It was so nice to read this and hear how other people deal with these types of things. I have prosopagnosia (face blindness). Though mine is not as severe a case as some have, I have done things such as mistake an old co-worker for an ex-boyfriend when I ran into him on the street. I greeted him with a hug; we definitely were not that close when we were working together. My friends are highly amused by this story. Ah, the fun of never really being entirely sure who you're talking to, particularly when you run into someone out of his or her normal context.

I used to walk down the street looking at the ground or the trees or the sky - anything to avoid meeting peoples' eyes and not recognizing someone I was supposed to recognize. Now, I just smile and say hi to anyone and everyone. Life's a lot more enjoyable this way.

This article is truly a great piece in which the author authentically and brashly explores her own experience with her disability. As a young woman who has hearing loss and studying to become a Rehab Counselor I can talk about LD inside out. But I can't understand how the daily expressions of this form of LD (spatial disability) turns out. This article definitely helped me understand so much more than any textbook ever could.

What really got to me in this article was when she talked about the role her mother plays in her life. I know from personal and professional experience that mothers tend to be the strongest advocate for their child. And the last lines describe it so well:

"And then she won't know which direction to go when she gets off. But it's no problem -- I'll just stand at the corner. And when she walks down the stairs I'll be there to meet her."

brashly is the wrong word, candidly would be more appropiate *insert sheepish grin here*

This is a fascinating article and it sounds familiar. When I was three years old and in a gym class one of the teachers pulled my father aside and said "she has no awareness of her own body space." My father being British and rather disinclined to think anything was wrong with his child, thought this was hilarious. I could also never tell my left from right, without looking for the L in my hands. As for reading the clock, my mother and I finally figured out that I could multiple by five's and get a close approximation of the time. In eighth grade, I was given an IQ test and they found a 50 point discrepancy between some of the subtests in the spatial section, and my overall IQ.

I am also forever getting lost, both in my car and on foot. In fact, one of the firs big arguments I had with my boyfriend arose over my refusal to drive him to work, because I was afraid of getting lost coming home. He thought this was a ridiculous excuse, but now he knows better. I often have to call him to navigate me home from places that are just few miles where we live. I have perfected the art of not looking like I am walking all over the parking lot looking for my car. I think there needs to be more discussion and awareness about non-verbal learning disabilities and therapies that may help. It was great to read about someone else struggles with these glitches everyday.

What I wondered though, is where was the mention of the lost items? As well as losing my place in the world, because of my spatial disability I also lose items in the great vast physical void that is out there. Everyday, I put something down and then I can't place it in the great vast spatial mist. Habit carries me, but only so far, and it is a great trick to try to get through the day, losing and finding items, over and over again.

i have a much milder case, but if i'm tired, i still can't read a clock. people get so frustrated with me when i ask for land marks instead of north/west directions. people get so angry when they can't understand that you just don't and CAN'T get it.

Sometimes we all need someone to help us find the right direction, even if we don't have temporal spatial deficits. Someone said to me recently: "We all have our own wheelbarrow of shit to push around". You seem to be handling yours pretty well. Good luck.

I loved reading this article. Like several other letter writers, I have terrible spatial problems. It was amazing to hear the same stories I am so humiliatingly familiar with from another person. I live in Manhattan and, after 9/11, the loss of the landmark of the Twin Towers was so jarring to my sense of where I was in the city that a friend bought me a tiny silver compass necklace. It worked beautifully until it broke a few months ago. Now I am back to walking out the subway exit, halfway down the block, and within sight of the nearest street sign before I know where I am. Before the advent of cell phones, back when I lived in the Midwest, I was forever stopping at strangers' homes and asking to use their phones to call my mom and ask where I was. I am constantly in a muddle. On the bright side, I often blunder into lovely places. I have accidentally found the most wonderful little nooks and crannies in cities all over the world.

Looking over the comments, I notice that everyone who has 'fessed up to this condition has been female and pretty clever. Is there something to this? Has there been any scholarship on the issue? I'd be interested to read some journal articles if there were any.

Not me. No way.

Luckily she was diagnosed much earlier than usual (first grade). Our worst NLD experience: When she was in second grade I had my hair French-braided while she was in school. She didn't recognize me when I picked her up at the bus stop and was in tears thinking that she and her little sister and brother were being kidnapped. After this we were very careful to warn her (or preferably have her be there) when I had a hair-cut or my husband shaved his beard. She has overcome a lot, but it's not an easy road! Those who want more NLD info may want to check out www.nldline.com.