Never have I felt the way I did the night I went to the NCLD Summer Soiree fundraiser a few weeks ago. Walking into a room full of people there to raise money for a cause that means so much to me caused unexplainable feelings. I realized for the first time that people do care about helping students with learning disabilities and was surprised to learn that many of the people in that room had a learning disability and similar stories to tell.

My name is Katelynn Smith and I am dyslexic. Growing up with a learning disability was hard, but thanks to my parents, I found ways of working with my learning disability instead of working against it. That night at the event, I was talking to a gentleman with a similar story. It was great to talk to him and have him interrupt me by saying, “Oh My God! I know how you feel.” We ended up laughing over our shared experiences, telling each other how great it is to talk to someone who has felt the same way for years.

For many years I have let people call me names, I have let teachers tear me down, but the more I learn about learning disabilities, the more I want to help. I’m a 22-year-old dyslexic student, who has been told everything from “You won’t graduate from high school” to “You will never learn to read because you’re dyslexic and dyslexic students can’t read.” Dealing with this feeling for years was hard. But the day I graduated from high school, knowing I was going to college, made me feel inspired. I knew that day I must help others so they do not go through what I did. I decided to study Special Education and I am loving every second of it!  Teachers love that I am willing to talk about my learning disability, and I am willing to help. I know that telling my fellow students what I went through might make them better teachers.  And someday when I’m a special education teacher, I’ll be able to connect to my students in a more understanding way and help them to feel confident in their ability to learn, even if it is in a different way.

An LD student is more then a child who has a learning disability and I think we all get sick of being labeled as “special ed” or “LD” – but that is who we are. Sometimes I do wish I could just get rid of that status, but why fight it when you can use your LD to help others? I hope that by sharing my experiences – now and in the future – that I can help others to feel less self-conscious about having an LD and help everyone to see that individuals with LD simply learn differently and can find success too!