I think it is important to start with myself, I know I’m not one of the world’s great leaders or minds quite yet but I don’tthink I have a right to discuss others disabilities unless I discuss my own first.

Hi,I am Michael Jones and I have Dyslexia.

During my early years in school most teachers did not know what was holding me back, many thought I was just not paying attention or was not bright. My kindergarten teacher told my parents that she did not see me making it through high school. To be told their youngest child at age 7 may not be able to make it through school, my parents experienced a lot of emotional strain. My parents had no experience with this issue, their older two daughters never struggled in school, as they were honors students. I was enrolled in my local elementary school and put in special education, hoping to solve my problem. My parents and I quickly learned special education in public schools is not effective, you are sent to a different room for a few hours a day with other people who have problems from ranging from ADHD to forms of Autism. Two teachers are supposedly there to help all the students, but I think it’s safe to say it was not helpful for me and I continued to struggle. This upset my parents to see me struggle and beginto resent school, so in fourth grade I went to testing found out I am dyslexic.

This diagnosis opened up a new world for my parents and I.I finally knew it wasn’t my fault, butsomething inherent in my brain. Now that we knew what was wrong, my parents immediately started to try to find me help. They began researching schools that specialized in helping children with reading disabilities and found the Benchmark school. This school is a national known school for its work in helpingchildren with all varieties of learning disabilities. Once my parents went through the enrollment process for Benchmark, the only remaining problem was the $30,000 per year price tag.Being a typical middle-class family,my parents did not have that kind of money and sued the school district. We won when they finally admitted they weren’t helping me at all. They agreed to pay for 2 of my 4 years at Benchmark, which was priceless due to the amount that it helped me. During my 4 years at Benchmark I learned so much about working through my disability and to self-advocate for myself as a learner with special needs.

With everything I learned from Benchmark I was able to return to my school district as a new person. I attended to West Chester East High School and enrolled in nearlyall honors and AP courses. I graduated in 2018 as a member of The National Honors Society, while being able to balance school with clubs, sports, and social life. I am a current student at The Pennsylvania State University with plans to double major in Economics and Political Science with aspirations to go to law school.

I am Michael Jones and I don’t let Dyslexia hold me back, I took a stand and continue to work harder than others to get where I want to be.