You'd think that this one wouldn't be on the list, wouldn't it? After all, the song is about a kid struggling in school rather than excelling. However, if you really take the time to interpret the song for what it really is, the song is more about how school robs students of their identities and replaces them with grades. It touches on those of us who are gifted in one area and feel useless at everything else.
2. Tokyo Teddy Bear (JubyPhonic Dub)
The lyrics are fairly complex to fit together and are subject to a variety of interpretations. Seeing some kid's "potential", they mold that kid into the kind of student they want. This results in quite a lot of frustration on both ends. For one, it is impossible to be a perfect student and, as evidenced in the song, it results in a loss of sense of identity. Gifted kids, especially gifted and intense kids, tend to tear themselves apart and sew their identity into new things...again and again and again in a vicious cycle of trying to find the right thing.
3. Faster
Time is in my hands, but I keep finding reasons to throw it all away. Higher intelligence compels one to fulfill specific needs that others have, one after another. This song encourages the insatiable curiosity and fears of a gifted person as well as their effort to find the pieces of themselves. Getting older, we lose pieces of ourselves that we go back and try to find. Of course, there is a limited time in life to find the meaning that we seek, so that is why gifted kids feel compulsions to "go faster".
4. Jump
Life begs complex questions that don't always have good answers. Especially for emotionally gifted kids, questions like "Why do we tell people everything will be okay when we don't know how things will turn out?" come up quite often. Jump was written with this question in mind. The juxtaposition of the intellectual and emotional makes for a song that I think describes giftedness in general all too accurately and in a way that others fail to see.
5. A Realistic Logical Ideologist (JubyPhonic Dub)
This song is a reminder that not all giftedness is readily apparent when looking through the lens of what is traditionally viewed as "intelligent". A Realistic Logical Ideologist a song about all the "If you're so smart, why don't you..."s and how today's media uses important-looking words and weapons to intimidate others. I feel that this song was written in the defense of those who are gifted, but don't have the guts or the means to truly express it.
6. World Domination-How To
This song reminds me of what I think gifted kids (really, gifted people of all ages) need to hear more often: that their success is not limited to a list of measurable achievements. The two students in the song (Tsuji 辻 [the boy] and Azuma 東 [the girl]) rule the world, but not in the traditional sense. Note that the students are at the very least highly intelligent, even if they are not explicitly described as gifted. Tsuji notes that he is alone in a fake reality, even with Azuma at his side. Tsuji and Azuma do not use violence (the "bomb" and "knife"), but use kindness to succeed.
7. A Boy and a Girl Chameleon Symptom
Whether self-imposed or brought on by others, giftedness often comes with a great deal of pressure to meet a certain set standard or image. Others are attracted to the gifted due to their talents and, after a time, separating the people who genuinely take us for who we are from those who only want our talents gets difficult. This leads society to think that the highly intelligent are perfect people when, in reality, the scars are hidden all too well.
8. Lost One's Weeping (English Piano Version)
I put two different interpretations of the same song in a list. The language difference will tell you that kids around the world struggle in school, that it's not just an issue specific to your country. With the slower tempo and piano instrumental, this particular version of Lost One's Weeping conveys apathy while the other does so with outrage. It is one thing to be able to read the kanji on the blackboard, but another to read another kid's imagination. Empathy has been devalued in today's society, something emphasized in this song.
9. Terminating the World
Talent is worse than mediocrity, but what is talent in the first place? Being born in the spotlight is not an easy life. Such a life demands constant performance and feelings of not being worth anything come along with it. Separation of the performer from the true self takes over. This song makes me think of how the gifted learn how to perform early on and how it (adversely) affects self-perception. The next time someone thinks giftedness is easy, play this song for them and make them read the subs.
10. Swaying
Today, someone jumps again. Today, someone smiles again. It happens every single day and I'm sick of it. It is common for the gifted to get sick of the world rather quickly, even if it is tinted with a slight trace of happiness. Explaining little nuances and patterns in things others fail to notice, Soraru articulates a feeling many have, but may not know how to express. Vacillating between loving and hating the world It is strange that the world values intelligence so much, even when the intelligent are cowardly and weak. Wishing to become kind and strong is a wish many of us make. Realizing that we cry throughout our lives, please do me a favor and laugh a little more.
So, what did you think of this list? Did it allow you to see giftedness in a new light (or darkness)? If you are gifted yourself, could you relate to any of the songs I chose? Are there any other songs that you think fit this list? Let me know your opinions in the comment section.
So you want to be gifted? Please, take it.
