"Geographical Dyslexia," or "Directional Disability," or, People Who Lose Their Way

In The Accidental Tourist (New York [Knopf], 1991), Anne Tyler describes a malady that, as far as I know had never before been acknowledged in literature.   All four of her eccentric Leary siblings share "a total inability to find their way around." Macon Leary, who writes travel books for a living and is the novel's focal character, christens this trait "geographical dyslexia."

I'm not convinced that "geographical dyslexia" is a good name for the Learys' condition.  An alternative, "directional disability," is not much better.  Whatever the name, sufferers will know what is meant.  There's a class of people (I'm one of them) who are chronically lost; who take a few steps in a strange city and can't find their way back to the hotel;  who don't know how to exit the building they've just entered because they've strolled a corridor or two;  who are totally befuddled and even panicked when they drive into a familiar intersection from an unaccustomed direction; who break into a cold sweat when someone says, "you know how to get home -- just reverse the directions";  and who, because they're frequently lost, are subject to ridicule and mockery from their very own families and from their most intimate friends.

Macon Leary has a theory about his persistent dysgeographica. He thinks he's disabled because all his life he's moved from house to house, and "people who'd been moved around a great deal never acquired a fixed point of reference, but wandered forever in a fog."  I know of no evidence to support this wholly improbable suggestion.  Macon clutches at a straw because there's no data (and there's no data, at least in part, because there's no accepted name for his condition).

Every sufferer nurses his own unscientific, anecdotal theory.  I was once convinced that my dysgeographica was related to my total absence of rhythm -- as a child I could never learn to pump a swing or even to jump rope.  My brother thinks that it must be connected to his aversion to heights.  My niece takes the view that it's somehow related to her motion sickness and to her bouts of dizziness.  A friend thinks that the trouble stems from the fact that she was naturally left-handed but was trained to be right-handed.  In fact, no one knows whether dysgeographica is connected to any other trait, or whether it's one of a cluster of traits.  In terms of hard science, the directionally disabled have been allowed to languish in the dark ages.

I'm almost convinced that dysgeographica runs in families.  My father was monumentally disabled, and one of my brothers is so impaired that he's occasionally looked to me for directional advice.  Barking up the wrong tree, is he!! (I have another brother who always knows exactly where he is -- perhaps he's adopted.)  In The Accidental Tourist,  Anne Tyler, who's a very sharp observer of mankind, tellingly attributes dysgeographica to all four Leary siblings. Tyler also notes that Macon has learned how to cope:  he "kept a stack of index cards giving detailed directions to the houses of his friends -- even friends he'd known forever."  Coping mechanisms are essential to the dysgeographical.  When I have to drive any distance without a navigator, I write the directions with a thick pen in a notebook and keep it open on the passenger seat.  For some reason, I can't seem to retain more than one or two of the approaching turns in my mind, so I must continually refer to the notebook.  Mapquest has proved to be a boon, especially if I remember to print out in very large type.

In The Accidental Tourist, no one pokes fun at the Leary siblings.  But in real life, it's considered quite amusing to laugh at the chronically lost.  People don't understand that dysgeographica is a disability like colorblindness.  I can't say how many times I've been instructed to "concentrate," or "pay attention' -- advice which is just as effective as commanding a color blind person to make an effort to register shades of yellow or blue. Without a label and without a support group, the dysgeographical will continue to be ridiculed.  It's time for us to unite.  Unless we do so, we are not only doomed, like Macon Leary, to be "adrift upon the planet, helpless, praying that by luck [we] might stumble across [our] destination," but doomed to be humiliated as well.

(July 22, 2007.  I've written again on directional dyslexia.  If anyone is interested, take a look here, here, and here.    And now one more.) 

Comments

[Sarah]

I'm glad I've read this as I have a friend with this disability, and until now, I'd always thought she was stupid.

I once gave her directions somewhere starting from her own flat. "Go North up the High Street." "Which way is North?" I was stupefied.

For me it is impossible not to know which way is North. On the rare occasions when I don't know which way I'm facing I feel confused and panicky (or disoriented) until I can get hold of a map or streetplan and work it out.

So I find living with directional disability very hard to imagine. The most remarkable thing about my directionally disabled friend is that she seems to get by absolutely fine. In fact now she has 'sat-nav' she has no problem at all.

[mindy]

I have lived lost for 41 years. What a great feeling to finally have a post about directional dyslexia and kinesthetic sense! I will definately read the Accidental Tourist

[annamanila]

I have had this all of my life, though no one except family and close friends, are the wiser.

