Hi Cathe,
Thank you for your response...it is comforting to know that there other people in the world who have this problem! I can totally relate to everything you said. My parents have always tried to get me to read a map, but I avoided it because it is so hard for me. But after your story, maybe I will give it another shot. I had an extremely difficult time as a child navigating my schools. My family moved from New York to New Jersey when I was 11 years old. I had no fear about making new friends...but I was terrified of going to a new school because of my problems with direction. That was the most difficult part of the adjustment for me. I wanted to let you know about a book that I discovered online. It is called "Lousy Sense of Direction" by Linda Grekin, and it supposedly gives tips for people like us. I have not read the book yet, but reviews of it say that the author refers to "directional disabilities" as a legitimate medically diagnosable disability, but admits that there is very little research on this topic. I always knew there was some kind of "missing connection" in my brain, and it is nice to have that validated. Also...a colleague of mine is currently attending a workshop on special education, and lent me the handbook that they are using. It is called Educating Special Needs Students and is by Rose Montagnino, M.S. She lists "Directional Problems" as one of 8 learning disabilities, and defines it as "Trouble distinguishing left from right, N S E W, or difficulty knowing where you are in reference to a larger location. When lost or disoriented, not knowing where to begin in finding your way back." Sound familiar?? I know it did to me....Hope this is helpful!
Take care,
Sara