Some Myths About NLD

Dear Friends,

  I was reading through the different messages on the thread watching sports and found it to be very interesting.  There is something about me that even as a child I wanted to prove people wrong.  When I was in the fourth grade, I had a basketball coach who used to make fun of me a regular basis because my coordination was terrible.  I was so determined to prove him wrong that I practiced in my driveway day after day and by the 8th grade I was the best player in the school for my Catholic school team.  I was also 6'1" at the age of 13, which helped, but I had a deadly shot from the outside.  It was more a set shot, than a jump shot.  Just recently, I was with Vivian on New Year's and we were in a Chinese restaurant in Washington, DC.  I was using chopsticks, and Vivian wanted me to mention to the group that an NLD individual can use them.  I guess despite my fine motor challenges, I was determined to learn to use chopsticks, especially since I love sushi.  I know there is also the generalization that NLD individuals are not flexible when it comes to different foods, but I love exotic foods. 

   When it comes to watching sports, again I am in the minority.  I am really only a hockey fan when it comes to sports.  Football and baseball just do not have the same level of excitement.  I just love the constant movement and the continuous action of hockey.  I think hockey provides a stimulant to the brain that the other sports do not have.  The coordination level to play this sport is amazing, in addition to the fact that these individuals skate better than I can walk.  I do not buy into the theory that our visual spatial skills will not allow us to follow this sport.  I once read about a New York Rangers fan who attended the games despite being blind.  You would not think that a blind person could follow the game, but this person did not let their disability get in the way.  I guess that I had difficulty following the puck and the fast movement of the players at first, but I just tend to focus more when watching.  My friend Dianne who is a fellow season ticket holder for the New Jersey Devils said that her father told her to just concentrate on following one player until she got used to the fast pace of the game.  Overall, I know I am a little bit different, but I like to show that we can engage in many activities despite our disabilities and that the generalizations that are often made just are not true for everyone.

                                                        Al