Wednesday, September 14, 2011

My parents told me that I had to get my priorities straight!   

OK, so my mom sees my computer with:

• YouTube open with music playing
• my Facebook open
• my SKYPE open, so

then accuses  me of not doing my homework. I WAS doing my homework - a partner assignment with a friend from class! Jeeeeze! But I get a lecture on priorities and getting things done and focusing on the task, blah, blah, blah, blah....

Let me give you some background… 

I am a teen with dyslexia (in my case I mix up patterns, numbers, letters and stuff) and I also have difficulty focusing for longer periods of time … oh look, a squirrel!  See what I mean? I have ADHD, but not severe enough for me to be on any meds. Anyways, my mom who also has the same thing, lectured me on how I had to focus and not have too many distractions.  (Look, the squirrel again!) We had a discussion on what a distraction is.  Here is what I mean…

For me, when the teacher tells the whole class to be quiet and that is a distraction for me.  I am NOT daydreaming when I look out the window while the teacher is lecturing. Yeah, I tune out, because the teacher hasn’t grabbed my attention, as she is yelling at another kid to keep quiet or something. There are many teachers that I don’t zone out with cuz they know how to teach me!

Then the teacher hands out something to read. OMG, she put in one of those fancy fonts again and soooooo small that now the writing is a blurrrr – and look, the squirrel!  So I ask for her to make a copy and enlarging the font cuz she forgot to do this again.  "A" wants one like mine too! "B" makes a derogatory comment. "C" throws his pencil to "D" but misses and it hits "E". I giggle and then get in trouble, get sent to the office to do my work. Works for me!  Grab my iPod on the way there and get all my work done in the office in ½ the time! There is soft music playing (classical stuff, but still OK) and the view outside is nice too – more squirrels!!! Lol…..

Anyways, enough of the disability and the ADHD.  My mom tells me that I have a condition (just like my diabetic friend) – and we have to deal with our difficulties as best as we can.  I guess my mom was right and that I do have to prioritize as it does take me longer to finish a task sometimes because of that squirrel!!!

So I finished my homework on SKYPE, downloaded a few tunes and went to the gym to do a few laps! I work differently. Do you think I got my priorities right? 

Look, a squirrel………