Personal stories about learning and thinking differences
Explore personal stories about learning and thinking differences like ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia. Learn from other people’s experiences at school, home, and work.
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- Parent pep talk: Coping with your child’s diagnosis
- Video: Thriving at work with ADHD
- I’m an educator with ADHD traveling to meet my favorite celebrity. Here’s how I’m functioning on little sleep.
- I’m managing ADHD while recovering from surgery. Here’s how I’m navigating the two.
- How I manage my anxiety as an educator
- We got through quarantine. What happens now?
- What if my child has too much screen time?
- My bilingual son has an IEP, and I still don’t know how it will work remotely
- We can’t all be Richard Branson: The case for expanding dyslexia success stories
- At the heart of it: 30 personal stories about learning and thinking differently
- I have ADHD and OCD. Here’s what a weekend getaway looks like for me.
- I’m a working mom with ADHD. Here’s how I get it done (or don’t).
- I’m a 36-year-old with ADHD. Here’s what I do when imposter syndrome creeps in.
- Through your child’s eyes
- After one IEP meeting, my husband and I were finally on the same page
- Rolling with my ADHD Mom Brain
- How my IEP transition plan helped me start college with confidence
- My late ADHD diagnosis gave me the freedom to stop explaining myself
- A day in the life of a child with expressive language disorder
- 8 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with dyscalculia
- 7 surprising ways dyscalculia affects me
- Why I let my son wear shorts in the winter
- 3 things I’m learning as a new mom with ADHD
- 8 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with ADHD
- How I taught my students to give praise and other feedback
- Now I get what it’s like to have ADHD
- Video: A mom shares why she kept her dyslexia a secret
- How I got my son back: Breaking the silence on learning and thinking differences
- Video: A young woman opens up about growing up with NVLD
- Video: Teen with dyscalculia shares why she tells friends about her learning issues
- Teacher to teacher: How we can break down barriers between general and special education
- I had a meltdown and finally understood sensory overload
- How my son’s sensory processing challenges helped me understand myself
- How my career ambition got in the way of helping my daughter with dyslexia
- One of my scariest moments as a child with dyslexia? Reading aloud during Passover
- The hard truth about my daughter’s dyspraxia
- 5 ways I fine-tuned our Disney vacation for my son with attention issues
- 6 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with dyspraxia
- Solitary isn’t the same thing as lonely
- How I’m making peace with my son’s IEP
- 6 surprising ways nonverbal learning disability affects me as a young adult
- What ADHD feels like to me
- My voice does the writing — with a little help from dictation technology
- Alaskan family uses passion for longboard skateboarding to put the spotlight on dyslexia
- How my family created a sensory-friendly Halloween
- Lost: My son’s mittens. Found: A system to help with executive function
- My life as a freelance artist battling ADHD and anxiety
- How my brother’s ADHD shaped my teaching
- Teacher to teacher: How I help students see support staff as teachers
- Teacher to teacher: What distance learning taught me about productive struggle
- Being open about dyslexia at my job is an advantage
- Why the school with the highest test scores wasn’t the right fit for my child with ADHD
- First dyslexia, now ADHD: Facing my son’s second diagnosis
- 3 ways I’m trying out Universal Design for Learning at home with my kids
- My wild family history of ADHD
- Why “just try harder” is a myth
- You’re not alone: My child was struggling, too
- Video: Interview with Silvia Ortiz-Rosales, teen with dyslexia
- 5 questions with Peter Flom, statistician with a nonverbal learning disability
- Video: How the gift of dance transformed a 12-year-old boy with ADHD
- Video: College students on how they found their confidence
- Language delays, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD — and now thriving
- My son behaves at school but melts down at home — I found out why
- Why I finally went after my dream job after years of focusing only on my son with ADHD
- Why my son kept his ADHD medication a secret in college
- 6 things I wish I’d known sooner about my son’s anxiety
- 4 worries I had when my son’s IEP ended
- What my daughter with dyslexia taught me about learning to read
- 5 things I want teachers to know about my (special education inclusion) child
- Someone on my side of the IEP table
- 7 things I wish people knew about parenting kids with dyslexia
- When the IEP team focused on my strengths, it made all the difference
- Not too late: A high school IEP for my daughter
- Why I’m open about my daughter’s dyslexia
- The challenge of keeping my impulsive and hyperfocused son safe
- My kids have both autism and learning and thinking differences, and it’s complicated
- My simple solve for chaotic mornings
- Why I love my dyslexic brain
- Metaphors to explain ADHD
- The question my parents asked that helped me become a self-advocate
- How I owned it: 3 college application essays
- Take your (hyperactive) child to work day
- Escape from confusion dyslexia art
- What my child has taught me about resilience
- 5 drawings of my dyslexic superpowers
- How to build confidence when you know you’re different
- The best question I’ve asked at a parent-teacher conference
- To be Black in America with a learning disability
- Hannah Gadsby’s “Douglas” and a later-in-life autism diagnosis
- Reading to my son: 5 ways I get ready as a dyslexic dad
- How I learned to be OK with things just being OK
- Masking my ADHD at work was exhausting, so I stopped
- The work friends who “get it” make working with ADHD manageable
- Why it’s important to support LGBTQIA+ kids with learning differences
- Parenting the neurodivergent kids I have, not the kids I thought I’d have
- Teacher to teacher: How racial identity work makes us better advocates for our students
- Working toward flexible school experiences
- 3 ways I model resilience for my students
- The ups and downs of my son’s 504 plan for ADHD
- IEP personal stories
- Embracing my dyscalculia made me a better student
- A message to my 17-year-old self about having nonverbal learning disabilities
- How I got over my fear of AP statistics (and passed!)