Take my talents.
Take the words that flow from my fingers.
Take my ability to acquire languages.
Take the nuances I notice in various words.
Take it.
Take it all.
Take my self-awareness,
The feeling that I'm not really that smart
And that I need to do more.
Take my anxiety
And the feelings I take on
From collectives.
Take my view of the human race
How we're nothing but selfish
With none but our own interests.
Take the feeling of wanting to do something
But having not the power or means to do anything.
Take everything.
Take it. You wanted it.
Because I don't anymore.
Warning: Major Spoilers for The Great Gatsby novel
Now that I have dropped out of the honors institute and read The Great Gatsby, I have now come to wonder what would have happened if I stayed and if I had met all the requirements. Would I have been glad and exhausted? Would I have just pulled through my "phase" or cracked under pressure? I spent my time reaching out to the green light of the designation and, when I took a closer look, I was disillusioned. Somehow, I was not suited to the imposed rigors. I felt like I had to feign someone who I wasn't.
Gatsby is a character that represents the American dream gone awry. He ran away a penniless farm boy known as James Gatz, imitated the mannerisms of millionaire Dan Cody, started bootlegging, and threw parties in the hopes that Daisy would show up. After first meeting Daisy, he wore his army uniform to conceal the fact that he was poor. Five years later, Daisy married a man as careless as herself and had a child by the name of "Pammy".
It is not the present Daisy that Gatsby loved, the careless Daisy who, with her husband, left destruction in her wake. Gatsby loved a past image of Daisy. He rose to greatness, threw parties, and sold alcohol illegally all for this Daisy. Academic performance was the "Daisy" of my life. I strove and strove for better and better grades. I observed the most intelligent people I knew. I emulated them, tried to understand them and be them. However, when I came closer to my goal, I pushed on despite the fact that it was not for me. My stubborn internal casuistry kept me going. If I can pull this off, I will be great, I thought. However, I slipped away from my dream as I trudged on. I failed. I grew to hate it. It was then that I realized that the dream I had intended for myself was not for me.
Gatsby represents the American dream gone awry: having it all and, at the same time, having nothing. He did everything for Daisy. When he had her, he felt an immediate rush. He wanted to pluck Daisy from Tom's hand, succeeded for a moment, and then lost her again. However, that did not discourage Gatsby. He pined in futility after Daisy to the point where it led to him dying in the pool he had never used. If I continued with my quest for academic excellence, my fate would have been similar. I would never have enjoyed the pool called music and ended up either failing, literally dying from suicide, or figuratively dying from this infatuation with high numbers strip away my enjoyment of life.
The basic principle of the American dream is to be better off than you were. For Gatsby, it was having a relationship with Daisy. For me, it was proving that a student like me can achieve academic greatness. However, both of our dreams went awry rather quickly. Gatsby rose to greatness because he wanted someone (and by extension something) he could not have.When he came close to having it, he denied that it was not for him. It ended up costing him his life, which is a reminder that not all dreams should come true, not all paths should be paved, and that "great" in the traditional sense is not always truly great.
Image Description(s): Leonardo DiCaprio portraying Jay Gatsby holding a drink and smiling. The image has "Old Sport" written on it with what looks like custom strokes in white.
Actually, I can swap "smart" for "confident", "tough", "independent," or another one of my many strengths. However, strengths don't mean the absence of weaknesses.
"Smart" doesn't mean I never feel incompetent.
"Confident" doesn't mean I never feel out of place.
"Tough" doesn't mean I never feel weak.
"Independent" doesn't mean I never feel ostracized.
As the image text states, Brandenn Bremmer was a genius--had an IQ of 178, read books at 18 months old, played the piano at age 3, and started college at age 11--who committed suicide at age 14 with no (known) depression, suicide note, or pressure to achieve from his parents. This is why I never understand why people wish they were smarter or why some parents put undue pressure on gifted children or leave them to their own devices. This source said that he was compelled to do so because his intuition told him to leave the world. However, another source which cites a dubious comment from someone named "Stan" extrapolates on how pressure to achieve may have been to blame although his parents were said by other sources to never have pressured him to achieve.
However, self-imposed pressure is a powerful thing. The pressure to achieve does not have to come externally to do harm. Internally-based pressure can do just as much harm, if not more. In a world that values intrinsic motivation, it is easy to ignore unhealthy levels of self-imposed pressure to achieve. I know what self-imposed pressure can do because I almost succumbed to its effects. I decided to drop out of my school's honors institute because it was not for me. Although I "could have been" capable of meeting the standards, it cost me my health and my grades. Self-imposed pressure made my grades drop by 20% of what they originally were. Not only did my grades suffer, but I suffered. I felt constant stress, felt tired all the time, and got very bad cases of acid reflux that have since went away now that I have (mostly) escaped self-imposed pressure.
