New here--need some advice

Hi...I've been familiar with this site for a long time but just now set up an account to use the forums.

I'm Christine, 33 years old and married to an amazingly PATIENT husband!! My recent neuropsych test showed I have impaired processing speeds, specifically "psychomotor slowing", whatever that is lol and visual-organizational deficits. I also cannot drive due to a slight vision impairment.

My quandry is that I want to get into social work but am not sure what the most appropriate jobs or settings are and what accommodations I should request (though some were suggested in my report). I just graduated with an MSW and got the LSW credential.

I was classified with a learning disability in the past, but I think I've been able to compensate for those because I got a high GPA, even in the Masters program. My predominant problems are more along the lines of not being able to process new info very quickly...I can learn it if given time to process it and ask questions. But unfortunately, this means that fast-paced settings, with lots going on and a short learning curve, are probably not appropriate for me. Which stinks b/c some of the settings I've wanted to work in are VERY fast-paced! I also consider myself a little awkward verbally, especially when I'm anxious, which is somewhat frequently.

I'd say my strongest skills are in writing, assessing situations, empathy and computer/internet skills. My strongest passion is disability issues and raising awareness about disabilities.

So is there a place in social work for someone like me?? It seems like everything out there involves being able to drive or being able to function in a fast-paced environment. And I'm sure you have to have outstanding verbal skills, which doesn't always come easy for me.

What was I thinking in pursuing social work?? I MUST be insane lol!

Oh, just wanted to note that I am trying to find local services for helping me (VR, counseling), but that hasn't been too successful yet. I think it's because I'm one of those people who fall through the cracks. I have high intelligence and am able to handle academics (my sister even suggested I pursue a doctoral degree!); yet I tend to falter when it comes to social and vocational situations.

Thanks in advance! :)

Hello Christine:

Many congratulations on your graduation is an MSW. Your graduation is really wonderful and a great accomplishment. I would agree with the earlier post look for a job and see how it goes. You made it through your college degree you will probably adjust to the demands of the workplace. Most places you work after a while the problems and answers become routine. It's just a matter of hanging in there until you learn the routine. There are some different adaptive software that can help you with your job if you're working on a computer.

Here are some recommendations for some text-to-speech programs which will allow your computer to read to your student. A program that I often use on my computer is TextAloud, www.nextup.com <http://www.nextup.com> ($50 with the voices). This program can read any text in any Windows program. It also comes with an Internet Explorer or Firefox plug-in which can help you read webpages. I find it is the best program for reading webpages.

I can also recommend that you might want to look at the programs available from Premier Assistive, www.readingmadeeasy.com They have a product called "Key to Access" ($350). This MP3 Player/Flash Drive as a lot of adaptive software that can help you with reading and writing.

Speech recognition software is very helpful with the writing process. Speech recognition software allows you to dictate to your computer and the computer does the typing, as well as, the spelling. The two best speech recognition systems today are Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.5 ($100) , www.nuance.com , and Microsoft's new operating system Vista. Microsoft Vista has speech recognition built into the operating system. Both of these approaches to speech recognition are 99% accurate in turning dictation into written text.

James Nuttall -- Michigan

Jim -- Michigan www.geocities.com/jnuttallphd