Characteristics in Adults
These characteristics can vary from day-to-day, or minute-to-minute. The most consistent thing about them is their inconsistency.
WORK RELATED
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Employed in areas that emphasize use of visual imagery. (Entrepreneurs, engineers, tradesmen, artists, executives, ITs, salesmen or athletes.)
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Difficulty focusing on the task at hand: may excel at multitasking.
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Has difficulty with or is stressed by organizing meetings or events.
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Inability to follow-through, finish tasks or consistently hold a job.
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Unable to advance in the workplace due to a fear of, or inability to complete written exams.
VISION AND READING
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Experiences headaches, stomach aches or stress while reading.
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Confused by letters, numbers, words or sequences.
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Unaware that reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words.
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Proof-reading is ineffective.
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Extremely good vision, observant, or lacks depth perception or peripheral vision.
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Avoids reading aloud; finds silent reading easier.
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Needs to reread information several times in order to comprehend.
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Gets tired or bored easily from reading.
WRITING & SPELLING
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Trouble with writing or copying, pencil grip is unusual, hand cramps up, handwriting varies or is illegible.
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Poor spelling; relies on “spell-check” before sending emails, memos or documents.
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Difficulty filling out forms.
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Uses only capitals letters or mixes upper case and lower case when writing; combines cursive and print; frequently abbreviates words.
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May alter word choice when writing – to avoid spelling mistakes.
DIRECTIONALITY
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Difficulty with North, East, South and West
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Reading a map
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Confuses left and right.
HEARING & SPEECH
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Appears to hear things not said or apparent to others; argues frequently; often accused of “not listening.”
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Difficulty putting thoughts into words, stutters under stress, mispronounces long words, or transposes phrases, words and syllables when speaking.
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Easily distracted or frustrated by sounds when trying to focus.
SOCIAL SKILLS
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Withdrawn or fearful of social situations which are out of their “comfort zone.”
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May be loud, boisterous, inappropriate or offensive in social situations.
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Unaware of others or very empathetic of others.
MATH AND TIME MANAGEMENT
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Has difficulty managing time: consistently late or too early, difficulty predicting how long a task may take.
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Dependent on finger counting, calculators and other math tricks.
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Difficulty counting objects or dealing with money.
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May show exceptional talent in math.
MOTOR SKILLS
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Clumsy (need to hold onto a handrail when descending stairs, difficulty throwing accurately, inability to stand on one foot)
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Prone to motion sickness.
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Above average athletic ability.
MEMORY AND COGNITION
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Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, faces and specialized areas of interest.
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Poor memory for sequences, names, facts and information that has not been experienced.
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Thinks primarily with images and feeling, not sounds or words.
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Skilled at problem-solving – may have an answer well before others.
BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY
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Extremely disorderly (loses keys, glasses, etc.) or compulsively orderly.
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Fussy eaters or sensitive to foods, additives or chemical products.
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Difficulty adjusting to changes in routine; follows a strict set of “rules” for self-management.
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May be an extra deep or light sleeper.
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Extremely high or low tolerance for pain.
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Strong sense of justice, emotionally sensitive, strives for perfection; may over-react when making a mistake.
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Enjoys video games.
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Reliance on others in areas of writing, organization, book-keeping (spouse, secretary, etc.)
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Easily frustrated, stressed or overwhelmed – resulting in annoyance, anger or emotional outbursts.