It gives cold comfort to know it has a name -- directional dyslexia, dysgeographica. Warmer comfort is the knowledge maybe I am not really the most spatially disoriented person in the whole world.

[Lana Smith]

I am 61 years old and several years ago I read in Reader's Digest that there was something called Directional Dyslexia. For me, it was wonderful to hear that there was really something wrong with me and that it had a NAME!!!! I have been lost all of my life. I have a strong desire to always go the wrong way, I even got lost in a parking garage once. Driving somewhere unfamiliar is the most stressful thing I do. Mapquest has helped. Never tell me North or South - it makes no sense to me at all. I am glad I found this site and know that I am not alone.

[darylle racimo]

I'm 27 years old and until now I'm still afraid to drive because am afraid to get lost. My husband gets mad at me when teaching me to drive because I always forget where to go.In addition to that,I also get nervous and become confuse of the steering wheel,the pedals and buttons to push while driving because I'm too involve with which way I should go.My husband still drives me to work.Hopefully I can able to learn to drive with confidence this summer.Thank God for navigators.I'm also happy to read this column that I'm not alone,I can show my husband this so that he'll understand.By the way I read 'The accidental tourist' in high school that's where I learned that this condition is called geographical dyslexia.

[Cindy]

Thank you, thank you for the diagnosis! My mother and I both suffer from this. Lately I've been thinking about getting a GPS navigational device even though I've lived in the same city for 27 years because I still get lost sometimes. Now I think it's a necessity for me to get one, and not a luxury item.

Thanks so much for blogging about this!

Cindy

[jjj]

wow! Yeah... it's a completely embarrassing condition! My mom told me that other people had it but I didn't believe her... I'm embarrassed even in front of my own family and now I have a job where I have to drive teenagers places sometimes and it's a good thing they know where they're going! Uhg... do you know where I might find more information on this (I'm 34 and I've been like this my entire life... I know I'm not stupid, I have 135 IQ and manage to effectively pull off every other life task so why can't I find my car in a parking lot or my way back out of a camping spot at the lake? :(

[Vivian de St. Vrain]

Dear friends: this essaylet on being lost is visited 2 or 3 times a day, sometimes more. Only one of a hundred visitors leaves a comment. Are the others ashamed to admit their problem? I think that we need a support group -- it's hopeless to complain to people who don't share our affliction. If you fellow-sufferers leave me your real address, or write to me at drmetablog@hotmail.com, I'll try to form a group. Dysgeographics of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your way. Vivian

[Sarah]

Actually quite a lot of those visitors are me. I accidentally deleted my bookmark for your blog, so when I want to read it (several times a week I'm embarrassed to admit) I google 'scrolling metablog' and this page comes up top of the list. So I visit here as a stepping stone to the homepage. Just off there now. Merry Christmas (if you don't object to the C-word).

[Ann T. Dewey]

Thanks so much for your article. I am not ashamed of my affliction, and I would be delighted to unite with "my kind." It is very hard to explain to folks, "how I get lost," "why I arrive late from a mile away," etc., etc., etc. I am from a family of perfectionists. Today I arrived 15 minutes late for my daughter's birthday celebration. East Memphis, TN has many "wandering streets." There are many streets that start out north and end up east, and so on. They twist and turn and end up nowhere. I have recently moved to East Memphis into a "high rise apartment in the sky." It accommodates to my age. I left Midtown Memphis with its straight and familiar streets. They tell me I am close to everything, but I can't find anything. If it weren't for my husband, who likes to eat out and go out in general, I would stay at home and order everything. (He has Macular Degeneration and can't drive anymore.) A trip to the beach is a tour through Mississippi and Alabama. We were accidental tourists once in Harrisburg, Mississippi, completely lost. We wandered into a Baptist Church, where they invited us for a wonderful potluck lunch. We had a great time, and I sent them a nice donation along with a card this Christmas.

[Laura]

My friend and I both have this condition. It's embarrassing and frustrating, but there is an upside; we often take a wrong road and discover new and wonderful places completely by accident!

It's weird how giving something a name makes it seem more legitimate. Now I can tell people I have "dysgeographica" and they'll be sympathetic and concerned instead of treating me like an idiot!

[lisa]

GPS navigator systems are very helpful, but sometimes they're a bit off. Always a good idea to check the directions with someone at your destination to make sure they are accurate. When they're off, I get even more confused because trying to find my way while hearing the voice of the navigation system really throws me off. I've named mine Chris (after St. Christoper). Yeah, I know he's no longer a saint, but I like the idea.

