Relearn How To Learn: Lori Part Twenty Three
One of the challenges Lori conquered was going back to school along with going back to work. She states that she had to relearn how to learn.
Talk to me about the process of going to college, three, four, five years after your injury.
When I first started… Let me see, I went back to college, I went to a community college and I was, at that time I was just like two or three classes away from my associate’s degree so I took those classes just to see if I could, and I did, and I passed.
So then I decided with the help of my neuropsychologist that I was going to go for a specific degree and I went for occupational therapy and when I first started studying, um, occupational therapy, it was really, really hard. I remember sitting up for hours upon hours at night in bed with my textbooks and I had to read.
I had to take a 3 by 5 card and put it under a line, a printed line, in my textbook and I had to read three words and I would close my eyes and see if I remembered what those three words. And then I’d read the entire line and I’d make sure that I remembered that entire line. And then I did the sentence and I made sure that I understood the sentence. And then I did a paragraph, and made sure that I could restate in my own words that paragraph.
I went through every chapter of every page that we were taught in class, so I think I learned better than anyone else.
But I had to relearn how to learn. And it was more important to me, like I said before, because I was recreating me, I was building the person that I wanted to be. And I cared a lot more about my grade and about being able to graduate. Where when I first went, it, when I was going to night classes when I was an executive secretary, I wanted to get, get more professional and, and a better degree or, and, and a better job. But I just wanted to get it.
When I went back for occupational therapy I had to, to become the person that I wanted to be, I had to get that degree.
To relearn how to learn is something most of us would not even think about but someone with traumatic brain injury may have to relearn everything including how to relearn how to learn.
Next in Part Twenty Four – Anxiety About Risk of Senility After TBI
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Returning to college post TBI is difficult. Colleges do have programs that include; note takers, extra time to take test’s. It can be done.
was Brain Injured ’83 mva…to make a long story short graduated ’92 St.Thomas Aquinas College,Sparkill,NY10976 Certified in Therapeutic Recreation Services;used to record Classes then go home (w my Parents)& listen & type the Recording ;heard it 2x & read it as I typed & reinforced my learning.I take L-K+Lysine,Milk Thistle & one a day Multiple Vitamins…keep overcoming challenges w assistence of my Certified Care Aide Deborah Sangiacomo who’s also my neighbor. I go by Monroe Taxi to Access Pghysical Therapyb & Wellness,Monroe,NY10950 3x per week. I had ramps installed fopr wheelchair 2 years ago;using a Walker in PT now;I want to catch lightening bugs in my backyard…we’ll see. PT’s best in 29 years. I was a NYS Special Ed Instructor 8 years . William Chapman have a Cat now
EXCUSE MY TYPOS L-LYSINE FOR ONE