My name is Julianna and I am a student at Longleaf Academy. I have ADHD and I am also dyslexic. When they figured out that I was dyslexic, I was in the 2nd grade. No one in my family that I know of, is dyslexic. At my old school, they couldn't help me and I didn't do well in math, writing, reading and history. Now, I'm good at those subjects! I still have trouble spelling, but I'm getting better. At Longleaf, I'm getting the help I need. Having dyslexia is really hard because learning to read and spell is difficult. I am very smart though, or my teachers say that I wouldn't be here! I have friends that love and understand my learning differences at this school and I love them too! By Julianna
My name is Patrick. It was hard in elementary school because I have severe dyslexia and dysgraphia. Dyslexia and dysgraphia are when you have a difficult time learning to read and write. When I tried to read, the words were jumbled up and my brain felt like it would explode with words. Dysgraphia is when your brain can't remember how to write letters and which letters go with which sounds. My handwriting was like forming letters without any fingers. In 2nd grade, the teachers tried to teach me multiplication; why did they do that? I don't know, but it was horrible. My brain wasn't ready to process the facts. Dyslexics don't process words quickly, therefore learning facts is hard. I was not ready for that then. In 3rd grade, I went to another school and I liked it! The teachers at the new school didn't make me do a lot ot math and they didn't make me take a timed test. They understood better how my brain worked. In 5th grade, some teachers were great, but there was one who was not nice. She never helped me read or write. Now I am at Longleaf Academy. I can read and write better and I'm doing great in math. Now my brain is ready to learn math fact and I can process more quickly now. All the teacher here helped me improve! By "Pat-Pat"
My name is Cody. I am a student with a learning difference. All along the way my mom told me to never loose hope. When you have ADHD it is hard to sit still and hard to learn. But that does not mean you can't do it!! However, it does mean that you have to work harder than the average child. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyper- Activity Disorder. When I got in trouble, I would blame it on my ADHD. My mom would tell me that ADHD is not an excuse for bad behavior. ADHD simply means that you have to work harder! My dad explained to me that everyone has a problem. Even if you can't look at them and see it, it is there. It is not your fault you have ADHD!! Fighting ADHD makes you stronger. Remember that you are not the only kid with ADHD. There are 1,000's of kids who have ADHD. Having ADHD is not something to be ashamed of! "Miss Jen" told me that God diagnosed me with ADHD not to punish me but to make me stronger! God knows what is to come in the future! But...I'm focused enough to operate a mini-excabator. By "Codster"
When I decided to come to Longleaf Academy, I had trouble in math and language. I had nouns and verbs mixed up and it was hard to follow all the directions from the teacher. Things seemed to move too fast. I did hours of homework each night just to keep up, and in history it was hard to remember all the facts from our book. I had trouble in computers, doing a PowerPoint. I didn’t get good grades, because things moved to fast and I didn’t have a chance to fully understand what they needed me to learn. Here, I can remember the important information, because I can learn things in tiny pieces. I wanted to have nice friends to play with but instead classmates made fun of me, because they didn’t like me. I tried to be like a regular kid but for a reason, they just wouldn’t leave me alone. When I came to Longleaf Academy everything changed. Everyone is nice. I get treated nicely. It may take a little while to get there, but we are not alone. Almost everyone has one type of Dyslexia. By Angelica
