Is this a disability? I get lost so easily...no sense of direction..?

Question

I have GPS but it sometimes wants to direcs me into store parking lots (when I'm heading 20 miles in a different direction)....so I keep going until it corrects itself. Anyway, it's not very reliable. I need to know somewhat the direction of where I'm going.

Anyway, is there anything I can do to improve this without spending hours driving all the roads to learn them? and How do I tell others I suck at directions without them thinking I have no common sense or something (I'm smart in other things).

Answer 1

u jsut got bad memoery byt baby u aint lost intill u dont have much gas that my word i always aint lost but when im low on fuel im lost

Answer 2

Its not a dissability, its just something your not good with. Just keep a map with you, because it can really help you out. Just tell people that its not your best area of experteese, and Im sure people will understand.

Answer 3

I get lost coming out of my driveway.   The family joke is that if Suze point the the right then go to the left.  Learn to have a sense of humor about it and learn to read a map instead of depending on the GPS all the time.  Plus I find that the maps help me build my sense of direction.

Answer 4

Well it can be dangerous depending on your GPS without any kind of backup plan.

The night before a trip you should plan out your trip using a road atlas. Take notes, or even print out directions from somewhere like MapQuest. Knowing where you are going without relying on the GPS will help you to avoid panic or frustration when something goes wrong.

Answer 5

The first rule of driving is to know where one is going, the second is to know how to get there...If I don't know exactly where I am going, I check a map, preferably a paper one or one on the computer such as Google or MSN (aerial)...If I can pinpoint where I am and I know the address or location of where I want to go, I can check surface streets and highways for the shortest or a preferred or an alternate route...I write down the roads to be taken, turn by turn, including the street or ramp before the one I want so I can be in the correct lane...Remember that even numbered addresses are on one side of the road and odd numbers on the opposite...If you can, call your destination ahead of time and get cross streets and maybe a landmark or two, including parking locations and restrictions...GPS gadgets are cute and fun, but they are a distraction...Besides I like to know where I'm going before I start - just like a pilot.

All the best.

Answer 6

According to the "International Center for Disabilities" this is not considered a disability........

It has happened to all of us: we have been forced to try and remember directions or an address and can suffer a near-panic situation when our memories fail and do not recall the information. But, there are easy tips and techniques that can be used to memorize addresses or directions. These mnemonic techniques can be used in all situations but work really well for memorizing addresses and directions.

1. Draw mind maps: Your brain stores information like branches on a tree. Visualize the main streets (like the trunk of a tree) and branch out from there. Memorize how the main roads of a town run (east to west; north to south), that way you will always know where the main roads are and have a general idea of what side streets shoot off of them pr what street you need to get back to in case you do get lost.

2. Make the directions tangible: If you can see it, touch it, taste it, hear it and smell it, you are much more likely to remember it. Since we can not actually do any of these things with addresses then try relating senses to the street names such as the sense of smell for flowers or taste for fruit names. Or visualize the object the name portrays such as “lighthouse lane”. Attach a sense or memory to state names: “Michigan St.” in your mind can be “a cold state; went there last year on vacation.” Visualize where you are going by picturing the street names in your mind.

3. Learn by doing: “Muscle memory” is a very powerful muscle. That's why you can easily ride a bike, even if you haven't been on one for 20 years. If you have the opportunity to, look at a map of where you are going before going. Or, if you can drive there before the day that you need to be there you will more likely remember it later.

4. Use linking tools as memory pegs: The key to most memory courses is “The more you link, the more you learn.” This means, attaching new information to the information you already have. If you know ½ the directions to get somewhere then remember your directions as “drive to the fairgrounds, but turn right instead of left.” You already know how to get to the fairgrounds so just attach the new directions from that point on.

5. Rhyming or Songs: Rhythm, melody, and rhyme can all aid memory. The use of rhyme, rhythm, can help people remember. If you can rhyme the directions or address you are more likely to remember them. The simple addition of familiar rhythm and melody can help, too. Try singing the directions or address to a familiar tune!

6. Practice: Repetition is always good for memorizing, take the alphabet or times tables, for example. Repeating these helps to remember them. Say the directions or address over and over in your head until you know them as well as you know your own name. Another for of repetition is to repeat the directions as they are told to you and write them on a piece of paper at the same time. This has you repeating the directions twice: once verbally and once on paper.

7. Sentences/Acrostics: Use the first letter of each street name you are trying to remember to make a sentence. For example, ELM Street can be “Elise like mangoes.” Make the sentence simple so that you do not forget it and forget your directions! For a lot of street names try making a story out of it: “Went to MICHIGAN last year. Ate APPLEs under the ELM tree by a LIGHTHOUSE.” The story or sentence does not have to make sense; it just has to be memorable.