Blonde Angel,
I started to read a book about autism. The author had Aspergers. It was not technical enough for me, so I pursued other avenues of thought. I have been somewhat interested in Tourette's. I am convinced that so many of these types of conditions are quite related. An indirect route to solving a problem has considerable benefits. It helps the various pieces of the puzzle to fit.
I am presently reading another brain book which is helping to pinpoint areas of brain dysfunction, like the facial recognition problems which I have which can be traced to a part of the brain called the fissure gyrus (spelling?). I am trying to address problems arising from frontal lobe deterioration characteristic of my kind of muscular dystrophy. I have made some progress in dealing with other aspects of my muscular dystrophy. The brain and the stomach seem to be the hardest to figure out.
I liked your reference to lateral thinking. I hope I can remember that.
Michael,
What type of muscular dystophy do you have? Whar have you been able to do with your diet to manage it? Can I offer you encouragement and share information with you on some of what you write about above?
I do not have muscular dystrophy. During my first brain surgery, the right frontal lobe was separated in order for the surgeons to reach the deformed and hemorrhaging arteries in my right hemisphere. In the second brain surgery, what remained of my right temporal lobe, the amygdala, hippocampus and a section of the prefrontal lobe were removed--a failed attempt to stop my seizures.
After my first brain surgery, I had almost no memory of my adult life from about 18-31 (my age at the time). I had no ability to orient in time or place and had almost no ability to recognize people. Every day I had to learn who I was, where I was, and when I was, over and over again.
Even though I have not grown a new temporal lobe, I recovered a lot of these lost skills, as if the left hemisphere were somehow figuring out how to do those tasks once done by the right hemisphere.
I had several major strokes and many many mini strokes from my disorder. I find the brain is always intuitively recognizing damage and reflexively working to heal, its a natural process.
After having a major stroke during the first brain surgery, my left side was paralyzed. I began using my right hand to open and move the thumb on my paralyzed left hand. I could not talk or think clearly then. I unerstood that my brain could no longer will my fingers, or my left side to move. I had the idea that if I kept moving my thumb, hours and hours a day, eventually the brain might recognize it was there and learn to move it again. After about six months I got the thumb to move. Eventually I overcame the paralysis.
I hope you are not assuming that if some skill is lost due to a deterioration of a specific area of your brain that it is a permanent loss. It is now well known that the brain is very able to recover from damage, lots of it.
Your message struck a nerve with me, reminding me of some very difficult times when my doctors were telling me I was hopelesly, permanently paralyzed and likely would not live for more than a few more months. That was in 1982. I hope this encourages you to trust your own intuition in how to find the treatments that will help you and to keep your hope.