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It affects me in the classroom because
I don't hear what the professor is saying.
Especially if they don't talk loud enough, they're soft spoken it's difficult
and at times I'll think I'll hear one thing when really he said something else.
And so, it really affects my learning.
I can't read a lot of the big words so it's difficult for me
unlike the other kids who are just going right through it.
Comprehending I have to ask the teacher what he's exactly getting to because
looking at a question or something I really don't understand it
as well as everybody else does.
I have extended time during tests. I have my books on CDs.
I have a scribe with me.
There's times where I'll have off days
and its harder than others but I work through my dyslexia
I mean there's times where I'll ask teachers for reading assignments early
so I can make sure I can read them on time.
It majorly affects me in reading
and I get my books processed so that they are in word documents
so that my screen reader on my computer can read it for me.
I have a reading disability and it makes it hard sometimes in classes.
College is a lot of work.
You have to do everything on your own.
The teacher is not going to tell you this, this and this.
You have to be reliant on yourself.
Nobody is there to really make you come to class.
You have to get yourself there and concentrate
on, you know, actually showing up to class.
You have plenty of down time in college.
And it's important to go to class
and it's important to know when to study
and when to have your fun time
because you gotta have fun time too.
Well I struggled in high school because I was told that,
"Well you can't take classes," because I was visually impaired.
And, luckily there's not that limitation in college.
There are still classes that might be a struggle, but you aren't limited.
I actually like a lot of the independence that I have here in college.
And, I like the syllabus that lets me know when all of the assignments
are going to be due that way I can keep track of everything.
You have to do a lot of the stuff by yourself and you have to be a big advocate for yourself.
When I first started college, I had the problem of not knowing to advocate for myself.
I had a couple classes where I did not know to speak up for myself
and tell my professors at the beginning of class that I need these accommodations.
It's not easy. At first I had a hard time wanting help because
I just wanted to do it myself. I wanted to be just like everybody else
who just got the material right away. And, after a while I told myself
I'm not like that. I need help if I want to be successful.
I didn't get what the author was really saying
so I switched over a book, a different one, and I really like that one a lot better.
That was one of the obstacles.
It's almost the same like when I was in Moline High School:
having to watch, take notes, watch the interpreter.
I do have a note taker, but what if she's not there, you know,
and then I don't have any notes for that day. So, it is really hard sometimes.
I gotta go get a tutor if I need to.
I gotta work with a professor if I need to. I gotta work with some of the students
in the class if I need to.
And so that's just been the biggest obstacle for me:
learning how to succeed, even if you have to do more than what the other kids are doing.
It's important to get the help you need.
If you do not get the accommodations that are required for your disability
you are going to struggle in school.
They taught me how to be an advocate for myself.
That was something that was burned into my mind:
that I need to say what I need and tell people what I need
in order for me to get what I want.
I can't be shy about it. I have to let them know.
Not everybody's the same. And just because you have a disability
doesn't mean you're different.
You need to go to the disability center and ask for help.
Don't feel offended or bothered by it. Just go ask for help.
Overall, they are very helpful and willing to help me out
and more than willing to take time to do what needs to be done in a timely manner.
You just have to have the confidence in yourself
that you can do things and that there's people that are here to help you.
I am not disabled from anything. I can't not do something.
It's just that everyone else can do it the way they need to do
and they get through it easily where I just have to learn a little differently.
I would say at least give it a try
and you never know where you might like using something or not until you try it.
One thing that I live by is: hard work doesn't always guarantee success,
but you can't have success without hard work.