To listen: cut and paste into Google Translate, click the
"speaker" icon.
I'm big on solving problems. It's part of my whole planning and pacing
thing. However, though I'm always
working at my rehab, there are some things that, even with my rehab, I can't do
right now. Like driving. Sometimes people have a hard time getting it
that I don't drive - at all. Especially
living in the suburbs, it seems inconceivable to some. Some people also have a hard time wrapping
their heads around the fact that my reading is very limited. They just don't understand. In some situations I try to explain what I am
able, and not able to do re the written word, or why I can't drive. I'm very selective about what, and with whom,
I discuss the details of my situation.
So this means that much of the time, I leave it alone. I don't talk with people about my problem
solving, or my "workarounds."
Some activities are a combination of figuring out solutions
once I've identified the problem, and accepting my current limitations. We live in an INCREDIBLY visual world, and
the internet is a main factor in this.
People have smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc., all of which give them
access to the global internet world. If
you are not connected online, you are basically out of the loop. When your social life depends, to a degree,
on online interaction (as mine does), small doses of the internet can be hard
to manage. It's very easy to fall into over doing it.
Management is, however, a necessity. How much I do of something depends on a
variety of factors: how I'm feeling, if it's morning or afternoon, what else
I'm hoping to do, and how demanding/challenging I think the thing or event will
be for me. Computer usage is a trigger
for me for a number of reasons; eye gaze switching, possible movement of
whatever I'm watching, and multi-tasking to name a few. Small doses are a necessity for me. I have to "mix it up." Get up and do something else, something that
is very different visually, even if it's only for ten minutes. I know what my triggers are, which helps me
in the problem solving department. If
I'm having trouble, I may have to stop and think "OK, what did I do that
was a problem for me?".
Once I figure it out, then I have to figure out if
there's something I can DO about it. Sometimes
there is; I always try to have phone conversations on our landline, because the
sound/speaker on my cell phone is a problem for me if I use it for more than a
brief call. This is due to my MAV sound
sensitivity. If I want to follow an
online thread, I cut and paste all of it into Google Translate. It's a bit odd to hear everything, including
names and times read to me in addition to the comments, but it's what I
do. If I'm going to listen to something
on my mini iPad, I need to do it early enough in the day that the visual
element of touching the screen isn't a problem.
I can listen to my special Talking Books audio player in the evening
because it's easier to use. However,
even with my ongoing rehab work, sometimes there's nothing I can do. I have to say to myself "OK, this isn't
working, the cost (how I'll feel as a result) isn't worth it."
My problem solving often ties into, or goes back to my
planning and pacing, "Where do I fit this activity in?", "How often do I do this?", "Well,
I can try this, and see if it works.".
It would take too much energy to explain all of this, and as important
as it is for me, as much as it's part of my day, it's not something for an
ordinary conversation. Certainly not
with someone who doesn't deal with similar issues. So most of the time, unless I'm communicating
with someone who I think cares to listen, and may understand, I leave it
alone. But I know inside myself, that
I've learned SO much about problem solving; how to approach problems, think
about them, break them down, and move on.
My MAV and vision disorders have sharpened my problem solving skills, made
me something of an expert at figuring things out.
