Our Anne Ford and Allegra Ford Scholar winners and finalists—all high school students with learning disabilities (LD)— share their stories of struggle and success with us every year. If you or your child is facing obstacles because of LD, these personal accounts will no doubt give you hope. Read the 2012 winning essays from Silvia Ortiz-Rosales and Joshua Piscitello, and learn how you can apply.
Silvia Ortiz-Rosales describes herself as having a "thirst for knowledge and success." Once her dyslexia was identified, Silvia promised herself that she would not let LD hold her back.More >
I’ve been called many things throughout my life. …Lazy, stupid, doesn’t even try…My third grade math teacher doesn’t believe me when I tell her I can’t read the directions she has written on the board. Again and again I ask her to read them to me. She refuses.So I sit in m... More >
Mackenzie Meyer2010 Anne Ford andAllegra Ford Scholar
President Obama has a nation of educators looking for “it.” Steven Jobs of Apple computers wants to unleash “it.” Superpower countries like US, China and India are in the race of their lives for “it.”... More >
“Retard girl, retard girl!” The chant shot across the playground as a mass of children swarmed around the Special Ed classroom, striking the small girl with the unruly afro she had inherited from her mother. As the mocking voices grew louder, the hateful chant crashed over the lit... More >
I view my brain as a computer, simple on the outside, but on the inside, there’s a complex machine. Only my machine has a broken circuit. Some may say that fact makes my computer obsolete or not worth anything, but I view it differently, I see it as a gift. I see it as a gift becaus... More >
My name is Jared Schmidt. I am eighteen years old and I live in the state of Maine. I have a language processing disorder called dyslexia. I found out that I had dyslexia and dysgraphia when I was in the fifth grade. I always wondered when I would be able to read and write like the ot... More >
Hillary Page Ive2010 Anne Ford andAllegra Ford Scholar
“A wheelchair-bound person can’t play soccer,” a man translates from Arabic to English. Without pause he is asked to translate, “Before Braille was invented, could blind people read?” Everybody in the ... More >
2012 Anne Ford Scholar Silvia Ortiz-Rosales describes herself as having a "thirst for knowledge and success." Once her dyslexia was identified in fourth grade, Silvia promised herself that she would not let LD hold her back from academic and personal success. Silvia received ... More >
I was adopted at the age of three weeks old. When my adoptive parents brought me home they probably thought that this was going to be the perfect baby girl who would complete their family. However, from the earliest time that I can remember I always felt like something was not exactly... More >
Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Nelson Rockefeller, Alexander Graham, Walt Disney, and Charles Schwab are well-known names associated with great achievements in life. I am proud to say I have something in common with these individuals. We all share the learning diff... More >
Some people fear heights, other people fear snakes, but what I fear is writing essays. I find nothing more daunting than a blank sheet of paper waiting for me to divulge my thoughts and feelings that do not want to come. My head is streaming with thoughts, but my hand fights the trans... More >
I stare down blankly at the black printed numbers placed dully upon my test paper. I read the problem slowly in my mind. Gradually the all too familiar feeling creeps in like a dark, looming menace waiting to strike. As I try to formulate an answer, I feel the clouds of mental blockag... More >
My name is Joshua Piscitello and I am a young adult with a reading and writing disability along with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. I want to share some of my life’s events and the ways I have come to understand and find success with my learning disability (LD). My d... More >
When I am older and think back on my high school career, my mind will immediately fix on the mental image of a sea of navy blue- and maroon-colored polo shirts. After all, my uniform shirts have been a familiar image for the past six years of my life. Although my shirts have faded, fo... More >
Eyes rolling. Voices sighing. My math teacher stared at me with hesitant eyes and raised eyebrows as I explained my confusion with the problem on the board. Every so often he would try to clarify the problem, glancing between me and the board, and pointing with his marker. Students be... More >
The odds were that I'd be an academic burnout statistic. Less than one percent of dyslexics have it as severe I do. Yet in just over two years, I went from being a middle school student who could not read and could barely sign his name to a young man entering a top-rated high school w... More >
As a child, I grew up in a household of very intelligent parents and siblings. I found that I kept up with my siblings in every respect except in spelling, reading, and writing. In my early years of education, many of my teachers said I was a "late bloomer." My mother felt that this w... More >
I was an outsider until the summer of 2001. I had been diagnosed with a learning disability. I was a nearly friendless boy with no clear direction, passion, or goal. That’s when the summers with Daily Graces came into my life. I was born with several neurological issues. I have pros... More >
When I was younger my family moved seven times in one year. One house we lived in had a twelve-foot circumference tree fall on it, destroying it and making it unlivable. We ended up moving into the basement of my grandparents’ home, and we lived there for a year while the house we l... More >
One in every ten people has some form of dyslexia; and I am one of those people. When my peers, teachers, and people in general look at me they probably see an intelligent, outgoing young lady. I bet not one of them would suspect me of having dyslexia. I was diagnosed when I was in th... More >
My name is Troy Sponaugle, and I have had a learning disability since as long as I can remember. When I was very young, I was tested and soon found that my trouble in school was a result of a birth defect. The doctors called it "cognitive learning disability with visual and motor inte... More >
While many define life as black or white, it is the multiple shades of grey that are found between those two extremes that truly define me. Throughout my life I have faced and conquered many obstacles which include a severe auditory processing disorder, a speech impediment and Bell’... More >
The importance of diversity, especially in the student body, is crucial to the development of an individual. Diversity offers a type of education that one may not receive from a textbook. The misconception of diversity is that it solely deals with race. Though this connection is true,... More >
I remember that the hallway was empty. I was grateful; an empty hallway meant nobody I knew would see me through the three panes of glass artfully spaced on the door clearly marked "Special Education/Learning Disabilities." Flanked by my parents, I sat across from people related in va... More >
For my entire life, as early as I can remember, I have had a learning disability. It has been described as a language disability, speech disability, learning disability, reading disability, and finally dyslexia. The truth is, the disability I have is specific to language and reading. ... More >
I will bring an "uninvited guest" along with my repertoire of skills and abilities to college next year. This uninvited guest is the burden brought by my specific learning disabilities and attention problems.
