☁️🐉 Growing up, I often found myself zoning out in classes or conversations, especially when the information was purely verbal. This wasn’t about thinking slowly - it was about my brain’s need to process words visually to understand them fully.
Reading and reflecting in my mind helped bring the pieces together. Hearing wasn’t enough; I needed to see it to make sense of it.
🔥 Struggles in Early Life
In school, teachers often assumed I wasn’t paying attention. They saw me drifting off, unaware that my brain was processing differently.
Without a way to write down or visually represent what I heard, I’d fall behind. Verbal instructions and rapid lectures felt like a fog - I couldn’t grasp the information without processing it in silence later.
To compensate, I started taking detailed notes, which became my anchor for understanding and later revisiting complex information.
❤️🔥 Turning a Challenge into Active Listening at Work
By the time I entered the workforce, I had turned note-taking into a superpower. During verbal-heavy meetings, writing things down helped me retain information and stay engaged.
My comprehension difficulty transformed into a strength: capturing key points and nuances that others often missed. This approach also helped me reflect deeply, enabling me to contribute meaningfully once I had the space to understand fully.
💎 Tips for Talkers: Observing Body Language and Encouraging Check-Ins
For those who communicate verbally, a few small adjustments can support those with verbal-to-visual comprehension needs. Pay attention to body language - shifts, zoning out, or signs of fatigue might mean they need a different processing approach.
Regular check-ins, like inviting everyone to draw out ideas or reflect, create shared understanding and respect.
💚💚💚🐉 Inclusive Meeting Structures for All
Creating an inclusive environment benefits everyone. Structured pauses, visual aids, and written summaries aren’t just helpful for people like me - they empower everyone to engage thoughtfully.
Those who typically process verbally can also gain from the balance, using structured time to reflect before jumping into responses. This approach turns meetings into collaborative spaces where each participant feels valued and heard.
Dragon Wisdom: “True listening isn’t about who speaks or comprehends first - it’s about creating space for everyone to connect with meaning in their way. By respecting that people process information differently, we shift from rapid responses to thoughtful understanding. This opens the door to inclusive conversations, where everyone feels empowered to contribute.”
🔥🔥🔥🐉 How This Differs from CAPD and My Reading Comprehension Challenges
This experience of needing visual cues differs from my Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD).
While CAPD involves difficulty processing sounds even in quiet environments, this verbal-to-visual comprehension challenge is more about how my brain bridges hearing with understanding. It’s not about the clarity of sound but about the translation of spoken words into concepts that make sense to me.
Similarly, this experience is distinct from my struggles with reading comprehension when asked to read aloud. There, the difficulty was rooted in simultaneously reading and understanding the text in real-time, which didn’t allow me the silence needed for full comprehension.
Here, it’s the absence of visual or written aids in verbal exchanges that causes the challenge. I need to see information organized in front of me to make it stick.
❤️🔥💚💚💚🔥🐉
This journey from zoning out to active listening taught me that everyone, regardless of how they process, benefits from a supportive environment.
When I was a kid, this disconnect often left me feeling inadequate or misunderstood. In the early days of my career, verbal meetings felt isolating, as I couldn’t grasp ideas as quickly without visual cues.
🪽🐉 Now, I see that adapting communication styles isn’t about slowing anyone down - it’s about uplifting everyone.
Supporting Neurotypical and Neurodivergent Needs Together
These experiences taught me that inclusivity in communication is transformative, both for those with processing challenges and for those who process easily.
People who comprehend verbally might be the first to jump into conversations, but structured pauses and opportunities to check understanding can enrich their contributions too.
This shift allows space for all voices and thoughts to be heard and valued, creating a balanced and inclusive environment.
💎💎💎
Caveat: Neurodiversity exists on a spectrum; no two experiences are the same. I am sharing my journey, but it’s important to remember that others may have different experiences.
Additionally, my story is shaped not only by neurodiversity but also by childhood trauma, which can make it challenging to differentiate between the causes of certain symptoms. This is my truth, but it may not reflect the experience of others.
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