I have trouble learning

[Pikachu]

Ok here is my problem. I am as of right now home schooled. But my mom is trying to find something else because I can't fiscally learn like this. When it is something I am not interested in like history or language I can't focus. My senses get apliffied and I hear, see, smell, ext everything. I have tried and tried to focus and I have sat down and read for hours and can't retain any of it at all. I also can't handle pressure. Tests make me freak out. I start rocking and worrying and I can't think. With math and astronomy I am perfect at since I enjoy it. But everything else especially spelling since I have dyslexia. I can't do it.

I have autism and have posted a few times here before. But I don't know what to do. My mom pulled me out of school as suggested by the pricibal since they can't acomidate all my needs. Especially noise. Anything that hums taps or anything at all I can't handle. So my mom is looking in to a tutor that come to the house or some place like a library and helps me learn. I just feel kind of embarressed since my younger brother already tease me about my rocking and hand flapping and that fact that I struggle in some subjects. So the fact that I would need a tutor. I just don't know. And also I hate that I have trouble learning unless it is under some special requirements. But I have an iq in the 180s so it bugs me that my brother calls me dumb when he just barely makes genius in the 130s. I really don't know what to do. Please help

 

[Aardverk]

Hello Pikachu, I'm sorry to hear of your problems and will be interested to see what solutions are offered to you.

It is well known that those with autism and those with dyslexia tend to do well in the sciences and do badly with the 'humanities'. I have no understanding of why this is but maybe you can use your considerable intellect to work it out. My IQ is closer to your brother's I'm afraid

As a young man, I was also far more interested in the sciences but as I aged, I took more and more notice of history because I realized that most people have a really poor, often cockeyed understanding of why things are the way they are. There came a point when I realized that there was an historical 'cause and effect' which was in many ways similar to a scientific 'cause and effect'. The more I studied history, the more I realized that what I had been taught at school was often biased rubbish. The 'real' history was far more interesting and the exploration was vaguely similar to a detective's searches.

Similarly, I was 'rubbish' at languages but when I started travelling the world, I realized that communication was often not as difficult as I thought. I found that, with European languages, I could learn a whole phrasebook in a two days and on the third day - I could speak the language for most practical purposes. I suspect you could do the same. Just maybe, the slow teaching methods frustrate you? Also, there is often little incentive to learn unless you are in the country.

I really don't expect you to follow in my footsteps, I just offer these anecdotes as food for thought. There is certainly interest in subjects which you find boring IF they are presented in the right way. Perhaps you can use your superior brain power to work out better ways of teaching and learning. Your IQ is almost certainly higher than those who are trying to teach you!

One last thought - if you read 'exciting' historical novels, it will perhaps show you a different aspect of history. I thoroughly recommend virtually any of the Bernard Cornwell books and the CS Forester 'Hornblower' books. I suggest starting with Bernard Cornwell's 'Saxon Chronicles' but make sure you read them in the right order. They may sound boring but I promise you - they are not.

Best of luck - Aardverk

 

[The Unbeliever]

How old is your brother? The type of behavior you are describing seems rather immature. I wouldn't allow it from my own children, but I don't know the circumstances of your family to properly counsel you on that matter.

 

[for_his_glory]

Even at the age of 58 I have a hard time retaining certain things that I read and usually make a lot of notes in what I am studying. I was like this in school also as when I went to take a test my mind would go all stupid on me no matter how hard I studied for a test. We had English in school so not sure what you mean by language unless it's the same thing so I will address the History classes. Whatever subject in History you are studying play it in your mind like a movie you would watch or a game you would play. Visualize all the characters and what they are doing and put yourself into the scene like you are part of it. I do this a lot when I read anything so I get a better understanding of that which I am reading. It's like watching your favorite TV show and you know all the characters by name and what each one does, so the same with History, play it out in your mind like a TV movie and this might help you retain what you are studying. I hope this helps. One more thing you can do is ask the Holy Spirit help you with both subjects as he will bring those things that you are studying back to your memory when you need them, John 14:26.

