My first time stumbling upon this website, I was relieved. Hearing the stories on the main page reminded me of my own experience. I’ve always known something was off as if I did not fit in with the society around me. I always had a poor memory and I only excelled in subjects that interested me nothing else. Except under pressure I can finish a 7 page essay 1 day before the deadline.
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In my previous piece I wrote about my biggest disappointments growing up in the small town of Ogdensburg. That was while inclusion was so important, there were always pieces missing. This is because they generally went for partial inclusion rather than full inclusion.
For example during my high school years we had C courses which were the least challenging and just for resource room students for English and Social studies. They included support of a resource room teacher, teacher’s aide, and sometimes a speech therapist. Due to these classes being limited to resource room students these students weren’t full inclusion students and for some students this was a mistake.
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One of my biggest disappointments growing up in the small town of Ogdensburg was that while inclusion was so important, there were always pieces missing. Inclusion is so much more than just putting us with regular peers; it is giving us equal opportunities to achieve our full potential and to connect with others.
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It all began when we loaded up my dad’s car and my car. My car was shipped from PA to Florida. My dad drove down to Florence, South Carolina. It took about 8 hours. During the drive, my mom and I slept most of the time. I greatly appreciated my dad driving. We stayed at a hotel in Florence for one night and then my dad proceeded to drive to the Homewood Suites in Palm Beach Gardens. That took about another 8 hours. We stayed there for 12 nights until our apartment was ready. Read More
While forming relationships with your teachers is especially important for an NVLD student, or any learning disability for that matter, it is equally as important for these students to have a relationship with a coach. As a coach and athlete, the relationship in many cases is more casual and you can have more heart to heart conversations about what you’re going through. The level of attention you receive is also so greater as your coaches have less teammates than teachers have students. Read More
Growing up, I would occasionally become confused about why it was so important to my parents for me to be so connected socially with others as those with similar challenges seemed okay just doing the journey by themselves. Now in adulthood, I understand it completely as having significant personal connections makes the journey easier and is a major self-esteem booster. Read More
I have fond memories of my childhood. I was a dorky little kid with glasses who found excitement in playing with Hot Wheels cars. I was different.
Fast forward to 7th or 8th grade at Catholic school. One day, all the other boys in my class were going to the sub shop on the other side of town to get subs and spend time at one of the popular kids’ houses. Everyone was invited except for me. I was crushed. I cried bitter tears. My troubles with NVLD were beginning. Read More
I have been mislabeled autistic multiple times and one person even thought that NVLD meant that I couldn’t speak. Not to mention I struggled a lot with visual-spatial concepts. I have heard other people share similar experiences regarding their NVLD experience. My goal is to share how I have been able to overcome many of the diagnosis restrictions. Read More
One of the things I have learned growing up with an NVLD is that it is important to take regular education courses and to be part of activities with neurotypical students. While we struggle to learn the proper interaction in social situations, we can do fairly well learning through experiences with the proper role models. Yes, it requires extra work on your end. In the end, it can make a tremendous difference. Read More
As I write this in June, I recently saw in my facebook memories that two years ago this week I got my first passport. I shared the memory and jokingly wrote “this didn’t age well.” Read More