--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to me that people who don’t…" description: "\"It seems to me that people who don’t learn as easily as others suffer from a kind of learning disability—there is something different about the way the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/john-irving-337_ability_it-seems-to-me-that-people-who-don-t-lea_555168.png" --- # It seems to me that people who don’t learn as easily as… ![“It seems to me that people who don’t learn as easily as others suffer from a kind of learning disability—there is something different about the way they comprehend unfamiliar material—but I fail to see how this disability is improved by psychiatric consultation. What seems to be lacking is a…” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/john-irving-337_ability_it-seems-to-me-that-people-who-don-t-lea_555168.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/john-irving-337_ability_it-seems-to-me-that-people-who-don-t-lea_555168.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/john-irving-337_ability_it-seems-to-me-that-people-who-don-t-lea_555168.png) > “It seems to me that people who don’t learn as easily as others suffer from a kind of learning disability—there is something different about the way they comprehend unfamiliar material—but I fail to see how this disability is improved by psychiatric consultation. What seems to be lacking is a technical ability that those of us called ‘good students’ are born with. Someone should concretely study these skills and teach them. What does a shrink have to do with the process?” [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that learning challenges stem from a lack of teach technical skills rather than a psychiatric condition, urging systematic study and teaching of those skills. **In simple terms:** Learning issues are seen as skill gaps, not mental illness. Key Takeaway Focus on teaching concrete learning techniques. Themes education learning psychology skill development Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical explanatory When to use this quote - classroom instruction - curriculum design - teacher training - self‑study programs - policy making Key Concepts cognitive psychology educational theory neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - How can we differentiate skill gaps from deeper cognitive issues? - What methods best teach these technical abilities? A Different Perspective The claim may overlook underlying neurological or emotional factors that affect learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Disability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disability/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Improved Psychiatric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improved-psychiatric-4614413/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Lacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lacking/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learning disability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-disability/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Psychiatric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychiatric/) [Psychiatric Consultation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychiatric-consultation-4614414/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Skills Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills-teach-4614415/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I enjoy cooking, but I don't know... 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I now say it's a learning disability... but a nun who was a very troubled woman hit me over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-greeley/i-have-terrible-handwriting-i-now-say-it-s-a-learning-disability-but/) [Andrew Greeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-greeley/) > [Well, if you can't then write in the press or put on television the importance of parents changing what they're doing, then the safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kagan/well-if-you-can-t-then-write-in-the-press-or-put-on-television-the/) [Jerome Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kagan/) > [“Here is what I say to the children who are our future: never underestimate how denial and a good old-fashioned mild learning disability can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-kennedy/here-is-what-i-say-to-the-children-who-are-our-future-never/) [Dan Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-kennedy/) > [So, for example, if a child is labeled as having a learning disability, it has very concrete consequences for the kinds of services and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/so-for-example-if-a-child-is-labeled-as-having-a-learning-disability/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [I guess through my learning disability, through dyslexia, I've always been a visual learner - I take in everything through my eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scoot-mcnairy/i-guess-through-my-learning-disability-through-dyslexia-i-ve-always/) [Scoot McNairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scoot-mcnairy/) > [I was not good in school. I could never read very fast or very well. I got tested for learning disabilities, for dyslexia. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/i-was-not-good-in-school-i-could-never-read-very-fast-or-very-well-i/) [Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/) > [I was a simple girl born and raised in Kansas, I grew up with a learning disability. I was a single mum, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-brockovich/i-was-a-simple-girl-born-and-raised-in-kansas-i-grew-up-with-a/) [Erin Brockovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-brockovich/) > [A major cause of the Roman Empire's decline, after six centuries of world dominance was its replacement of stone aqueducts by lead pipes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-l-coulter/a-major-cause-of-the-roman-empire-s-decline-after-six-centuries-of/) [Harris L Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-l-coulter/) > [I have a learning disability when it comes to languages, I envy actors like Prakash Raj and my kids who do it with such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arvind-swami/i-have-a-learning-disability-when-it-comes-to-languages-i-envy-actors/) [Arvind Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arvind-swami/) > [Growing up in a group home, and with an undiagnosed learning disability to boot, the odds of success were not on my side. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/growing-up-in-a-group-home-and-with-an-undiagnosed-learning/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [I'm not trying to be funny, but are you sure he's not a midget with a learning disability? -Ron Burgundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anchorman-2/i-m-not-trying-to-be-funny-but-are-you-sure-he-s-not-a-midget-with-a/) [Anchorman 2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anchorman-2/) ## More by John Irving > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/watch-out-for-people-who-call-themselves-religious-make-sure-you-know/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-desire-to-never-leave-your-side-the-desire-to-never-see-you-again/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-had-been-a-student-in-vienna-and-one-of-the-neat-little-things-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/god-i-think-i-just-hit-a-high-e-flat-and-i-really-held-it-esmeralda/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/nostalgia-miss-frost-cried-you-re-nostalgic-she-repeated-just-how-old/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-is-much-easier-to-be-flexible-about-where-a-story-begins-than-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. His eyes will tell me: You might look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/only-the-chicken-lover-will-understand-me-he-will-give-me-a-kindly/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [You're nice,' Cushie told him, squeezing his hand. 'And you're my oldest friend.' 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