As a kid school was never easy for me. I always struggled to keep up with my classmates in almost every subject. That was all because I had ADD (attention deficit disorder) and CAPD (central auditory processing disorder).
ADD is a learning disability which makes it harder for kids and adults to focus. My CAPD made it hard for me to tune out background noise and focus on the most important sounds. It also caused my brain to take a little more time to process the auditory information. As you can imagine, a combination of these two affected my ability to learn and stay at the same academic level as my peers. I was always in the special education room getting extra help and tutoring. I had accommodations that my classmates did not have: I had extra time on tests, I took my test in a separate room (which was actually caused my anxiety that still affects me), and special learning devices.
My CAPD actually caused me to have an FM system, which basically is where I have these ear pieces in my ears and the teacher wore a microphone that made what he or she louder. In middle school, I always had different work than my peers and was often pulled out of classes like art and music to get extra help. I missed out on a lot and my grades were still pretty low.
When I entered high school, I still had the FM system and I was still being pulled out of my classes for extra help and tutoring. As a freshman, I was absolutely humiliated and hated every minute of school. I took general classes and thought I was never going to college I should think about a job in something that required very little school. Even with all of that, I applied myself and worked hard because I knew I should focus on improving.
One day that all payed off. During the last month of ninth grade, I got the news that I was no longer a special education student and I no longer need the FM system. Since that day, I have made drastic improvements. I am so grateful to everyone who gave me the tools to manage my learning disabilities. That one afternoon made me rethink my career path. I started taking advanced classes getting A's and B's and being on the honor roll throughout high school.
Today, I'm a honors student and a nursing major. My disabilities did not limit me at all; they made me learn that even with disabilities you can achieve anything you want. Do not let anyone tell you that you can be a doctor or a lawyer because you only get C's and struggle with math. If you learn the tools and apply yourself you too can achieve your goals. Even if it's harder for to achieve them.
