Odd Girl In

How do I fit in?

Pia Savage

Do I Have Time to Make A Difference?

Adults with NLD are navigating uncharted waters. As an older adult with NLD I have been caught in too many riptides. Yet I have survived, and survived well.

Stop Fearing NLD

When I learned about NLD I couldn't find any positive literature, or literature that fit me. The Facebook groups were wrong for me, also.

Wiser After 40

I thought I learned everything I needed to know for a successful life before I was 40. I didn't realize that I was laying the foundation for much more growth

Frozen!

Freezing—or the inability to react in an important situation was common for me. Other times I would blurt out inappropriate statements. I believe this is caused by fear.

The Internet Screams

Once I was a top ranked blogger. Then came Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and more. As a person with NLD I found myself retreating because the Internet became so noisy. And my lack of technical ability made me come in last. No it's not a race but it sure feels like one.

I Feel Cheated

Because I had to diagnose myself and didn't learn about NLD until adulthood I was cheated of understanding many things that could have led to a happier more satisfying life.

A Sudden Death

None of us met Carl in real life. Yet we mourn his death as much or more as anybody who knew him.

A Bitch of a Week

I have no mother. No child. No reason to celebrate this week.

Secrets And Lies: a Closed Adoption Story

Adoption should be just a way to form a family. But closed adoptions are, by definition, fraught with secrets and lies; no matter how hard the adoptive parents try to stop them. This is one very personal account of a closed adoption.

I was trying to explain

I tried and failed to explain what undiagnosed NLD means to me. How I never asked for help because I didn't know what to ask for.

Seinfeld's Revelation

Jerry Seinfeld said he might have Asperger's. His statement can help not hinder awareness and research. His statement gave me hope.

The Girl on The Bus

We moved. When I began school somebody inverted the bus numbers. I followed the directions and learned that the bus driver and school admin wouldn't take responsbility when I turned out to be on the wrong bus. It was my fault and my problem.

Too Suspicious Yet Too Trusting

There have been times in my life, important times, when I have been suspicious instead of trusting. And more important times when I have been trusting rather than suspicious. Can I trust myself to make important decisions?

I'm not everybody

Because I'm not organized and have a lack of spatial awareness I'm different. It never used to bother me. It does now. I feel that I should make more of an effort to fit in. But I would kill myself trying. I know it's OK to be me. Or at least I hope it is.

No Trigger Alert For NLD

I read many posts that mention trigger alerts. Yet there are none for NLD as so many different disorders and problems are involved. I find myself needing trigger alerts when I read way too many articles and posts on dementia, strokes, heart attacks and death. I also realize that my thinking is black and white and that colors everything.

Shortchanging Me

When I began this blog I was looking for answers about NLD. In looking for answers I joined groups, and talked to as many people as possible. This would have been great if along the way I didn't forget that I'm a professional. I treated myself as a schiemel

In Their Own Words: Anna a Year Later

Last year Anna was stuck in a rut despite her education, wonderful personality and will to succeed. This year it came together despite some bumpy roads.

Sitting At The Children's table For Life

Adults with NLD tend to be ignored by mental health professionals. We're "difficult." "Set in our ways." "Impossible to treat." Really? Have you tried helping full-fledged adults who have flourished but now find themselves burning out? I am not above begging that 2014 be the year the adult with NLD is recognized and helped. We're so worth it!

The Winners Nobody Cheers

People love to write articles on the Internet telling others how they should live. These articles get passed around as fonts of wisdom. Yet they fail to take into account people with problems that aren't easily solved. They look down on people they perceive not to be as strong as they are when the person can be stronger. It just doesn't seem so.

The Dark Side of NLD: Addendum

I have had too many problems because of NLD to list in two posts. So here's a third. It goes deeper and darker than the first two. I promise that the next post will be on things I can do well and/or better than most.

The Dark Side of NLD

It's difficult for people to understand how debilitating NLD can be.It makes me so sad to think of how much easier my life would have been had I known about NLD.

Twelve Things I Can't Do That You Can Do

NLD precludes me from doing the simple things in life. Many people who are younger than I am feel no guilt at not being able to do these things. I envy them and am happy for them. Guilt is my middle name.

The Turquoise House

This year I was tested for many possible lung and heart conditions. My house needed to be painted and I decided to paint my house turquoise to make myself feel happy. My next door neighbor reacted by accusing me of stealing her electricity. I still feel happy each time I look at the turquoise walls.

Facial Expressions, Anxiety, NLD'ers and others

People with NLD can exhibit strange or harsh facial expressions. We can be very anxious. We must learn that we're not the only people to have these problems.

In Their Own Words: Leslie, The Respiratory Therapist

Being a respiratory therapist requires spatial awareness and other NLD unfriendly skills. Yet Leslie was one for almost 30 years. How could that be possible?

NLD: Still The Rodney Dangerfield Of Disorders

I'm writing a memoir about my life. Until mainstream memoirs and novels include complex characters with NLD it will be an orphan disorder. And it shouldn't be!

In Their Own Words: Anna

Anna is a 30 year old professional with NLD. Several years ago the newspaper she was a reporter for closed and she has been looking for a good job ever since. How much of it is the fallout from the recession and how much is due to NLD? She wasn't diagnosed with NLD until after she lost her reporter job. The diagnosis left her with many questions and no answers.

Being Happy Despite NLD

Though I cried and feared much as a child I knew my life was destined to be a happy one. Not much is known about NLD so don't believe that kids with NLD are always going to be miserable and when they grow up life will be even worse.

Everything About My Life Changed

A month after 9/11 my mother suddenly and tragically died. Several years later I was diagnosed with NLD but couldn't find any help for adults. I made some irrevocable decisions that might haunt the rest of my life.

In Their Own Words: Mysti Harrison On Her Daughter

Mysti realized when Leigh was in Kindergarten something was wrong. Though Mysti took her to doctor's and went to school herself NLD wasn't diagnosed until Leigh was nine. Mysti heard about Turners Syndrome from another mother in a Facebook group last spring and Leigh was recently diagnosed with it.

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