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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling
What does it mean when an adult can't do a toddler puzzle?
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 9:16 am
Wasn't sure where to put this but anyway what does it mean when a fully grown adult a man in his 30s or 40s was given a toddler puzzle to do. You know the wooden ones where there are let's say all kinds of wood cars of different shapes and you place each car into its correct shape spot ?
Not a jigsaw puzzles. A simple toddler shape puzzle..
First he held the board upside down and tried to jam the first car piece into a slot any slot and it didn't work so he tried to jam it into a different slot etc...
He didn't look at the shape of the car or the shape of the empty places on the board. Took him a full 2 minutes to finally get one piece in.
You literally have to look at the shape of the piece look for the same shape empty space on the board and place it in. Something a toddler can do.
So if a grown man can't do that what does it mean ? Zero visual spatial awareness ?
How does that translate to other parts of his life ?
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amother
Jade


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 9:24 am
I am surprised to be reading this. Usually an adult is able to match up shapes without an issue. My automatic thought is- Is it behavioral that he can't do it? Or an attention issue? Or is this person extremely low cognitively?

If he, in actuality CANNOT do it, he probably has horrible handwriting, has a lot of difficulty driving safely, has a lot of trouble with math, reading and writing, cannot fill out a form to save his life.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 9:29 am
Is this someone who's been in your life? Have you seen other deficits?
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amother
Sienna


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 9:32 am
That he's drunk?
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amother
Oak


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 9:33 am
I don’t know what it means but if this is someone in your life I can’t believe it’s the first time you’re noticing that something must be up with the guy
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amother
Navy


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 9:34 am
Please don’t let him drive
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paperflowers




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:00 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Wasn't sure where to put this but anyway what does it mean when a fully grown adult a man in his 30s or 40s was given a toddler puzzle to do. You know the wooden ones where there are let's say all kinds of wood cars of different shapes and you place each car into its correct shape spot ?
Not a jigsaw puzzles. A simple toddler shape puzzle..
First he held the board upside down and tried to jam the first car piece into a slot any slot and it didn't work so he tried to jam it into a different slot etc...
He didn't look at the shape of the car or the shape of the empty places on the board. Took him a full 2 minutes to finally get one piece in.
You literally have to look at the shape of the piece look for the same shape empty space on the board and place it in. Something a toddler can do.
So if a grown man can't do that what does it mean ? Zero visual spatial awareness ?
How does that translate to other parts of his life ?


I’m not sure why you’re asking or if this is the first time you’ve noticed this, but I love this stuff so I’ll bite.

First, rule out any visual problems like near-sightedness, color blindness, etc.

Also rule out substance use. Was he drunk?

Was he more tired than usual or for any other reason in a bad mood?

Now give me a little background. Any history of developmental delays, learning disabilities, mental illness, significant medical history including traumatic brain injury? What are other areas of challenge you’ve noticed?

Could he name each picture individually? Red car, mini-van, etc.? I’m assuming he could recognize the pictures.

Poor visual-spatial awareness is one possibility, but I’m leaning towards attention and working memory.

Visual spatial: being able to work with shapes, figure out how they fit together, turn objects in his mind, scanning the board for matches

Attention: noticing the board was upside down, taking the time to look at each piece, shifting attention between the pieces and the board,

Working memory: turning pieces in his mind, keeping the image of the piece in his hand in mind while scanning the board, shifting attention,

So with only this information to go by, this guy was either in a compromised cognitive state (drunk, tired, grumpy), has attention and working memory deficits, poor sensory integration, and every other problem under the sun.


Last edited by paperflowers on Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:11 am; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Ecru


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:06 am
paperflowers wrote:
has ADHD


I don’t know a single person with ADHD who would have even the slightest bit of trouble with this. And we have a lot of real ADHD in our family.
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amother
Silver


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:07 am
Stroke?
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paperflowers




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:10 am
amother [ Ecru ] wrote:
I don’t know a single person with ADHD who would have even the slightest bit of trouble with this. And we have a lot of real ADHD in our family.


Lots of real ADHD here too. The ADHD wouldn’t make them not be able to do the task per se, but severe attentional or working memory issues can impact performance in a variety of ways. The example OP gave is very extreme, is unlikely to be a result of one thing, and probably does not exist in isolation. I can go back to my post and take out the clinical diagnoses.
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:11 am
amother [ Silver ] wrote:
Stroke?


This!

If this is a change in behavior, please seek immediate medical help.
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paperflowers




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:12 am
amother [ Silver ] wrote:
Stroke?


That actually makes a lot of sense.
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amother
Silver


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:16 am
paperflowers wrote:
That actually makes a lot of sense.
But we really need much more information.
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amother
Burlywood


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:16 am
My first thought was brain injury
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amother
Olive


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:19 am
My first thought was - totally unfamiliar with concept of puzzles.
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amother
Pearl


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 11:10 am
My first thought was Wow!!

Op, where are you? We need answers!!
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ora_43




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 11:16 am
Yeah, this is worrying.

If I saw a stranger failing to solve a toddler puzzle, I'd assume cognitive impairment.

If it's someone who generally functions in daily life, I'd worry that there was some new brain issue going on. If this is someone close to you I'd keep an eye out for any other signs of trouble (eg memory issues or mood swings) and push a doctor's appointment if possible.

Functioning person, but this behavior is nothing new? Then, uhh... probably a mix of extremely low motivation to solve the puzzle/ solve it 'correctly' (ie not through trial and error), and very poor spatial reasoning.
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amother
Lilac


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 1:30 pm
My first thought was that this is someone from a very different social background who is completely ignorant of the concept of children's toys and puzzles. Maybe he saw it as a jumble of different objects and had no idea they're meant to fit together in a specific way? If not there would have to be some kind of major cognitive or visual impairment or a combination of both.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 5:27 pm
amother [ Lilac ] wrote:
My first thought was that this is someone from a very different social background who is completely ignorant of the concept of children's toys and puzzles. Maybe he saw it as a jumble of different objects and had no idea they're meant to fit together in a specific way? If not there would have to be some kind of major cognitive or visual impairment or a combination of both.


But - and OP doesn't have to answer - what is her connection to this person? He's a relative? A client? Is this new behavior? Etc.
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Thu, Apr 22 2021, 6:13 pm
I would be concerned. Even babies who don't know puzzles often get the concept instantly. If he has cognitive delays then it makes sense otherwise I would be going for testing asap.
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