Prologue: Gretchen Leffler

Prologue: Gretchen Leffler 

Ever since I was a child, just learning to read, I never really enjoyed it. I found it difficult and hard to process, but I did not know why. In first and second grade I felt stupid when I could not read as fast as the other kids. I was really good at math, a few grades ahead even and I was doing fine in all of the other subjects except reading. It got to the point where in second grade I resorted to cheating on reading comprehension tests in order to not fail. I knew it was wrong, but I felt like I had no other option, and eventually my teacher caught on and she believed that I had ADHD because I would move around a lot in class. I was really just looking at others' answers.

I was sent to a woman who was able to diagnose disabilities and I did not have ADHD, she actually said that I was far from it. I rarely am unable to focus, as a child I could sit for hours working on an art project and had no trouble paying attention. What she did find out is that I have two prominent mental disabilities, short-term memory loss and a processing disability.

            I actually had no idea that I had short-term memory loss till last year when my mom told me, and I am sure I was told as a child, but forgot. In order to work on my memory, I make sure to write down everything I need to do and try really hard to remember by repeating whatever it is multiple times to myself. The worst part about my short-term memory is that I am horrible with names and have been working on it, but it will usually take a month for me to know anyone by their name.
            The processing disability is similar to dyslexia, but instead of letters getting jumbled, I would have trouble saying and understanding words. Reading large amounts of text aloud is the most difficult part of reading for me. I will look at a word and know exactly what it is and what it means, but I just cannot say it. Another part of this is whenever I am reading and I hear a noise or someone starts talking I will forget everything I just read. Overall, I never found reading enjoyable, but after high school I have started to read more for fun whether that be an article, stories, art books, or cookbooks. Though reading is not my strong suit, I understand the benefits of reading and that there is so much information out there I will continue to read about subjects that interest me.