Anyone know of any way to put your own directions into the navigation system? I find the voice prompts incredibly helpful, but sometimes I get better directions from someone who really knows the area.

My cousin & I both have such a hard time, we joke we're lucky to live/work on islands (Long Island/Staten Island & Manhattan) because we'll eventually hit water instead of ending up in say the Rockies! :)

I've been at my current job for nearly 2 years & I'm just now starting to get the hang of all of the floors we're located on. But we're moving, which means it'll take me another 2 years to get used to it.

[Amanda]

I have this problem. I always have. I decided to name it and call it "directional dyslexia" a few years ago. It's been difficult for me, especially since I became a photojournalist and had to follow directions throughout the day and get places faster than others. I have learned some ways to cope, but for many years it was extremely frustrating. No one in my family has it besides me. Lucky them!
Sometimes it makes me feel sick to my stomache and dizzy because I cannot figure out how to get back to where I was. I have to force myself to remember certain visual landmarks and/or write everything down.
When I'm not concentrating I find myself looking in exactly 180 degrees different spot than the actual spot where something is located. For instance, I'll take a guess that something is to the right, but invariably it's to my left. Or, I'll look to find a knife in the exact opposite location it's kept in in the kitchen. This 100% reversal of direction in my mind led me to call the problem directional dyslexia.
Does anyone else ever find they get dizzy and even sick to their stomach when experiencing the confusion that goes with this?
I have, as I said, learned ways of coping and forgive myself easily now for my disability. I'm good at photography and dance and geometry, but I cannot tell north from south unless I'm picturing where the ocean is relative to where I am at. There's nothing about knowing directions that comes intrinsically for me.
Thank you so much for describing what I had for all the world to see. We're not dumb, we're challenged to perceive differently.

[Sue Branham]

Hi! I've known all my life that I had directional disability as far as knowing which direction I'm facing, finding my way out of a building, or driving a car. Otherwise, I have no other learning disabilities and in fact, have made excellent grades in school. It's really odd because my dad always said you could put him in a potato sack and drop him anywhere in SE Oklahoma and he could find his way home...and that's a very undeveloped area. He couldn't understand why our mother and my sister and myself had problems getting lost. I know it's genetic and we didn't get his genes in this respect. My son is also the same way but my daughter isn't. One of the most frustrating things I have done is to go down a familiar through street and think I'm going the wrong way, turn around just before I see my destination and then realize after a couple miles that I was going the right way after all. I don't do this in my own neighborhood, but in the larger Oklahoma City area that I don't travel every day but know well. I have been late a few times from this happening. I have to try to allow extra time. I'm glad to know the official name of this disorder. I think at least a third of the population are afflicted but probably won't admit it.

Sue Branham
age 65

[vVivian Hussein de St. Vrain]

Although we agree among ourselves that "directional dyslexia" is a useful term, the perception among the non-afflicted is that we are not disabled or afflicted, just stupid. I'm yet to see that "directional dyslexia" or "dysgeographica" has had an impact on society. But the comments here testify that there are many of us. Interesting to me that most if not all of the commenters here are female. Is the gene sex-linked? Or are men unwilling to 'fess up?

[Janet]

I read the same Reader's Digest article mentioned by annamanila above. It was such a comfort knowing I wasn't the only one dealing with this! I'm 51 years old and the first time I remember really getting lost was when I was 12 and on vacation in Maryland. (I live in Oklahoma.) My cousins and I were riding bikes and I got separated from them. I went into such a panic that I hyperventilated. I don't know how long I was lost but it was an awful feeling I have repeated many times since. My ability to get lost is legendary in my family. My daughter has a touch of this stuff, but not nearly to my degree. I don't know of anyone else in the family who has it. My husband and son are navigation whizzes. That's a good thing or I'd never get to go on vacation! Thankfully, I CAN remember my way around the school where I teach. I use many of the same coping skills others have mentioned. I avoid driving on expressways because I can't figure out where to turn at slow speeds so high speed decisions are out of the question.
I do know a couple of men with this disability, but most of the other perpetually lost folks I know are women.

[R. Laughman]

My one sister says I am the only person she knows with a map of her own small home town in the glove box! I've sometimes driven around in circles 'cause there isn't just one way from one place to another, and I think I'm going the wrong way and change my mind and go another.

