Working while living with a memory impairment

Jan. 4, 2018 (Chapter 17 Working while living with a Memory Impairment)

I think that the most difficult time for me while working at the school were the last five or six years. Because of the memory impairment, I used to refer to staff workshop days as “text overload”. These workshop days were filled with learning lots of teaching strategies and behavior management related to my job. But some things were unrelated and were just a waste of my time and my brain. These things were mostly geared to teachers. During these workshops, there were presenters, typed hand-outs, loaded with text and group activities. These became extremely stressful for me to deal with!! There were times when the presenter would say a word such a “resonate” and I tried so hard to search my brain for the meaning of this word! Frustration set in! There were times when it just became too overwhelming for me to deal with. I would leave the workshop room and go to the lady’s room. It was there that I had a good cry! Sometimes, I would take my cell phone and go near an exit door and call a close friend. She would help me get through it. Then I would return to the workshop. There would also be some of my school friends and coworkers looking for me after I left the workshop, wondering if I was okay. This part of my job, I don't miss, but I miss my students so very, very much.