What being dyslexic has done for me by ella

What being dyslexic has done for me by ella - August 2018 Scholarship Essay

Some people associate dyslexia with a reading disorder but it is so much more. Dyslexia affects writing, reading, language, and even socializing. Through my educational experience dyslexia has been a blessing and a curse all in one, but it's a part of who I am so I have learned to embrace it.

In elementary school learning was hard for me, until about the end of third grade. I would stay up with my parents doing simple homework for hours. This was very frustrating. All the other kids were thriving in easy work, while for me I was struggling without realizing it. I was making C’s with an occasional B. Finally in third grade my parents decided to have a meeting with my teacher. She informed my parents that it’s “Okay” that I was struggling because some kids were just B and C students. They decided to just talk to another teacher that I previously had to get her intake of my so called “struggling.” That teacher recommended that I get tested for Dyslexia. After the results came back answers finally became clear. I was in fact dyslexic and immediately got put into a Multisensory Teaching Approach class, MTA for short. From there, I was learning new techniques to apply in my normal classes.

When middle school came I wasn't quite ready to be in normal classes yet. I took one class out of my schedule for MTA to keep helping me learn. At the end of sixth grade, I was doing great. I was ready to be tested out of MTA and back into normal classes. By this time, the entire sixth grade class was being tested for the gifted and talented program. I took this assessment and managed to get accepted in the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership, LEAP for short. I got the highest score in Puzzles and problem solving in the entire sixth grade class.

Dyslexia has keeped my from being outwardly social. I feel like I can never find the right words to say. A simple conversation with someone tends to be very difficult for me. In the last couple of years I have gained the confidence to not only be in a conversation, but be able to keep it going.

I still have drawbacks in some areas of school, but I also learned how to deal with the complications. Dyslexia has affected my entire life and it's still a struggle I’m learning to thrive with, but without all the obstacles I would have never been able to find out who I am as a student. Life with Dyslexia has put me on a path that I would never want to change and I’m very thankful through all the hours of struggling that it's a part of me.