Being "so smart" does not mean that someone like Brandenn or myself cannot succumb to pressures both external and internal. This is not to say that I am against challenging one's self, but it should not come at the expense of one's health. Remember that academic intelligence does not equal emotional development. That comes with experience and experience alone. I am impulsive and stubborn. I need experience to hone my temperament. I usually end up doggedly finishing projects I should not have started. Now that the consequences have caught up to me, I want to warn others of the dangers of self-imposed pressure. If you feel like you are drowning in a sea of activities, academics, and other things, get out. If you genuinely feel happier with a thousand things to do, do them.
Please do not disregard the power of self-imposed pressure. It is not easily dismissed as what someone else says because this comes from within. Unhealthy self-imposed pressure is a parasite that feeds off of your energy and directs your reserves towards achievement while ravaging your health and happiness in the process. I am not against achievement or talent, but I am against the imposition of unnecessary pressure regardless of the source. I believe that it is self-imposed pressure that killed Brandenn Bremmer, almost killed me, and is a source of problems among many gifted students.
Optional Comment Questions
Have you ever wished yourself to be more intelligent?
Can you relate to my experiences?
Do you have any further insight on Brandenn Bremmer's case?
Use the tags #NotJustAProdigy and #GiftedLivesMatter to raise awareness of mental wellness among gifted individuals.
(Possible Trigger Warning: Ableist quotes with temperament in place of disability. This is intended to be humorous/satirical.)
Needing to eat, drink, excrete wastes, sleep, learn, live in adequate shelter, have society, be as emotionally secure as possible, and to have a means of meeting these needs are among the universal needs of humans. However, when those needs have to be met unconventionally, especially in the case of disability, they become "special".
The term "special" means "specific for a person, place, or circumstance." Universal needs are not special needs no matter how they are met. Every human has these needs regardless of any other factors. The term "special needs" in reference to disability presents universal needs among the disabled as a foreign concept. Universal needs are universal needs regardless of who has them, how they are fulfilled, or which needs crop up at what time.
On the contrary, temperamental needs are not universal to every person, but are not called "special" needs. Most people recognize temperamental needs as valid although not everyone has the same temperamental needs. Temperamental needs are more "special" than disability-related needs as they are specific to one's temperament. However, most people accommodate the temperamental needs of others and discuss temperament in order to bridge rifts and promote morale in businesses. I have never heard of anyone being actively discriminated against based on their DiSC type or MBTI. However, discussion of disability-related needs, which are in direct correlation with universal needs, seems to create rifts between others rather than bridge them. Discrimination based on disability is more common than discrimination based on temperament. (I can't use statistics for effect because I don't have empirical data on this.)
I have also never heard anyone say the following:
"Oh, you're supine? That's such a pity. I had a relative who used to be a supine, but with (arcane pseudoscience/therapy/hard work/abuse), s/he became (other temperament).
"You're not a real sanguine. I know X, who is a real sanguine."
"You must be a very high-functioning phlegmatic."
"It's 'person with melancholy,' not 'melancholic!"
"I could see why X murdered their choleric child. Cholerics are such a burden on society. These pseudo-choleric 'advocates' have no idea what they're talking about. Haven't they walked in a parent's shoes?"
I see less active perpetuation of negative temperamental stereotypes than I do with disability stereotypes. Sure, there are negative temperamental stereotypes, but they are strongly discouraged and are rarely used to attack others. Temperament enthusiasts also take into account other factors that can play into making the individual such as upbringing, physical health, life experiences, gender, age, and other factors. With disability, however, diagnostic overshadowing leads one to overlook these factors along with temperament.
Diagnostic overshadowing can lead one to believe that temperamental characteristics are parts of a disability/illness when they are not. A choleric and a phlegmatic with the same condition will manage it differently. The choleric goes about their life with great levels of alacrity and energy no matter their
circumstances while phlegmatics are more laid-back. Diagnostic overshadowing would lead one to believe that the said choleric's illness is "not that bad" when the choleric is just using their internal motivation to work around their illness. Meanwhile, the phlegmatic's fatigue may look like the main
issue when it is not. The choleric's temperamental needs are control and dominance, which a
phlegmatic avoids because assertion taxes their energy reserves.
