MBTI and learning disabilities

[GreatBigCranberries]

So as I understand it, personality type is like a framework in your mind through which you think and view and interact with the world. I was wondering if anyone knew anything or had any ideas about how learning disabilities might have an effect on, or be affected by personality type.

I'm curious because I'm 90% sure my severely dyslexic father is an ISTJ. If I had to describe him in one word it would be 'reliable'. He's steady, hard-working, and unemotional. He actually seems to like, in his quiet understated way, (what I find to be) boring administrative-ish tasks. He never reads things between the lines, and never says anything between the lines either. The only thing I can ever recall making him angry is people disregarding their responsibilities. He doesn't mind talking about theory at all, but only provided that he can see some direct relation to the real world. But if you try to talk to him about something like, say, literary themes or (heaven forbid) fantasy, he just does not see the point.

However, he is messy. Shockingly messy. As far as I have read, neatness seems to be considered, not as a possible ISTJ trait, but as an almost fundamental expression of the type. This made we wonder if maybe he was actually and ISTP, but my dad doesn't seem to prefer an SP lack of structure (and definitely does not have that SP thrill seeking spirit), he is just very, very un-neat. It doesn't show at home so much since my mom cleans compulsively, but his workspace permanently looks like a filing cabinet exploded on it. The weird thing is, in practise this does not seem to make him disorganized.

The second curiosity is that my brother—also severely dyslexic—appears to be an ESFJ. He is also extraordinarily messy, contrary to what you would expect from the type. I've considered that he might be an ESFP, but in everything else he sounds so much like an ESFJ. One of the strongest and most blatant pieces of evidence I know of that he is in fact an ESFJ is his concern over/interest in gender roles. He's an extremely emotional person with a generous heart who really, really wants to fit in and please people. But he doesn't show this off so much since he reached puberty because he's developed this (occasionally obnoxious) cool, tough guy attitude, which he now only lets down around girls who he is very close to, and cuddly animals. And you can always tell who his favourite character in a movie will be, because it's always the guy who is most ideally masculine. Descriptions I've read of male ESFJs fit him really well, and explain so much of his behaviour. Except, again, that he is very, very messy. He's over-the-top messy, all the time.

If I think about personality type as a mental frame work, it seems to make sense that a learning disability might partially alter that frame work. And that the results of that might show up in, say, an SJ being messy rather than neat. I would appreciate any input from anyone who knows anything about how this might affect personality type, or has any more familiarity with learning disabilities. Does this sound reasonable? Am I just deluding myself? Is neatness actually as significant to the SJ personalities types as I've been led to believe?

I suppose I should add I'm interested in more than just how a learning disability might affect a person's cleaning skills, that's just the most obviously odd thing I've noticed.

 

[CDH15]

I do not see any direct link between Dyslexia and MBTI types because dyslexia arises from issues with visual processing, not personality. However, I have read that there is a link between ADHD and dyslexia. People with ADD/ADHD tend to be predominantly P types because two key characteristics of ADHD are a lack of attention and problems with organization. I have wondered if someone is a J or P if they like predictability, but are very messy, or vice versa. Your dad sounds like he has the Si/Te functions, making him and ISTJ. As far as your brother, the "cool, tough guy attitude" sounds like an Se trait, making him sound like an ESFP. I think your brother might have Fi instead of Fe, because he suppresses his warm feelings except for encounters with girls or animals, but he might also have Fe and is overly focused on fitting in.

I am an INTP diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. Every space of mine is unorganized, whether it be my car, my room, or my desk. You will find dirty clothes laying all over my room, as you would find wrappers in my passenger seat. At the same time, I like to know what will happen next, because I like predictability in my days, even though I don't have a consistent routine.

As far as other learning disabilities, I think some of them have MBTI correlations, some of them do not. Dyslexia and Dyscalculia have no known MBTI correlations. Autism Spectrum Disorders tend to be almost exclusively I types, as well as mostly T. As far as J/P with Autistic populations, I think it is about half and half, maybe slightly more J, because people with ASD generally like structure and routine, but are usually unorganized and sometimes lack responsibility, especially if combined with ADHD.

 

[Frosty]

My, I believe ISTJ brother, is severely dyslexic. While he is still neater than me, compared to how orderly he comes off- most people are surprised when they see how messy he really is.

