What do we all have in common?

Do you know what Tom Cruise, Jay Leno, Whoopie Goldberg, Leonard da Vinci, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie , Walt Disney and I have in common?

Dyslexia. There are many famous people who suffer from dyslexia. For years it was thought that people with dyslexia were stupid. Yup stupid. Can you imagine ever thinking of Leonard Da Vinci as being stupid....eccentric maybe....stupid...certainly not. There are many documented cases of people who have dyslexia but have the intelligence of a genius.

So where am I going with this. Well in a recent post I mentioned that I was going back to school. I have decided to get my BSN in nursing. I talked about how excited and scared I am about embarking on this new chapter in my life. I have been trying to put my finger on where my fear stems from, and I think I have finally figured it out. It has to do with something that I have observed with my writing/typing recently. I am not sure if it's that I have gotten lazy and have become accustom to using spell check and hence my brain has gotten lazy....or that it is my dyslexia rearing it's ugly head.

What I have observed is that I have been switching letters in words around more often than usual....sometimes I know exactly how the word is to be spelt but my fingers type the letters in reverse...it is the strangest thing, and it is becoming frustrating. Dyslexia is not something you out grow....it is a learning disability that you are born with but if discovered early enough you can be taught the basic of the English language using something they call Phonemic Awareness. I never learnt the skills as I wasn't officially diagnosed. It wasn't until my youngest daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia that it was brought to my attention that I was dyslexic as well. That was a happy and sad day for me. Finally, somebody realized that is wasn't that I was lazy or stupid....I just processed things differently...words were never clear.....word problems were always a challenge for me....and you know all those spelling cues or hints ...like "i before e except after c" I never understood that. I needed a visual of it to be able to make it concrete. Alternate learning techniques were not an option when I was growing up. I was always made to feel and was told I didn't study hard enough, I was lazy. But it wasn't so, I studied twice as hard.....there was nothing more frustrating than knowing how hard I studied only to receive a passing grade, when others would barely even open a book and sail right through... after awhile when you have been told for so long you that you aren't applying yourself and that you are lazy you begin to believe it. You know, I have no idea how I ever managed to get myself through nursing school and then go on to get my Critical Care training. I taught myself strategies....the flash cards...cue words....I am a very visual and tactile person, that is how I learn best...if I see something demonstrated and have an opportunity to demonstrate the skill then I can incorporate the theory to the practical component.

Now, here I am pushing my envelope yet again. I am nervous as there are components of this program where the student must do joint assignments...ones where you work as part of a team...that worries me. But I am sure somehow I will figure a way around it.

I am sure most of you have notice at times when I leave comments on your blogs that often there is a word misspelled or grammatical error....I like to think that you see it as a typo....and yes sometimes it is...but often it is not....I wish the comment section had spell check.....when I do my posts I thank god for spell check, my hubby and the dictionary. I truly make an effort for my post to be grammatically correct without spelling errors, and because of that you as the reader don't see 90% of the errors I make. So in my next paragraph I am truly going to free type....not make any corrections and you can see what I mean.

Now that I am registered for my couse I can start doing the reading and get a head start...which I most probably should do.....I tihnk tomorrow night I will get out the material and get oing on it. I hope I have nt gottne in over my head. I ahve always enjoyed learning....I love to read research coduements .....heatlhc care is very research based. If you ever wnat to put something forward to a committee or make change it always has to be research based for it to be considered as credible.

In the above paragraph I have highlight and put in italics the words where letters have been reversed or letters added or missed. There were a few more errors, but I have gotten into the habit to try and change them as they occur...anyhow that gives you some idea as to what I am up against.

Well as my post began....at least I am not alone and I am in good company....and if they can achieve what they have...I certainly can do this.....

Cheers all!