My question is: Why are disability needs considered "special" and dismissed when they are just about how universal needs are met when temperamental needs, which are not universal, are considered and validated as actual needs? I am an autistic choleric-sanguine, not a choleric-sanguine with autism or an autistic with choler and sanguine. My autism-related needs are as valid as my choleric-sanguine-related needs. These parts make the whole I am. Take away either part and I will not be who I am. My need for control is more "special" than my need to avoid foods that will make me vomit. I wish for all needs to be respected as valid no matter what they are and how they are to be met.
I hate the term differently-abled. It implies the existence of having a different ability that enables me to compensate for my disabilities. This term, as a twice-exceptional person, is a slap to the face. No amount of verbal giftedness can compensate for my virtually nonexistent math skills. No amount of knowing French can mask my executive functioning deficits.
Well-meaning parents promote this term often, but they don't know the disservice they are doing to people like me. "Differently-abled" downplays the effects of my disabilities by using my giftedness as a mitigating factor. Giftedness can (sometimes) mask, but not eliminate the effects of a learning or behavioral disability; the converse of this statement is also true. It would be like lighting a faintly-scented vanilla candle and five strong-scented cinnamon candles in the same room. The vanilla candle is still there, but the cinnamon will most likely overpower the vanilla scent.
"I can't reason with numbers, so I translate them into words" is a statement that shows both sides of my thinking. Being able to translate numbers into words does not change the fact that I cannot reason with numbers; I just found a way to work around it. Critical thinking is another one of my strengths, so I can find ways to minimize the adverse effects of my disabilities. Nothing, however, can change the fact that I have them. A master fencer with a broken sword still has a broken sword; an amateur flutist with a professional flute is still an amateur.
Moreover, not having a compensating factor for a particular problem implies laziness or a lack of willpower with the use of "differently-abled". Some people cannot compensate for an issue no matter how hard they try or can, but do not do so, to preserve their health. I cannot have anything if I do not have whatever health I can muster. On more than one occasion, I ran myself ragged and got sick because I devoted energy that my immune system needed to function well to another task. I tire easily, so energy is a precious resource.
Saying "differently-abled" downplays everything I have ever been through to achieve what I have done. You may only see the smiling, attentive face in a class, but a smile can hide a myriad of things. Whenever I walk into a math classroom, I await a death sentence. You may not know I feel this way, but what you see is not what I feel. Remember that the term "differently-abled" harms people like me. Assuming that I can be left to my own devices simply because my abilities are "different" will leave me struggling with my already low self-esteem.
Being twice exceptional comes with a lot of uncertainty; the first day is more than just the first day for this girl. She has to fight and prove that there's more to her than Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, and verbal giftedness. It's hard for others to believe that the girl who marches on the field with pride is the same girl with her hands in her pockets staring down at the floor because she got left out in a social situation. The student you see skyrocketing through English is the student that forgets her homework frequently. She is frustrated, exhausted, and misunderstood from battling something others don't understand. Though her whole life is ahead of her, these four years will determine her fate. She needs help to stay with the crowd even though she already has an edge against the competition.
I am that girl. I have chosen to do difficult things because I know I am capable of doing them. If I fail, that's the way it's got to be. It's okay if I don't figure everything out overnight because it is impossible to figure everything out. I am a living oxymoron, but there's more to me than what you see. That I have to prove every single day of my life; there are so many instances I defied the odds that I'm now sick of defying the odds. This is the life I have chosen and the path I have taken. It is s rocky uphill path inclined towards the edge of a cliff and hiking on is the choice I will make day in and day out.
I have wasted my life telling myself that I can't do something or that it's too late for me to learn how. Now, I recant all of those things I said and I will try to be everything I can be. If I want to start skateboarding at the age of 15, so be it. It will be painful. I might cry in agony when I wipe out and possibly break a bone or two. I am not afraid of pain, but I am afraid of failure. This is why I am selective about the battles I fight.
Playing flute in seventh grade was the best decision I made. I could have gone about my life without having taken up an instrument, but playing the flute allowed me to experience something I never have before. Marching band is an integral part of who I am and it made me a better person. Not playing the flute could have saved me a lot of frustration, but the sound from it is well worth the effort. The first push off the ground as I start skateboarding will be like the first note on my flute.
I am daring, ambitious, absentminded, idealistic, eccentric, quirky, determined, expressive, verbose, musical, creative, strong, persistent a hopeless romantic, and twice exceptional. I will try to be everything that I can be and prove that there's more to me than what you see.
I'll live my life
All on the first day.
