I’m Not as Dumb as I Look
In COUNTING TO D, the main character Sam is a really smart kid, who also happens to be illiterate. I know that not all dyslexic people are super geniuses. To be dyslexic, you have to be human first, and all humans are different. So naturally all dyslexics are different too. But I made Sam smart, because I’m smart, and most of the other dyslexic people I know are too.
My brain is different than other peoples. I have a very severe case of dyslexia, coupled with a healthy dose of ADD. I process information in a different way than most people. This could easily be considered a disability. I am disabled. And in COUNTING TO D, Sam is disabled. But she’s not stupid.
In elementary school, I took an IQ test. I think IQ tests are idiotic, and I’m glad people don’t value them as highly now as they used to. But I’ll tell you the number anyway—184. When I was an illiterate little kid that couldn’t figure out her ABCs no matter how hard she tried, I took an intelligence test that claimed I was one in 13 million. I wasn’t just the smartest kid in my class; I was the smartest person in my state.
Clearly, the test was wrong. I’m not that smart. But I’m not that stupid either. I’m just me. I took another IQ test as an adult, just because I was curious. Apparently, I got dumber with age. Now my IQ is only 167. One is 70 thousand is way better, I’m so glad I retook it. Yeah, I know, I’m still not that smart. I’m just a “disabled” chick with a funky brain.
Einstein is the standard example used for super smart. He never took an IQ test, but people that care about things like IQ tests usually estimate his to be about 160. I think the main reason why this number was chosen is so people like me with IQ’s of 184 or 167 or whatever can claim to be smarter than Einstein, which is just pathetic.
People who care about learning disabilities like to claim that Einstein was dyslexic too. I don’t know if he was or not, I never met the guy. But I believe he had a funky brain that set him apart from other people. Maybe he was “disabled” or maybe he was a “genius”, or maybe he was just a guy that worked in a patent office and also liked physics.
Sometimes I wonder if I made the right call in writing Sam as a dyslexic super genius, instead of just a dyslexic average student. But I based a lot of Sam’s character on my own experiences, and I was slapped with the label “prodigy” years before I was labeled “dyslexic”. So Sam’s a smart kid, who can’t read. And at least in the funky world inside my head, that’s totally normal.
My brain is different than other peoples. I have a very severe case of dyslexia, coupled with a healthy dose of ADD. I process information in a different way than most people. This could easily be considered a disability. I am disabled. And in COUNTING TO D, Sam is disabled. But she’s not stupid.
In elementary school, I took an IQ test. I think IQ tests are idiotic, and I’m glad people don’t value them as highly now as they used to. But I’ll tell you the number anyway—184. When I was an illiterate little kid that couldn’t figure out her ABCs no matter how hard she tried, I took an intelligence test that claimed I was one in 13 million. I wasn’t just the smartest kid in my class; I was the smartest person in my state.
Clearly, the test was wrong. I’m not that smart. But I’m not that stupid either. I’m just me. I took another IQ test as an adult, just because I was curious. Apparently, I got dumber with age. Now my IQ is only 167. One is 70 thousand is way better, I’m so glad I retook it. Yeah, I know, I’m still not that smart. I’m just a “disabled” chick with a funky brain.
Einstein is the standard example used for super smart. He never took an IQ test, but people that care about things like IQ tests usually estimate his to be about 160. I think the main reason why this number was chosen is so people like me with IQ’s of 184 or 167 or whatever can claim to be smarter than Einstein, which is just pathetic.
People who care about learning disabilities like to claim that Einstein was dyslexic too. I don’t know if he was or not, I never met the guy. But I believe he had a funky brain that set him apart from other people. Maybe he was “disabled” or maybe he was a “genius”, or maybe he was just a guy that worked in a patent office and also liked physics.
Sometimes I wonder if I made the right call in writing Sam as a dyslexic super genius, instead of just a dyslexic average student. But I based a lot of Sam’s character on my own experiences, and I was slapped with the label “prodigy” years before I was labeled “dyslexic”. So Sam’s a smart kid, who can’t read. And at least in the funky world inside my head, that’s totally normal.
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