Do I have a learning disability??

<p>I am a horrible writer when constrained under a time limit, procrastinate on almost every assignment, get distracted easily, have tons and tons of internal thoughts whenever writing an essay or taking a test, and have little motivation in school- even though I constantly pressure myself to do well in school. Also careless mistakes are a daily thing.
Also I am extremely bad at making conversation, and usually have to blurt out things before any one else-but extremely shy and only do when comfortable-, and bad at speaking in foreign language class. Bad multitasker.
Also I get quite obsessive when doing certain things- almost anything, and think.</p>

<p>Good traits: well organized with daily planner- but easily forget stuff and constantly(almost daily) forget gymbags or sweaters in previous classrooms-, neat hand writing, overachiever(and necessary to only achieve average grades and test-scores), creative, and always tries to be openminded. </p>

<p>Bad at Math and Writing and Reading and Speaking-- ultimately bringing my SAT scores down. But normal to above average at memorizing information- longterm. (Can easily memorize historical facts, to all the capitals of the world to everyones first and last name in almost every class since 6th grade.) </p>

<p>So I am guessing I have add/adhd or OCD or a really bad short term memory(which is most probable).
I tried to convince my parents to go to a specialist, but they dot want to pay any money and don't know where to go to actually receive treatment rather than just a diagnosis.</p>

<p>How do I fix this? Especially short term memory loss?!?</p>

<p>Who would i go to, to be treated or diagnosed?</p>

<p>Does anybody have the same problems, or have any clue as to why my brain is like this?! I feel like my brain only memorizes information for school- without actually thinking. I although think/ worry about some of the most menial little things, and always go into deep thought when comfortable in a conversation or comfortable at home.
Maybe its partly a psychological problem.</p>

<p>These are good questions, and you know yourself very well, Haradonia. I commend you on that! In my own daughter’s case, one of her schools decided to test her early on in grade school and that is how we got an LD diagnosis. I don’t think anyone here can diagnose you without doing the standard tests, looking at how you perform on those tests, etcetera. Are you in college now or high school? In some states, testing can be at no charge if you are still in a school system. Sometimes at colleges the disability services might be able to connect you with low-cost or fee-waived LD testing. My advice would be to try and connect with counselors/advisors at your current school to ask their help in finding ways to get you tested. Self-diagnosis can be ‘dangerous’ only in labeling yourself with what you are not. Getting a professional to label you can help you communicate that to your parents. Once you get a diagnosis, then ‘treatment’ can begin, but often times for LD there is not special treatment, but rather accommodations to put you on a level playing field with others in the classroom. I have learned with my daughter that the LD stuff doesn’t ever go away or get ‘fixed’… it just explains why she is as she is. Take heart and keep searching for people to help you out. Again, your detailed observations about yourself should help in all the conversations you have with people as you seek to figure out your learning strengths/weaknesses and how to work with them in academic and work environments! Good luck. :)</p>

<p>Oh my gosh, this describes me perfectly. Should I go get checked out somewhere??
Because my grades are really hurting.</p>

<p>I would look into getting a full educational Neuropsych evaluation. During this testing you will be tested for add, etc. I’m no expert but I have a children with some of these symptoms and their issue is executive functioning. They process things a little slower than others, their working short term memory isn’t great, expressive and receptive language can be an issue, etc. This type of issue can be addressed by learning strategies and tools. GL </p>