ON READING AND PAYING ATTENTION

This has taken me a long, long time to put it all together. I'd posted parts of it before but I finally put all the images on it that I wanted. This is an interview with my mom on reading, getting my A.D.D self to read, working with disabled kids, etc. Here's a sample:

I remember when I asked you to read my first attempt at a novel. You said something like: “Bridget is the writer in the family. You should stick to art,” or some such. You later explained why you said that. You really thought my writing would be terrible and was trying to save me from embarrassment. But this is why I ALWAYS ask you for advice on my writing before anyone else--because you are honest and I value your opinion. I think we have the same taste in writing and art. Sometimes honestly is hard to swallow, but it always works out for the best. What did you think of my early writing attempts? You can be honest. I won’t cry.

I think you struggled with writing in school for the same reason that sometimes made it hard for me to figure out what you were trying to tell me in everyday conversation. You tended to start telling me something as if I was inside your brain. I remember having to ask lots of questions to figure out where your ideas were coming from. This is a really simplistic example; "Mom, she was there when it happened." And I would be totally puzzled and have to say, who what where and when. Consequently your writing was confusing. I think you also had trouble organizing. Remember your little index card to help with a math test. You were allowed to bring one index card with some helpful facts to a math test. You filled both sides with microscopic letters and numbers with no spaces between them. It was like looking sanskrit .



Your notebooks came home with huge holes where you must have erased right through the paper. I used to marvel at them.



"Basically your attempts to help yourself learn, produced chaos. So I was astounded when you began to write coherently. when you were in your twenties. I think that part of your brain just matured late."


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This part was weird because I learned something about myself... or maybe I already knew it but didn't think that much about it. I just went looking for a notebook to use and I had NO idea that my notebooks looked like that! That is what I did in school? That notebook was from college! How did I pull off getting As o papers and tests? I'm really perplexed. I do remember completely spacing out in classes. I'd make up for it when I got home where I could concentrate. I guess when you have attention problems you have to figure out the best way to learn for YOU.

To read the whole interview go here!