I was diagnosed as a mild dyslexic when I was elementary school aged-though this is questionable to me now(my brother is the real deal), and if I am I would like to think that I have worked around it quite decently. I am messy as all hell, never was able to keep track of belongings, frequently losing things, total disarray. I was also dxd with ADHD inattentive(though again, questionable), and my brother wasn't so there is that.

Anyways, I would guess that learning disabilities would just emphasize what is already there in the way of the disorder. If you were already inclined to be messy, being diagnosed will make you appear messier. If a naturally upstanding proper person, a LD might still affect you but to a lesser extent.

 

[GreatBigCranberries]

Ah, I wasn't looking for a direct link between dyslexia and personality type, more, how might something like dyslexia change or interfere with the resulting behaviour of a type. Culture doesn't have anything to do with your personality type either (as far as I know), but it can still influence how a personality type plays out (I mean, what the resulting behaviour looks like).

It's very interesting that Autism disorders are linked to personality. I wouldn't have assumed it.

 

[GreatBigCranberries]

My, I believe ISTJ brother, is severely dyslexic. While he is still neater than me, compared to how orderly he comes off- most people are surprised when they see how messy he really is.

I was diagnosed as a mild dyslexic when I was elementary school aged-though this is questionable to me now(my brother is the real deal), and if I am I would like to think that I have worked around it quite decently. I am messy as all hell, never was able to keep track of belongings, frequently losing things, total disarray. I was also dxd with ADHD inattentive(though again, questionable), and my brother wasn't so there is that.

It's good to find confirmation of another messy dyslexic SJ. I'm not just going crazy then. And dyslexia does come in varying degrees of severity, so you could still have it. Girls also tend to get it less severely in general than guys.

Anyways, I would guess that learning disabilities would just emphasize what is already there in the way of the disorder. If you were already inclined to be messy, being diagnosed will make you appear messier. If a naturally upstanding proper person, a LD might still affect you but to a lesser extent.

See, I was wondering if the messiness was somehow related to the fact that dyslexia also causes poorer fine motor control, coordination, and hand-eye coordination. Like that somehow leads to messiness? I don't know, I'll shut up now.

 

[Frosty]

It's good to find confirmation of another messy dyslexic SJ. I'm not just going crazy then. And dyslexia does come in varying degrees of severity, so you could still have it. Girls also tend to get it less severely in general than guys.



See, I was wondering if the messiness was somehow related to the fact that dyslexia also causes poorer fine motor control, coordination, and hand-eye coordination. Like that somehow leads to messiness? I don't know, I'll shut up now.

Haha no, don't!

I would guess that the overlap between certain traits of a disorder and traits of an individual can cause a variety of particular behaviors-commonly disorganization.

But while I do think that dyslexia, ADHD, and aspergers, and other learning disorders are definately real, the underlying causes for these disorders are really difficult to pinpoint. Since the hard-wiring of the brain is a very intricate system, and learning disorders can be broad descriptions for a window of traits, it would be hard to pinpoint what exactly is the cause of something specific.

Having given that disclaimer, there are certain strengths and weaknesses associated with learning disorders. First of all, they are often co-morbid. Dyslexia and ADHD(which I was diagnosed with at a youg age), is common, as is Dyspraxia and Dyslexia, Autism and Sensory processing disorder, ect. Even without a dual diagnosis, many of the traits overlap. Someone who is dyslexic might have issues with school and might appear more accident prone/messy/sloppy/lazy/absentminded/uncoordinated because they are expected to perform a way that constantly goes against their natural abilities. Skills and strategies can be built out of struggles.

Dyslexics generally have pretty good memories and are pretty good at coming up with information on the spot, out of what I believe to be both because of natural nuerological differences, and because of developed coping strategies. You might spend less time orgainizing because, for one, you might have become more comfortable with the idea of disorganization(stretch), or there might be some level of anxiety that could cause an affect (though I might think that that might strengthen functions that are already there, or it might bring out shadow functions). Anyways, espectually the last two sentences or so, are speculation.

I am sure there are some sort of neurological correlations, but I am too lazy to look up what they could possibly be.

The reason I doubt my own diagnosis, is partially because it is hard to tell at what end something becomes an extreme of the regular population vs. a medically diagnosable condition. Are some of the cases just attempts to control or label who don't extactly fit.