Marisa’s LD Story

My name is Marisa. I am 13, from Valencia, California, and have been growing up with LD. I was in special education when I was three and I had a hard time walking and talking. I did OT and it taught me to walk and move and do stuff that other kids can do. I had speech therapy for a long time; I stopped after I finished 6th grade.

I get teased every day. I think of it this way: I know how to ride an unicycle and not too many people can do that. They may be better than me at some things, but so what? I like the way I learn. I have three friends and they all have LD and we hang out, and if someone teases me they tell them to stop and I do the same for them. I don’t feel safe at school since I got pushed into a brick wall and punched. One time, someone was teasing me and I forgot to keep my hands to myself, and I grabbed his neck and pinched and got suspended. But the kids that do stuff to me don’t get in trouble and I do. At least I have less than four months until I go to a special education school.

I still have a hard time with all school subjects. I only have about six kids in all my classes, and my teachers are very nice and care about me. So if you have LD, just don’t give up and keep trying no matter what. That’s what I do, and I don’t care if I have LD.