I Have Learning Disabilities and ADHD...What’s your Superpower?
Years ago, someone asked me in an interview if I knew how to multi-task.
I laughed. I was really taken aback by the question.
For the first time ever, it occurred to me that multi-tasking was considered a skill. And yes, I absolutely had that skill. My exact response was, “wait...there are people who don’t know how to multitask?”
My learning disabilities (LDs) and ADHD have made my life complicated in so many ways that it never even dawned on me that perhaps there were added benefits, too. I am an EXCELLENT multi-tasker. In fact, I’m actually so good at doing multiple things at once, I would consider myself a poor single-tasker.
My mindset around my learning disabilities and ADHD shifted that day. I started to see that some of the traits they had given me were really superpowers. I was exceptional at something that came so naturally to me and I didn’t even know it was exceptional. They were unique and extraordinary skills that a lot of people don’t have. It doesn’t stop with multi-tasking; I also feel my LDs and ADHD make me incredibly empathetic, sensitive, clever, resilient… the list goes on.
It was a real role reversal from anything I had experienced growing up. Time and time again, I was made to feel dumb or incompetent because I struggled in school and didn’t fit the mold of a typical student or employee. I was made to feel like I was exceptional at nothing.
I know there are people who wish they did not have their learning disabilities or ADHD, but I’ve come to a place in my journey where I embrace them and would love to help people recognize the ways they have enhanced their lives.
I asked myself what else was I exceptional at because of my Learning Disabilities and ADHD and it turns out that my list was pretty long:
Resilient
Creative thinker and often think outside of the box
Improved pattern recognition
Resourceful
Adaptable (makes me anxious but still a skill)
Great problem-solving skills
Multi-tasking (of course)
Great listener
Compassionate and personable in understanding all of the angles of someone’s challenges
Sharper peripheral vision seeing the big picture and small details at the same time
Not afraid to experiment
Stronger memory skills
Ability to hyperfocus
Energetic
Above all, I know that I’m now Cape-able of anything I wish to achieve.
I started Cape-Able Consulting because I want people with Learning Disabilities and/or ADHD to realize that they have these tremendous skills in addition to many, many others that are unique and valued. Their extraordinary traits can be a huge benefit to so many companies and organizations. Our biggest roadblock is trying to fit into someone else’s standard for ‘success’ instead of fostering what comes so naturally to us.
I want to help you see that success can be achieved in more than one way. I want to help you feel comfortable in your own skin and do what feels natural to you. I want to help you explore your superpowers and help you see all that you are cape-able of.
Because having a Learning Disability and/or ADHD is truly YOUR superpower!