To further understand the context of the post, I urge you to click the video above.
Finish This Sentence in Your Blog (Or the Comment Section)
[This song] by [this artist] reflects my life experiences because...
I was looking for twice-exceptional self advocates hoping I could promote a #actually2e tag like the #actuallyautistic tag. I found no such people. The only bloggers I found were parents when I searched "twice exceptional bloggers". I'm sure that there are some twice exceptional bloggers out there, but no one seems to want to identify with the 2e label. Maybe I've haven't looked hard enough, but why haven't I found anybody?
The 2e label can help to make sense of the asynchronous mess inside of your head. It did with me. I knew I was smart all along, but not gifted. This label explains words and music come easily to me, but numbers and executive functioning don't. I've placed everywhere on a bell curve in the most random places. Visual puzzles were 75% for me; matrices were 15%. Math tests were abhorrent; verbal tests brought me joy.
If you're 2e, own the label and speak out. This particular breed of mind is baffling as it is, so your experiences can help someone. No two twice exceptional people are alike, so add diversity to the #actually2e tag so it's not just me.
Image Description: A 2 constructed from interlocking blocks with a capital blue E in a sketch font next to it on a white background
I want to start a hashtag trend similar to #actuallyautistic. I want to show that being 2e is not the end of the world or a fault. "Exceptional" means "unusual, not typical" and "unusually good, outstanding." Twice-exceptional self advocates, this is your chance to shine! Shed light on the topic. Describe your experiences. Vent about ignorant teachers. Share tips, tricks, and lifehacks. Spread awareness of twice-exceptionality all over Google+, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Digg, Instagram, Hulu, Vimeo, DailyMotion, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and all other forms of social media. There's also an Ask a 2e blog part. This is when you let people ask your questions about being 2e and answer them in a subsequent post. Be sure to link back in the next post!
How to Join the Movement
Make a post tagged #Actually2e and post about your 2e experiences! I know you're lurking out there, so stop lurking and get in the light where people can see you! *friendly shove*
What if I'm Not 2e?
Don't worry! You can still join the movement by liking, commenting, sharing, re-tweeting, and otherwise making sure people see the #Actually2e movement.
Got any questions about the 2e experience? Comment below and I'll answer them!
But, as with anything, there's caveats and stipulations.
I will not mention my family members by name, if at all.
Questions fall under my comment policy.
All profanity will be deleted.
If you are an anonymous commenter, I will credit you as "Anonymous" during question credits unless you state otherwise.
My answers are from my perspective as a self advocate. I apologize in advance for any biased answers.
I am not responsible for injuries or losses resulting from my advice.
So go ahead, ask away! There's more harm in withholding curiosity than there is in expressing it.
Overcomer Story Factors (Key factors are in bold.)
Someone achieves a feat that is perceived as "beyond" their abilities.
The person in question almost always has a disability, is financially disadvantaged, is part of a racial minority, and/or marginalized in some other way.
Hardships are either overplayed or denied entirely.
The person rarely has their say in how they got there, just that they did.
Overcomer stories make a task inherently more inspirational because this person had (insert a disadvantage here).
The story exists just to make advantaged people feel good/bad.
My journey can easily be twisted into an overcomer story. "First resource student to attempt an honors institute designation" would be the headline. The story would go on telling me about why I am such an inspiration and how everyone else is lazy. People would read this and impose undue pressure on neurotypicals because someone with Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD pursued a high academic honor. Not everyone is made to achieve academic feats like this. Undue burdens imposed by these stories is one of the main problems I see with them. Everyone has a different set of strengths, weaknesses, interests, and passions.
Key Factors that Separate My Journey from a Typical Overcomer Story:
I've haven't gotten there yet and I'm not sure if I will. My grades are highly variable depending on the subject and the teacher. One bad teacher or confusing subject can derail my effort entirely. I have never been sure of my abilities.
This truly pushes me to the limit. I have seen how quickly grades can derail due to missing little details (as I tend to do). Now, I will have to make sure everything is perfect (or near perfect). That kind of thing makes me tired and frustrated. I have sacrificed my sleep to maintain my grades.
I do not intend to make neurotypical people feel bad by sharing my story. I know that everyone is different and might not have my Herculean (or so I've been told) academic strength. That would be like comparing me to a Paralympic athlete.
I will get a lot of help along the way. Rarely am I ever truly alone. I have my parents, teachers, and other people behind me.
