Hello,
Everybody has a different set of cognitive skills and abilities that play a role in learning. It’s quite normal to have weaknesses in some of them and strengths in others. Indeed, some people with mild learning disabilities are able to go through school and college, get a job and succeed in it, without ever being identified or accommodated. It all depends on the overall distribution of skills and on whether they have solid strengths that can be used to compensate for their weaknesses. Other qualities that are not a part of their psychoeducational profile also count. For example, determination, optimism, self-discipline, confidence and encouragement from others also play an important role. It sounds like you were able to come up with some good compensatory strategies that helped you along the way. Whether the person’s weaknesses constitute a learning disability depends on many factors, such as the severity of the gaps, the developmental trajectory, and the particular constellation of the deficits. This can only be determined through a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment. If the challenges you describe still affect you in your work or daily life, you might want to have an assessment completed.
Hope this helps,
Tali Shenfield
Thanks for your response. Can I ask one specific question, are you aware of any particular conditions that the visual issue I described might indicate?