The Gift of Learning Differently - Page 2

I have learned, and continue to learn, how to shore up my weaknesses.

I use traditional methods. To improve my reading and writing, I signed on in fifth grade to be the first to learn the Wilson Reading program and have been on the Wilson program the longest in the entire school district. I am still not at grade level but have closed the gap tremendously.

I also rely on books on tape, as well as peer readers.

To help me with my organization, I have made my own agenda that includes personal as well as professional appointments. I use both paper and my phone to ensure if one system fails, the other will kick in.

For driving, I knew confusing left and right would be a problem, so I make sure people point in the direction they want me to turn, so that I have a visual as well as oral clue. I also put red arrows on the instrument panel that clearly indicate left and right turn signals. And GPS has been a gift from above.

I am always investigating new technologies to help me adapt.

Every time I go on college interviews, I start with the disability office. I ask them what technology students are using. This has led me to “Reading” pens that record lectures at the same time you are writing. It has led me to software that scans your books and translates them to audio (so no more waiting for the librarian to do it on the school-owned machine). I have found software that helps me write and store flashcards, and of course, the ever-essential speech-to-text computer applications. Writing this essay has been possible through the use of technology (as well as several dozen rewrites).

I don’t let anyone take my dream from me.

On June 15, 2003, I sat in front of the chair of the special education committee at our school. I remember him telling me that I had to be more realistic about my goal of becoming a veterinarian. He said, “The coursework is very challenging” and that a dyslexic could not “practically hope to get into and through med school.” I will never forget it. I can still see his face, and my mother’s reaction. He did me a favor because I swore that I would never let anybody take my dream and hold it over my head. It is my dream. I guard it, protect it, nourish it, and will never let it down. When I graduate from med school, I will invite that man to my “white coat” ceremony.

I pay it forward.

Anyone with a disability can become self-absorbed. Your whole life is about figuring out what learning style works for you. What communication works for you. We even have our own Individual education plan at school. But, we share the world with others, and need to remember that by becoming part of it, and giving back. So, I teach kids how to swim, help teachers learn how to better reach other LD students, volunteer at camp for disabled kids, help distressed animals in the wild, and just try to be a role model of what is possible in a life without limits. I am currently working on a guide to help LD students go through the college search process, including a questionnaire for the disability office interview.

So, if President Obama wants to shore up this nation’s pool of scientists and inventors, if Steve Jobs wants ideas of how to unleash creativity, and super power countries what to move toward that next “Big Idea,” there is an army of tens of thousands of LD students like myself ready and willing to show how it is done.