DatBoomerGirl

"Was there any early signs growing up?"

Too many to count. I learn to speak at a later age then others. I wasn't able to read a book until I was 9. I always learnt slower then the other kids in my school and instructions and guides just didn't click.

"What was going to Special Education classes like?"

Very isolating. I couldn't be with any of friends and being special needs does single you out and make target for mockery. Not to mention it leaves a nasty stain on your record.

"If you could change it would you?"

Ever since I was a little girl all I've wanted to be is normal. Absolutely.

"I am very curious to know about how you found out about lemmy"

I found out about it on Wikipedia and thought it sounded cool.

"why you use it"

I like talking to interesting people.

"And why did you want to do an AMA."

I have a unique experience and perspective I couldn't share anywhere else.

"Also how has life been? How are you doing?"

Hard. I'm at that age where friends and family start dropping like flies and all I can do is watch knowing I'm next. I keep myself busy. I watch films, I like to bake/cook, I cycle a lot, I love to find new websites and I have a tradition of going to the bars every Friday.

"Has AI been any help?"

Not really. I used it a few times when it was new not much after that.

"You seem to have worked as an exotic dancer. How’s retirement like?"

Only for a little bit. The last job I had before retirement was as a barmaid. Retirement is alright.

It's no problem.

Even back then they were a throwback for boomers.

What about it made you laugh? Why did you think was funny? Not trying to be antagonistic or anything I'm just wondering.

As someone who has used Reddit in the past. How was that a Reddit thing?

If you're still doing things on the 7th Grade level you probably have an ID.

"To elaborate, is there a specific cause of the disability (autism would be an example)"

This is a good question. Honestly I don't even know the cause of it. I have a siblings who seem fine. My parents were ok as well. There's just something different about me that makes me like this.

"and does it affect specific aspects of your life (reading or writing or both, etc…)?"

Reading is off the table. It takes me forever for read anything and my spelling also sucks. I always forget how things are spelt. I have a hard time following instructions. I've lost many jobs due to this.

It was intense. I had to do an IQ test in school which is how I found out my IQ is 72.

Basic things like spelling and maths are really hard for me. I also have struggles with speech. I struggle with things like sounding out words, pronunciation and I also have a lisp.

Another big thing I've had to overcome is the sigma. There's a lot of sigma when it comes to being mentally challenged. This is why every word for it eventually becomes an insult. This has happened to words like "rêtrd", "moron" and "spd".

My parents was very disappointed in me for having to go to special ed classes in school. I remember one night in particular when I overheard them talking about me. They talking to each other about how embarrassing it was to be the only parents with a kid who had go to S.E classes. How I would always be a burden and who had no opportunities in the real world. I remember how I just cried my eyes out for hours after hearing that.

I don't think it was anyone's song it was more just background noise. The Beatles were still kinda popular/relevant back then so that's probably why they played it.

It goes unseen. A lot of people assumed that everyone with an ID speaks like Forrest Grump and acts like Gilbert Grape but the truth is that ID's are a spectrum that vary from person to person.