual surprises, processing verbal directions or remembering verbal instructions with too many steps.

So, now I am trying to home educate my 5 children, and I suspect that my 3 oldest also suffer from some sort of "difference". As I am studying, I have found SPD, and think that this may have been and still may be my real issue.

Now, how do I deal with it?