Do you have trouble telling left from right?
At times, it can be hard to remember where you parked your car or to recall from which direction you came when walking around a new town. Everyone occasionally lacks a sense of direction but if you always have a hard time remembering which hand is your right one and which your left, you might be suffering from directional dyslexia.
DTD
Another name for directional dyslexia is Developmental Topographical Disorientation, DTD for short. This does not have anything to do with your intelligence, it just means you are more prone to get lost somewhere. In an article by Libelle, neurologist Phyllis Vanwalleghem, describes it as a lack of visualization skills. Apparently, people with DTD have issues visualizing a three dimensional plan based on what their eyes see. This means that they lack orientation skills causing them to get lost easily. For people with directional dyslexia this can cause issues and limit them in their day to day lives.
Tips
This type of dyslexia has only been discovered in 2009 and is considered a fairly ‘new’ condition. It is also very rare. This means that the chances of you having DTD, are very slim. You might just be bad at reading maps. If you do have DTD, there are some ways to literally navigate through the condition. Vanwalleghem gives some pointers that might also work if you just lack a general sense of direction. She recommends that you ask for visual cues when someone gives you directions. Instead of saying ‘left’ or ‘north of…’, have people describe the places to you. If they talk about the colorful flowers outside of the grocery store and the big clock tower that you then have to walk towards, you might have an easier time getting from point A to point B. GPS can be a big help too.
Vanwalleghem does provide a disclaimer: these tips won’t suddenly make you into a navigation genius. They’ll just make life a little less hard to navigate through.
Also read: How can you still learn a new language when you’re older?
Source: Libelle | Image: Unsplash, Elio Santos