am i reatarded?

well i didnt have power for a few days.so i started to think. then i wondered if im retareded i always have no idea whats people are talking about i cant read. i am very unsucesful.i was in specail classes in school.man i hope im not reatarded but i am wondering if i am.even people younger then me are smarter then me

raggie,
I am not real sure what retarded really means but I believe it has something to do with being behind the "norm" in some regards. Actually all of us are likely retarded based on some standard or set of criteria. Then again, we may be advanced in other areas or based on another set of criteria.

Younger people are always smarter than older people and if you don't believe it, just ask them! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

So to answer your question as to if you are retarded, sorry, I have no idea. Further, no offense, but I really don't care either! I enjoy you just as you are! There will always be some who are smarter and sharper and some who are "dumber" and "duller" than you, me or anyone of us. Let's be happy for them and happy for us! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif Just remember that the fortunate ones are those who find smiles on their face all the time. There are many here who are just so fortunate and it's thanks to you!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif (thanks)

wow thanks don that post made my day.

Raggie, most mentally challenged people wouldn't be able to operate a computer as well as you. And from your previous posts, I take that you build rigs yourself and OC 'em till they scream /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif mentally challenged people dont do that!

Children seem so smart because they tend to operate mostly at the subconscious level. They can solve problems without having to fully understand them because all the processing is going on in the background. They also tend not to have been told they can't do some given task, so they don't limit themselves to things they "know" they can do.

From what I have seen about the way you handle computers, no. And what McGizmo said. No matter how smart you are you are only really smart as far as how much you know you don't know. I guess what I'm trying to say is only the smart people ask "what is it I do not know?" or "am I smart enough?". Then the smart people who find they need answers ask more questions.

Sometimes you ramble and sometimes you don't spell correctly and I have often questioned that as maybe an act because I find some of your posts are just so straight to the heart of things that they could only come from someone with great insight.

You are not in the same orbit as most people and take it from someone who has been out of synchronous orbit a lot, you are still circling above a whole bunch of us and your posts are always welcome and provoke thought.

And THAT is doing the human race a favor because a LOT if us are sometimes too lazy to get the old brain working.

thanks for all ya reposnses .i am very good with computers and i can fix stuff .but i stink at readinf and other stuff.some reason that stuff like fixing stuff is easy for me.its so simple its scary but reading and comen sence things i get so lost.

Nope, you're not. I know some very smart people who didn't do well in school.

I wouldn't worry over much about special classes in school - schools do an OK job with people who learn the way they teach in school. Not everybody does - that's the school's problem, not yours. The problem is mostly it's a "one-size fits all" type deal. The assumption is that there's something wrong with you if you don't learn that way. I say it's the other way around - mostly it's the schools that don't know how to teach some people well. (No offense to school teachers intended in this - this is a hard problem to solve and we haven't even come close to solving it.)

And doing well in school isn't proof of much anyway. There are some highly educated folks who do stupid things.

So don't short-change yourself. Do the best at what you're good at, and try to be better at it. You'll do fine - it just takes time.

raggie,

I like to think of these things as "flat spots" and we all have them but often in different locations. We are wise to limit our time stuck in the flats as well as trying to round them through trial and error and growth.

As a manager in the past, I used to try to identify the "flats" or short comings in the others in the "team" and deploy them in such a manner that exploited there strengths while we worked on the other areas. I can't remember names, places or events worth beans! It is a significant "flat" of mine and I try to work around it and as I have gotten older, it seems to have gotten worse. It may be due to fewer properly functioning brain cells, laziness or just indifference. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif At any rate, a palm pilot and address book can really help provided I remember to use them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Reading and spelling are useful and needed tools for written communication. I would rather have good thoughts and a poor ability to communicate them in writing than a great command of the written english language and nothing worth expressing with it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif

Dyslexic people have major problems reading and writing but are usually gifted with other skills that overshadow their reading & writing problems Albert Einstein was dyslexic along with Winston Churchill,John F Kennedy,Werner Von Braun,Tom Cruise, Jay Leno and the list goes on. They may have problems reading but they do alright for them selves. If your a night owl watch Jay Leno and you might occasionally notice he too has trouble reading his cue cards and the headlines. Don't sweat the small stuff. You have skills and abilities lots of people would love to have but don't; your animal husbandry abilities with critters, your puter skills, your story telling of incidents dang near puts the reader at the scene with you.

Raggie,

If you are concerned, you can get tested for any reading problem you might have.

I have a smart brother that can not sit still long enough to read.

You can read because you are writing in your posts. The question is, are you like my brother and can not sit still long enough to read?

You spelled the word 'retarded' as "reatarded". Does the first one look like the second one to you? That may be dyslexia.

Supposedly, Tom Cruise has it so bad he can not read his scripts. I guess someone reads it to him and he memorizes them. Maybe you should be an actor /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Your avitar always makes me smile /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Find what makes you happy and that you can do well and put everything into it.

Our time here is short /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif Be happy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

All Me Best,
Fin

If you really want to know, then you need to get tested by specialists.
Check these out:
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/retarded.htm
http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00056550.html

You are a beautiful PERSON Raggie.

Maybe not as good as some in some ways, a WHOLE BUNCH better than MANY others in other ways!

I always understand what you are trying to type, so maybe I'm troubled... Who cares!

You are good people. That's what matters!

From a Psych background, I second Finbar, Raggie.

Also, I enjoy fruit salad, but I think it wouldn't be as much fun if it was made-up of peaches only or pears only. What makes it interesting is that it's made up of different kinds of stuff! I guess this forum is kinda like fruit salad to me too. Little bits of uniqueness that make up a big yummy bunch!

FWIW, I can't multiply. . . /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Everyone has limitations, worries and doubts. In your case, it seems to me that the important thing is that you can look at yourself and ask questions. Try to go to the next step and make a plan to answer those questions, become a better person, make some little difference in the world and be happier as a result. It's really up to you. Do something! And keep asking questions. And let me know if you find any answers, because it might help me find my way a little better.

raggie, I'm 28 years old and still can't drive a car! 90% of the people my age can drive and I can't.(oh,and I live on an island and can't swim!) That doesn't make me retarded. So what if you can't do things other people expect you to do? From what I've read, you're hot with computers and that is something MANY people are lacking skills in. Does that make them retarted? I think not...

Hey raggs,

as said several places above, people are good at doing different things. I personally do okay in school, but if you told me to fix a computer I'd probably get mad and end up blowing it up.(honestly, I know nothing about computers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif ).

People just are good at doing different things. The world would fall apart if it weren't for people being different. Not everybody cold be a writer, not everybody could fix and build computers. Try and think of a world where EVERYONE only knew how to do one thing. It just wouldn't work.

No raggie, you are definitly NOT retarded. You are really good at doing what you love. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

To be honest, I trully hope that I BECOME as smart as YOU. It may take a lot of work, but you or anyone can do almost anything they want if they try hard enough.

Also, you are great just the way you are. I've only been on CPF for a short time but I already love you and everyone here like family. I enjoy sitting by my computer reading all of your posts. Don't be so hard on yourself /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I have an uncle with dyslexia. His reading disability made school hell for him, but he went on to become an Air Force officer and jet pilot during the Viet Nam war and after the service, he founded a successful company that he runs to this day. Having a reading disability is a serious handicap, but it doesn't mean you can't do other things well. Good luck.

I think a man smart enough to question himself is most certainly not "retarded". (I hate that word)
Wise men have lived with self-doubt for centuries!

BTW _ I ask myself the same thing all the time.

Raggie,

You're a winner in everything that counts!

Dave