There are days when I will doubt myself. Think I'm all cocky and confident because of what you see in my writing? I'm the shy and awkward in real life. Before I played the flute, I never felt like I was good at anything. Even now, the recurring twinge of insecurity among my multitalented peers comes at varying degrees.
This is my story as I tell it. Technically, this is on the Internet with consent because I am the one telling my personal experiences as I see them. I won't transcribe every little detail here for various reasons, but this is my story told by me, not my mom, not random people on social media, not random stalkers filming me without my consent, but me.
You may have a gifted student with a neurological disability. Such students are called twice exceptional or 2e. The mind of a 2e student is, to say the least, downright baffling. How can the student who always has the answers forget their homework so often? Doesn't it take more brainpower to (insert demanding, creative task here) than sit still? If you think your 2e student doesn't try hard enough, I'll tell that you have no idea how hard we try.
I have ASD (Asperger's Syndrome), ADHD (inattentive type), and I am gifted in language (verbal IQ is 146). For me, it takes great effort to focus, sometimes to the point of suffering a headache and/or nausea. My language giftedness does not help me when I'm trying to crank out one more math problem. Instead, it reminds me that I should be anywhere but the current tedious situation, so, naturally, I will want to escape. I might be fidgety, restless, and frustrated at this point. My fight or flight instinct will take over. I will want to be able to reason rationally, but I cannot at this point. Since I do not have the option to fight due to non-violence policies at schools, and neither do I have the immediate option of flight, I will remain in this survival mode until (1) an option to fight or flee presents itself or (2) something else sends me over the edge. If I can escape, I won't feel as trapped.
Forgetting homework in every form is also a problem for me. Sometimes, I have no idea why I forget. I just do. Please have patience with me as this is as frustrating for me as it is for you. Calling me lazy will not help; it just makes me feel worse. These comments are why people like me lapse into depression, self-harm, and suicide. I don't want to spend my life cutting myself down. If you give me the chance, I assure you that we will both benefit. Even if we never see the benefit, it will be there. It will help me to be verbally reminded of homework so I can write it down in a planner. I am doing my best to manage a conflict of processing. My ADHD side moves at rapid-fire speed grasping every bit of interesting information while my Asperger's side is slow to receive this information or tries to sort what it gets. It would be like working at a factory for the first time when the conveyor belt is set to maximum speed. Please guess what this leads to. My forgetfulness is a result of these processing conflicts. An attempt to understand and care on your part means more hard work on my part.
The concept of being gifted and learning disabled at the same time is hard to wrap your mind around unless you have experienced it. Emphasis on the giftedness while addressing the disability will ensure success. If you are 2e yourself, use your experiences to help students. Having someone to relate to in a world of misunderstanding makes all the difference. If you have questions, comment below. I don't have credentials (yet), but I do have a brilliant mind and a desire to open doors.
Today, I got an evaluation with a neuropsychologist and received two new labels to add to my one. One of them highlighted a talent that I have always had and the other explains the scatterbrained mess that I am. In other words, they confirmed my suspicions as labels should and aroused new ones. Having already embraced the autism (Asperger's, but the DSM V does not have it anymore), I opened myself to new ones.
Profoundly Gifted in Language
I always knew I was good with words, but not that good. My verbal reasoning is more than just a thing I use to impress my teachers. I use language to express myself creatively, communicate, and gain a foothold into the world. Having strong language skills makes me a diplomat, musician, and potential catalyst for something important in history. As an unofficial intermediary between neurotypical and autistic people, I can use my language skills to bring both groups to an understanding. It is no secret that language has power; civilization would not exist without it.
Inattentive ADHD
This one went unnoticed for a long time as it tends to go under the radar in girls. While doing research on ADHD in order to portray Steve accurately, I found that I could relate to most of the symptoms listed. I do not exhibit as much hyperactivity/impulsivity as others and probably disguised this my entire life with my academic record. That and the telltale executive function deficits masquerading as a symptom of autism made this one fly under the radar. Some people deliberately avoid getting diagnosed with ADHD because of the stigma associated with it. If you spent your entire life flying under or sporadically dodging a diagnosis, I'm here to tell you that a diagnosis will help you to avoid a lifetime of trouble.
Final Reflections
The labels do not change who I am. They give me insight into who I am so that I can act accordingly and be the best person I can be.
I don't think my language giftedness is technically a savant skill because I fall into the average to above average range in other areas (except for math, which is below average).
Please don't crack squirrel jokes on my blog.
Labels are, indeed, for soup cans. I would like to know what's in the can before opening it. Likewise, I would want to be informed of something that makes me a little different from the rest.
