Do you see what I see?

I was commenting to a friend that I often write in parable, metaphor, analogy. I talk that way too. My kids get their life lessons in a very round about way, after a story of sorts. People who talk to me get information or whatever, much the same way. I can't not do it that way. Not sure if I always did it that way but now it's just part of me and it's here to stay and I like it. I think it's one reason I "get" my autistic kids like I do; I think in pictures like they do. Math eludes me. I AM logical and rational, but not scientifically. I am both brained and I see life in stories. Stories played out in pictures, scenes, activity. The big picture as well as the minutiae. I am a hands on learner, don't do well in a formal classroom setting but let me learn in the same manner that I teach and I won't forget. To me it's both frustrating and great! I can't go to school. I will probably fail. But I am highly educated and intelligent, plus I get entertained, alot! And I'm quite entertaining.

Does it ever bother me that I can't see things the way another might? No. I don't think anyone ever truly sees things the same way as another even if they share the same dream or vision or idea. It's still their own version of it. We're all still unique individuals with our own spirits, different DNA, a domestication all our own. Then we add how we perceive things, internalize them, analyze them and so on and no, none of us sees things the same and I like seeing whatever I'm thinking in pictures. I try to explain it to others. Some get it, some don't. I don't feel bad if someone doesn't get it. I feel bad for them, they're missing out on what I get to see. I only wish I was better at telling you so you might have a better view, it's actually pretty cool in here. But I don't like how people whose brains function differently from another can often be treated in this world of greed and fake beauty. So much, in too many people's hearts, is placed on the ideal of belonging, no matter the cost. Evolve or get lost. I have never fit into that mold even when I tried, it spat me back out because I wanted to change it to be more user friendly. I am not a joiner. I'm just me. And I like that. Hopefully others can figure out how to like themselves too, no matter how their brain functions.

I did once hear the phrase "visual-spatial learning" come from a clinical psychologist when explaining what the really high IQ score my daughter got was for. Apparently it has something to do with what I'm referring to. I can see she is gifted in that area. So are my other children.  I've never been tested for my IQ but I'm pretty sure my visual-spatial learning is high too. The more I read about it, the more I see; I do not have a learning disability, I did not deserve the "biggest airhead" award my senior year in high school. I'm most likely gifted in visual-spatial learning AND teaching. I bet that's just one of the many reasons God gave me 3 autistic kids, I can dig it! Not everybody can.

Normally school teachers are trained to teach only the left brain, non-spatial learning learners. Kids like mine and like I am, struggle in that environment. It's like being a fish with a tablespoon of water to survive in, not enough is given where needed. Luckily some very intuitive and good people started figuring this out. It changed not only how IQ testing is given and scored but also how children are taught. That was a good move.

Now I don't really put a great deal of stock into IQ scores but they are necessary when trying to figure out HOW a person learns. This informs the teacher that she needs to step up her game and provide teaching in pictures. She needs to teach hands on. She needs to change how she does things. If not, several kids miss out and that's not fair. I've met many teachers in the 16 years my kids have been in school, I can tell within moments of talking to a teacher who can and who cannot teach in pictures. Those who cannot are the teachers my kids don't like and they don't do well in those classes, even if they like the subject. It can make all the difference in the world just to be able to think, see and teach visually. The sad part is, too many teachers won't even try. They expect a young child to change how their brain works. Really?

(Disclaimer: I'm trying not to judge the non-spatial thinkers here, I really am. It takes all kinds, we need all of us. That's my biggest point).

My Dad's 2nd motto:
"Thinking outside the box."

Our world is divided up into two parts just as the brain is. Luckily visualizers are the new black, the new CEO's, the new thing to be. For a long time we were relegated to a corner of shame with a cone hat that said "no you can't". Why? Because we were the ones with all the imagination mixed with a bunch of feelings. We were the touchy-feely innovators, not the number crunching business people. Think about Ayn Rand and just one of her many messages from "Atlas shrugged". Without both types of people, the world ceases to be. For too long being creative and emotional was considered a weakness. Not in my head, not in my book, not in my house. God made all of us to be different, to give our differences into the mix to create what is good about the man-made parts of the world. Don't judge because someone is different. Good advice for all of us.

Inspiration for today:

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
~ Mother Teresa

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Our heritage and ideals, our codes and standards - the things we live by and teach our children - are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings."
~ Walt Disney

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/Visual_Spatial_Learner/vsl.htm