Throughout school, I hid my learning disabilities from my peers, em... More >
Growing up in Southwest Florida was perhaps no different than growing up anywhere else. I was a "project kid" but I didn't feel I was any different than anyone else. Growing up in the projects is not so bad if have the love of your family. I had a mother, a father, two sisters, and a ... More >
Changes and experience represent a major part of my high school years. In my mom's words, "Ali, you grew up too fast." In my freshman year, my mother started working third shift at Hallmark factory out in Lawrence. This is also known as the "graveyard shift" as she works midnight to e... More >
From about the 4th grade through the end of 9th grade, I struggled with most of my classes. Concepts and comprehension of coursework that seemed easy enough while sitting in class turned into an unending maze of questions once I sat down to do homework or had to sit for a test. My par... More >
I felt a tap on my shoulder and someone whispered, “Leah it’s time to go.” Alice, the special education counselor, has come to take me away from my friends. I turned bright red from embarrassment and followed her from the room, head bowed in shame and hands clenched in anger. ... More >
Growing up with dyslexia has been a real struggle, but over the years I have found ways to overcome my disability. With the help of my parents and teachers I have become extremely successful in school. All the help I have gotten gives me a desire to give back to my community and other... More >
2008 Anne Ford Scholarship Runner-Up
Rachel Origer has struggled with learning since the first grade when her reading disabilities were first identified. As she reflects upon years of frustration, feelings of self-doubt and incredibly hard work, Rachel recalls never allowing hersel... More >
I resist the urge to slink farther down into my seat, as perspiration begins to gather on my face and hands. I hastily wipe my shaking hands on my jeans in order to grasp the whiteboard marker. As I approach the board, analyzing the equation and steps involved to reach the solution, a... More >
It has been my dream to become a designer within the toy or gaming industries after graduating college. I always tell everyone: I think outside the circle, I am very creative and imaginative. I work better if my hands are busy; I can visualize the end project. When asked to solve comp... More >
As I sat with Mrs. Domin at the round table, I stared longingly out the window at the other children playing during recess. This was the first time I was held in during recess because I had not completed my class assignment. I stared blankly at the page, desperately trying to figure o... More >
I am presently enrolled in Landmark School, a school specializing in the remediation of kids with learning disabilities (LD) and I am fortunate to be publicly funded. I am proud to be one of a few chosen to be in their Student Advocates program, where I help to raise public awareness ... More >
In second grade, my parents had a conference with my teacher where they discussed how I was not progressing as fast as other students. It was suggested that I be tested for learning disabilities (LD). My parents agreed and took me to Northwestern University for testing. I was diagnose... More >
Obstacles in my life have been many, but I have and always will continue to overcome them. Presently, I am 18 years old and a high school senior. I was retained in the first grade and diagnosed with a learning disability (LD). It was very difficult to not only watch my established fri... More >
Describing a learning disability is hard, especially because reading and writing are difficult for me. People always ask me what it is like having dyslexia. During this past weekend, I found a good way to describe what I’m going through.This past weekend, I ran 30 miles to raise mon... More >
Life has its ups and downs, but I have learned it is a lot like farming, and weather is a lot like learning disabilities (LD). Just as no one can change the weather, I can’t change my LD. But I have learned how to compensate.Ever since I can remember, school has been so difficult. I... More >
Holly Schallert2013 Anne Ford Scholar
Ironically, Mrs. Abernathy’s fourth period freshman English class was reading The Miracle Worker, a drama about Helen Keller, when I, a meek Enrichment Center girl, transferred into her class. I looked like any other blue-eyed... More >
Ross Chapman2013 Anne Ford Scholar
It is very hard to say when I first noticed my dyslexia. I learned the alphabet, but could not understand how my peers could read sentences on a page with dancing letters. It was like a daytime nightmare to hear my teacher’s ... More >
Kcory Woltz2013 Allegra Ford Thomas Scholar
“There is a brilliant child locked inside every student.” –Marva CollinsMy learning disability has made it difficult for me to do things at home, school and in my community. When I was younger it was hard to play vid... More >
My child is struggling 
Now that my child has 