 

[Corey]

Hi Pickachu

Sorry to hear the things you are dealing with. I would like to encourage you by telling you that in Heaven, these things will never be an issue. But while here on Earth, God has a plan for you and he promises that everything you deal with will be worth it.

I can relate to you in one way, and hopefully this helps you a little. My whole life I have been very good at math and it came very easy to me because I was interested in it. When you are interested in something it makes it a lot easier to learn more about it.

But I have always been horrible at reading, spelling, history, and a lot of other subjects. I just never liked them and so it makes it very hard to learn. Even if you tell yourself you need to learn it because you want to get better grades.

What I have learned in my life is that you do not have to be good at all subjects. Continue to learn more and more on the subjects you really like. Take full advantage of these abilities and skills that come easy for you. These are the skills you can emphasize and utilize when starting a career. With the other subjects that you don’t do as well in, you will have to work harder but don’t worry that you are not getting the best grade. You don’t have to be perfect in these skills, if you are really good in other skills.

I hope this help and I am praying for you.
Corey

 

[handy]

Picachu,

Have your mom check with your local social services to see if you qualify for developmental therapy. This would be more beneficial for you than a tutor.

A developmental therapist can help you gain some strategies and coping techniques to apply while you are learning so that you can control the rocking, hand-flapping and the ultra sensitivity to noise. A developmental therapist will not only help you with your school-work, s/he will help you train yourself to be able to do what you need to do on your own.

Here is a website of the company my husband works for. They do this kind of therapy all the time and have a great success rate at helping people with autism and other learning and cognitive issues succeed in gaining control over their disabilities so that they can learn and function. I don't where you are at, but almost all states have these kinds of therapies available and in most places the state pays for the therapy.

Have your mom check out the website and then check to see if there is anything in your area that can help you in this way.

http://www.mycpid.com/

Don't, don't, don't feel stupid or dumb and do start to push back on your brother to knock off the "jokes". Your autism can prevent you from learning in the traditional way just as surely as someone without a leg can be prevented from running a race. But, just like someone who has lost a leg can receive tools and treatments so that he can win a race, you can also receive treatments and tools so that you can learn and learn to control your body.

 

[eddif]

Ok here is my problem. I am as of right now home schooled. But my mom is trying to find something else because I can't fiscally learn like this. When it is something I am not interested in like history or language I can't focus. My senses get apliffied and I hear, see, smell, ext everything. I have tried and tried to focus and I have sat down and read for hours and can't retain any of it at all. I also can't handle pressure. Tests make me freak out. I start rocking and worrying and I can't think. With math and astronomy I am perfect at since I enjoy it. But everything else especially spelling since I have dyslexia. I can't do it.

I have autism and have posted a few times here before. But I don't know what to do. My mom pulled me out of school as suggested by the pricibal since they can't acomidate all my needs. Especially noise. Anything that hums taps or anything at all I can't handle. So my mom is looking in to a tutor that come to the house or some place like a library and helps me learn. I just feel kind of embarressed since my younger brother already tease me about my rocking and hand flapping and that fact that I struggle in some subjects. So the fact that I would need a tutor. I just don't know. And also I hate that I have trouble learning unless it is under some special requirements. But I have an iq in the 180s so it bugs me that my brother calls me dumb when he just barely makes genius in the 130s. I really don't know what to do. Please help

You sound ok to me.

History just needs math to be understood. I probably need your help getting this all worked out. History is just a social math problem. PEMDAS (order of operations) should help. Exponents applied to events help understand what is going on. If you are talking of a drought of seven years length, you have to decide on how bad a drought. A drought to the 7th power is a severe drought. The seven years might have an exponent itself (there might been a plague of locusts just before those seven years). When you group all the people and circumstances with math problem operations you start to get the hang of what is going on.

Some teachers do not realize that higher math and history go together, and as history is taught it should be tied to new math skills being learned.

Math, English, Social Studies, Chemistry, are all just sentences written with differing symbols. What you learn in the Math classroom should help you in English. I get in a little trouble with English teachers comparing a conjunction with addition / multiplication; but whatever works. A predicate nominative is the total after the being verb is.

If any of this seems like a candle burning, we will try and turn it into a lamp.

eddif