Thursday 7 April 2011

commitment issues...again

When I was about 8, I wrote a story. I got as far as the first 4 letters of the protagonists name, which happened to be the first word of the story, and gave up. I even remember the name, 'Charlotte' or, as I put it, 'Char'. Yep, commitment issues. I never could stick with anything, even as, or ESPECIALLY as, a child. There was always something more interesting to be doing, like playing with my Sindy doll, watching Why Don't You, or picking the stones  out of a pomegranate with a safety pin. Ah, happy days.
Maybe now, looking back, I can see that that difficulty to commit to anything, also meant I had difficulty in concentrating at school, difficulty in doing homework, and general feelings of aggrevation when I was given anything to do with numbers. My mum would attest to that, as it was she who tried to teach me long division!Neurofibromatosis can cause those things. But is that a cop out blaming a condition? No. Having those difficulties was frustrating, and I'd much sooner have been able to focus. As I got older I was abled to discipline myself to concentrate, even though it was still hard. But it begs the question, how many kids struggle at school, and its put down to ADHD, stupidity, or bad behaviour? I had parents who helped me, even though at that time we were unaware of why I had problems, but considering NF is the most common genetic disorder, maybe its time schools took a more pro-activew role in identifying children who may have this horrible disease.