TROUBLE FOCUSING - AN INTERVIEW WITH MY MOM

I am writing about the same thing on the Blue Rose Girls today because it has taken me a LONG time to put this together. I have finally uploaded the finished interview with my mom on reading, with images and all!

This is the sample I put on the BRG:

ME:I remember when I asked you to read my first attempt at a novel. You said something like: “Bridget is the writer in the family. You should stick to art,” or some such. You later explained why you said that. You really thought my writing would be terrible and was trying to save me from embarrassment. But this is why I ALWAYS ask you for advice on my writing before anyone else--because you are honest and I value your opinion. I think we have the same taste in writing and art. Sometimes honestly is hard to swallow, but it always works out for the best. What did you think of my early writing attempts? You can be honest. I won’t cry.

MOM:I think you struggled with writing in school for the same reason that sometimes made it hard for me to figure out what you were trying to tell me in everyday conversation. You tended to start telling me something as if I was inside your brain. I remember having to ask lots of questions to figure out where your ideas were coming from. This is a really simplistic example; "Mom, she was there when it happened." And I would be totally puzzled and have to say, who what where and when. Consequently your writing was confusing. I think you also had trouble organizing. Remember your little index card to help with a math test. You were allowed to bring one index card with some helpful facts to a math test. You filled both sides with microscopic letters and numbers with no spaces between them. It was like looking sanskrit .



Your notebooks came home with huge holes where you must have erased right through the paper. I used to marvel at them.



Basically your attempts to help yourself learn, produced chaos. So I was astounded when you began to write coherently. when you were in your twenties. I think that part of your brain just matured late."

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The funny thing is that just the other day I asked my friends if I still do that... if I start talking about stuff and don't explain what I'm talking about. They said "yes." I mentioned it to them because I fear that I'll do that when public speaking... that I'll start talking about something and not explain myself and not make any sense to people! In my brain I make TOTAL SENSE. But I guess to the outside world I make none? I also worry about this because I have done a few radio interviews and you really have to think on your toes. Will I say things that don't make any sense then? I don't know if this is just me or all A.D.D people have this issue. It's funny but my taste in books reflected that. My sisters loved books that made more sense and I loved the the crazy books that were all over the place -- like In the Night Kitchen and One Monster After Another. It was like my brain had come alive via the page!

To read the whole interview go here!

SHAUN TAN

I like it when other artists admit that they're a mess! Oh, I'm such a mess. Nothing about my sketches are redeemable in the slightest. I used to do nicer sketches and they've since gone downhill. Soon they'll look like nothing at all! That will be something, now won't it? But I'm amazed by those crazy artists out there with the sketches that look as good or better than the art for the book. But now I'm getting off topic. Or am I? Anyway, love Shuan Tan.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES...

Accept no substitute! This will be part of the "accept no substitute!" series. (yes, I grew up on PBS)







Here she is in the 80s:


Then I was wondering what Megan Follows was up to:


And you may pronounce her name as MeEgan but my name is pronounced as MeHgan. I just wanted to get that straight.

Back to Anne of Green Gables. My sister and I watched it so many times that we memorized many of the scenes. I kind of thought I was somewhat like Anne (minus the big words and book reading part). I had a braid and reddish hair and was daring and had freckles. Perhaps Anne was a mix of my sister and I. She was quite the bookworm. Maybe if we melded the two of us we'd be Anne. Hmm... I think I'm over thinking this just a tad.

ATTENTION PROBLEMS

I posted this part on the BRG but I wanted to talk about it for a bit as well. I developed a tick from being so stressed out from the pressure of trying to keep up with the other readers in the 4th grade. I remember reading the same sentence over and over again and I just couldn't focus! I really would try. What really did help was when my mom read to me. I'll talk about that part later. Below is what I asked my mom about:

ME: When was did you first notice that I had attention problems?

MOM: I began to notice that you had a little attention deficit when you were pretty young. But I would not have used that term. I just remember being aware that it seemed noteworthy that I had to ask you a half dozen times if you wanted orange juice or tomato in the morning. I recall being sort of astonished that you wouldn't answer. You were always pretty wired at home. Do you remember asking us to count laps as you ran around the house? Your uncle Ted was probably the first one to comment on your temperament. You were tiny, I mean maybe just weeks old when he held you and said, wow she is very alert. Your hair stuck up like you had been electrocuted. I mean you were wired. You were well behaved in school but let it all hang out at home. You were never mean or destructive, just lively and we did enjoy you.

ME: Was this apparent at home or just in school?

MOM: Your fourth grade teacher (who had a hyperactive son) was the first professional to mention it to us. Or maybe the third grade teacher said it in a very vague soft way. But Mrs. A. referred you to a neurodevelopmental pediatrician

ME: I remember going to a doctor to be tested but I was never told what it was for. I thought it was some sort of intelligence test. It really stressed me out. Why didn’t you guys explain what it was for? Or did you and am I just not remembering?

MOM: I am afraid I don't remember what I told you about why you were going. I usually try to explain things so I would imagine we said it was because the teacher thought you were having trouble paying attention. The funny thing is, that you were first referred for a test to see if you had auditory processing problems. That came up negative. And the Dr. who wrote an evaluation on you, left it up to us, to decide if you should be tried on stimulant medication.

