Growing up with an NVLD brought a lot of difficulties but the one that seems to be hardest for me was expressing the appropriate emotion and making the right decision in the given situation. What I mean by this is that I may act either too rude or too sweet, which both can have a negative effect. In my experience, going through these situations can make it hard to maintain relationships as while many are understanding not everyone understands your different thinking process that NVLD can cause. Read More
One of my biggest frustrations while growing up with an NVLD was how it wasn’t encouraged to take the harder path and to connect with other students through athletics. Personally, when I looked back I can’t imagine my life without taking the harder path and being a runner. My opportunities would have been so limited. Going to college in the Boston area wouldn’t have been possible had I not done these things because my school’s LD programs focused more on a students determination and ability to overcome obstacles than their overall GPA. Now as I think about each challenge, whether it’s running or taking an extra math course, it made my options more open and I think it’s too bad more students don’t have access to experiences like mine. Read More
One of the many questions I have been asked about many times is how did you manage to be a long distance runner? Truthfully, I asked myself that question too. What comes to mind is how rivalry coaches came together to work as they saw my dedication to break barriers in both running and social settings. Since the beauty of inclusion is being able to accept and learn about individual differences and strengths my coach, Jim Adams, and the neighboring school’s coach, John Casserly, collaborated and were the first two adults to make this happen in the running circles. Read More
Over the years I have overheard many times that it was such a blessing to have you all as our role models. We quickly learned how we shared so many of the same values and each understood the importance of seeing your children’s strengths no matter how difficult this may seem. Now in adulthood, I am so appreciative of your support, as through my experiences with The NVLD Project I have learned this is relatively uncommon. Sadly, many families are afraid to speak up and be advocates. Thankfully you did and my parents were never worried about asking you questions or seeking your guidance. Read More
While I do think it’s important for NVLD students to be treated the same, I also believe their effort needs to be honored and valued especially when grades are involved. For example, on subjective assignments, say the teacher’s initial grade is D+ but the student always works incredibly hard then the student should earn a C-. This is especially true when the student is close to passing. This being said, I believe this type of treatment must be kept at a reasonable level and not necessarily applied every time as it can come across as treating others differently. Read More
Growing up with an NVLD has brought disappointments, however the ones that bothered me the most, while they seem minor, are the times I was treated differently. What I mean by this is that I was not being treated like my peers in and outside the classroom. This stigmatized me even more. I have always been a firm believer that if you are going to have an “inclusive” classroom or athletic team you must treat everyone the same and keep the expectations the same for everyone to feel included. Read More
Over the years, I have continued to learn more about my challenges and I would like to thank you for understanding me and seeing me as a person, not just having NVLD. In my experience, you truly were the adult who understood the complex challenges of NVLD the best and each session I knew I was going to gain new skills.Yes there was often tension, though with the heart to heart conversations and your empathy, I was able to go cool off and get back on track. Read More