I worked in the same building for over 15 years and if asked, could not tell in which direction the road ran outside the building without several minutes of thought.

Years ago I subbed in the library of a high school that was nicely organized into hallways around 2 square courtyards. Easy to navigate you'd think, however TWICE in one day I had to ask for directions back to the library. And as fate would have it the same tall young man was my rescuer in both cases. How embarrassing!

It's nice to know I'm not alone with this "disablility!"

[K. Gordon]

Wow, what a relief to put a name to something I've dealt with for the last 60 years! But does anyone else have trouble distinguishing left from right? I do - big time! I finally found a solution after I got married. I only wear one piece of jewelry, my wedding ring, and so if I'm supposed to turn left or right, I have to run my thumb over my ring and that is the only way I can tell which way I'm supposed to be going. I also have an almost complete lack of long term memory! My husband can remember his 2nd grade teacher, his classmates, etc., I'm lucky if I remember what happened yesterday! Ah well, at least I'm not alone! I'll be checking back here on a regular basis.

[Pat]

When I read the term "directional dyslexia," I thought that was what I had, until I started reading everyone's descriptions. I have no problem with directions or maps, and I don't usually get lost, but I cannot verbally tell someone or be told by someone to go right or left without invariably turning toward or saying the opposite direction. To a much smaller degree, it also happens when writing directions, but I don't think it happens as much because I have more time to think about it. I didn't realize I had this until I was in college. My friends and I have learned to point when giving directions, because I have no problem with that. I also have figured out that I have the same problem with east and west and other similar (and sometimes dissimilar, except in my head) pairs of words. I realize I had the same problem when I was a kid with a pair of new step-cousin's names -- two boys, close in age, one blond, one dark hair -- I could never remember which boy went with which name. I have also had similar "reversing" experiences with clock faces -- I was late to pick up my brother once because I thought it was quarter to instead of quarter after. But primarily it is a right-left problem for me.

[T.R.Hollingsworth]

I'm 85 years old and have finally discovered there's a name for the fact I'm always lost. When I enter a building from the right I automatically exit the same way. Same for driving unless I concentrate on a clue (building,etc.) - even if I know the route. When driving to an unknown location, I print (large) the route from a map. On the other side I reverse the directions. I keep it on the seat beside me. This helps. My grown children still talk about some of our adventures when living in DC area. Part of my history.

[alice]

I guess I will join the many expressing relief to find so many others and to have a name for this. I also am curious whether people with the direction problem also found themselves having problems learning to tell time as children. I also wish someone could help my friends and family understand that it is not because I am not "trying hard enough."

[ellen jacobson]

I have been laughed at and teased for 65 years about what I call navigational dyslexia. People think I'm stupid(far from it) or am not paying attention because I get "turned around". There are certain places in Denver where I know I will always turn the wrong way when leaving a building. I am smart enough to have memorized most of the street names, write directions down, and get ANYWHERE I need to with a map. Had lots of trouble as a child learning right and left and I to read a map, I must always have the top of the map pointing to the north even if it's upsidedown.

[Melissa]

I have such horrible directional sense! I'm almost 17 and afraid to start driving, partly because I know that I'll have to start learning the roads and finding my way and this seems impossible. I can't navigate someone to my house from two streets away.

I'm so happy to have found this. I'm pretty sure I have dysgeographica, although no one else in my family does. It's so nice to think that never being able to find my way isn't my fault.

[judith a steinmetz]

I've been trying to find an Ann Lander's column from many years ago, because she identified this problem, and I couldn't remember . I have had this affliction all of my life, and always felt stupid and dumb. I'm 67 years old and don't drive a car. I can never learn where to turn into a driveway off of the highway. I think my father had the same thing,but it never occurred to me until a few months ago. Ann Landers also said it was inherited. I also read Accidental Tourist and loved the book because I could identify with the characters. And yes, I'm glad I'm not alone.

[Laura]

I sort of get N,S,W & E. Several places I've lived had a mountain or mountain range that gave me a landmark which really helped. I was hopeless when I lived in the midwest where it was totally flat. I always joked that if I ever left my husband and ran back to my parents on the west coast I'd probably end up in Canada because I could never figure out which way was west in that town.

When someone starts giving me directions it's almost like I don't even hear what they are saying... blah,right, blah,blah,left,blah straight, blah, blah blah. I always write everything down.

My mom threatened to write the words left and right on the back of my hands before I had to take the test for my driver's license.