ME: Bridget was a huge bookworm. I really didn’t like reading all through school. I don’t remember you forcing us to read but I do remember having to read a number of books during the summer months as a requirement to get into the next grade. I always tried to get the smallest book possible. You really can’t make someone be a reader I guess! Were there any tricks you tried on me? Or did you just let me be?

MOM: I do think I tried to get you to read. We went to libraries and bought books and encouraged you to read during the summer for fun. But it just wasn't fun for you. I wonder if you would have liked books on tape when you were younger. You seem to enjoy them now. You could have listened while you did other things. I would tell parents of kids who don't seem to enjoy reading to try that.

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In the 4th grade I was brought to a very stern, scary-type doctor who made me answer questions such as: "Repeat after me: Ball, dog, blue shoe." Then I'd do so. Then he'd say: "Remember those three things. Fifteen minutes later he'd ask me to repeat them again. I wouldn't remember them. Was it a memory problem or did I never process the objects to begin with? I was very good with the visual parts of the tests.

Even in college, I'd drift off very quickly when I wasn't interested. So I stopped going to lecture halls entirely. What was the point? I managed to get mostly As and Bs anyway. I studied on my own. After years of dealing with attention problems I'd found ways of dealing with them. But there are many times when I miss pieces of conversations and I pretend that I don't. I MUCH prefer doing publishing business via internet than over the phone because I can concentrate better. Some editors understand this better than others.

MY DEVELOPMENT AS AN AUTHOR

I've decided to put up some of the interview with my mom in pieces. This is because I want to talk about some of it! AND it's a long interview.

QUESTION:
I remember when I asked you to read my first attempt at a novel. You said something like: “Bridget is the writer in the family. You should stick to art,” or some such. You later explained why you said that. You really thought my writing would be terrible and was trying to save me from embarrassment. But this is why I ALWAYS ask you for advice on my writing before anyone else--because you are honest and I value your opinion. I think we have the same taste in writing and art. Sometimes honestly is hard to swallow, but it always works out for the best. What did you think of my early writing attempts? You can be honest. I won’t cry.

ANSWER:
"I think you struggled with writing in school for the same reason that sometimes made it hard for me to figure out what you were trying to tell me in everyday conversation. You tended to start telling me something as if I was inside your brain. I remember having to ask lots of questions to figure out where your ideas were coming from. This is a really simplistic example; "Mom, she was there when it happened." And I would be totally puzzled and have to say, who what where and when. Consequently your writing was confusing. I think you also had trouble organizing. Remember your little index card to help with a math test. You were allowed to bring one index card with some helpful facts to a math test. You filled both sides with microscopic letters and numbers with no spaces between them. It was like looking sanskrit . Your notebooks came home with huge holes where you must have erased right through the paper. I used to marvel at them. Basically your attempts to help yourself learn, produced chaos. So I was astounded when you began to write coherently. when you were in your twenties. I think that part of your brain just matured late."

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I remember in school wanting to write stories and thinking I had a lot of great ideas. I'm talking about way back in elementary school. We would get assignments like: Write a story about Santa Clause. I never remember more instruction than that. Isn't that strange? I think that is part of the reason why I didn't have the skills necessary until later in life to craft something with a story arch--beginning, middle, and end. I mean, if I didn't like to read and DIDN'T then what examples would I have had to compare to? It wasn't until after college that I decided I wanted to write a novel. The light bulb went off in my head that perhaps I needed to read some novels first! I really didn't read at all unless I HAD to! Strange, right? Even stranger is that I sat down and wrote 250 pages in less than a month. I'm not saying it was anything great but I was able to focus enough to do it. I also got past the first hurdle in the submission process. But when I asked my mom about writing in school she said I was stubborn and didn't want to take directions. Of course I don't recall what I did as a 7 year old but maybe she's right. Maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe I really have matured in my 20s! Is that possible for a brain to continue to grow?

So all of this does have a point. Kids who have attention problems who seem hopeless perhaps are not. This is a message I want to spread.

PERHAPS YOU'RE WONDERING...

Why I talk about e-books so much if I don't like them. Well... yes, they worry me. A lot. But also, at my job, they are in my face PLENTY. There is a "community" space for us employees to read and ALL it has been about e-readers. We are pretty much being brainwashed! Well... that's the goal anyway. So I really can't escape it. But I want this blog to be varied. So...

What I have coming up:
I have sent my author friend interview questions but she's gotten quite ill so that is on hold.

I have sent my mom (yes, my mom!) interview questions about reading and literacy. I had extreme attention problems as a youngster so I asked her how she handled that. She is also a social worker in a school system and works with disabled children and has seen teachers badly handle reading to groups. So I've asked her about that. I think it'll be a great interview! I just have to hope for another snow day so that she can get it done!

I will pester my editors to see if I can suck an interview out of them.

I have also asked my aunt, who is a librarian in D.C, if I can interview her.

To my readers: If you think you have something interesting to say and are a librarian or teacher or editor or designer or author then speak up!