Confessions of an LD Child

I am a learning disability child.
I number one out of every ten children in the school system.
I look the same as everyone else in my classroom.
I am not blind; yet my eyes do not tell me correctly what I see.
I am not deaf; but my ears often distort the information I hear and I cannot rely on them.
I am not physically handicapped; but my coordination is often so bad that I cannot hit a baseball, ride a bike or write with a pencil.
My parents often think that I am lazy because I cannot produce the work that my I.Q. indicates that I should be able to do.
My teachers call me a behavior problem because I cannot sit still for very long and I am distractible in class.
My classmates think that I am dumb because I cannot read or write or do math problems.
I am a misfit in society, for succeeding depends on academic skill and these are the areas in which I cannot achieve.
I am lonely because I often shy away from those who soon know about my school failure and call me “retard.”
I choose younger children to play with so that I do not have to compete with them.
My self-esteem is very low…I am afraid to try new tasks after a while because I have failed so much in the past.
I often withdraw into my little shell or act out my hostility trying to tell everyone how unhappy I am. But not many people understand that that’s why I act the way that I do.
My future is dismal…If I do not get help, I am a likely candidate for dropping out of school before I am sixteen.
I am a potential juvenile delinquent because I must be accepted by someone; and if the someone is the wrong crowd, then I will choose to join those who will accept me.
I am destined to a trade school even though my I.Q. may exceed 140 because to get into college you must be able to read and write.
I must spend my lifetime in a job that I dislike and a future that is limited because no one reached me soon enough.
I am the boy next door who stays to himself.
I am the girl in Sunday School class who cried when you asked her to write a verse from the Bible.
I am the Boy Scout who dropped out of the troop when he had to read from the Boy Scout Manual.
I am a learning disability child
Who can I turn to for help?

Source: Accotink Academy
            Springfield, VA 22152