- What “I’m not a math person” means to me
- What it was like to be diagnosed with a learning disability no one’s ever heard of
- How self-advocacy helped me fight for my rights in college
- The story of my ADHD evaluation in college
- My 6 stages of grief: The path to understanding my son’s dyslexia
- How my son with dyslexia became an early self-advocate
- Understanding my son’s dysgraphia helped me advocate for him
- The question I’m always asked about my son’s dyslexia
- Beyond IEP meetings: How I connect with my son’s general education teachers
- Mom’s emotional video about IEP frustration goes viral
- A unique IEP solution for our twice-exceptional son
- A missed deadline becomes a chance to speak up about ADHD
- My anxiety and ADHD: Hiding behind a perfect veneer
- Little goals can be better than big New Year’s resolutions
- Back-to-school stress: Why I believe self-advocacy can help
- How my son and I ended our food fight
- How 6 days of dyslexia training made a big impact on a school district
- The school holiday party that helped me see beyond my son’s reading progress
- The emotional toll of slow processing speed on my daughter
- When choosing apps to help your child with schoolwork, keep this tip in mind
- The holiday habit I’d like to break: Comparing my son with nonverbal learning disability to his cousins
- Small success: My son with ADHD stood up to a bully
- How the elbow rule helped my child learn about personal space
- Why I feel invisible at IEP meetings (a dad’s view)
- The day I rejected my son’s IEP
- 5 questions with Sarah Entine, documentary filmmaker with dyslexia
- Good grades, bad tests scores: My daughter’s story
- “Dear teacher, I have dyslexia,” explains fifth grader in self-advocacy video
- 5 questions with Sean Douglas, media maker with dyslexia
- My kids’ experience with special education at Catholic school
- Why my son with ADHD swims 4 miles a day
- Nonverbal learning disabilities and sports: How I debunked the myth
- I’m letting go of the shame I felt about my ADHD and learning disabilities
- Make dyslexia about strengths, not shame
- Choose the right street to trick-or-treat
- How the documentary “2e: Twice Exceptional” made me a more hopeful parent
- Want Need Wear Read: The holiday gift strategy that works for my kids
- What my son with ADHD taught me about Minecraft and executive function
- The long, winding road to identifying my son’s learning issues
- 7 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with auditory processing disorder
- High school sports star with dyslexia shares how he overcame reading struggles
- It’s hard enough to bond with stepkids — try adding learning issues to the mix
- Anger is exhausting
- Our community weighs in: How your relationship with your child changed after the diagnosis
- Thicko: A personal story by Dekko Comics’ Rossie Stone
- Why I’m torn about letting my son with ADHD play video games like Fortnite
- 5 “Big Bang Theory” quotes that make me a better parent
- The fourth “E” is empower
- A heartbreaking choice: Should my son have accommodations for lockdown drills?
- Why I stopped saying “Have a good day” to my son
- How we got back our parenting power after years of mismanaging meltdowns
- 5 things I learned about 504 plans when my son with ADHD got one
- 5 lessons about failure from my life with learning disabilities
- 5 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with executive function challenges
- Dav Pilkey sees ADHD and dyslexia as his superpowers
- Video: Parenting a daughter with dyslexia and ADHD
- Video: Talent agent Ari Emanuel on having dyslexia and raising kids with dyslexia
- Celebrity spotlight: Why journalist Lisa Ling was “relieved” by her ADHD diagnosis
- Celebrity spotlight: “Henry Danger” actor Jace Norman uses dyslexia to his advantage
- Video: My experience with ADHD and parenting
- Video: My experience with ADHD in school
- Video: My experience with ADHD and dyscalculia
- Video: My experience with ADHD and feeling judged
- Video: My experience with ADHD and feeling misunderstood
- Video: My experience with learning disabilities and social challenges
- Video: My experience with dyslexia and bullying
- Video: My experience with undiagnosed ADHD
- How my husband and I told the grandparents about our kids’ learning differences
- My daughter’s dyslexia showed me I was doing parent-teacher conferences all wrong
- Video: The journey from a child with dyslexia to an award-winning researcher
- Video: Dav Pilkey, creator of Captain Underpants, on growing up with ADHD and dyslexia
- Max Ash: Taking dyslexia to the net
- Oklahoma football falls short, but Erick Wren stands tall with his learning disability
- 14 musicians who learn and think differently
- Celebrities with dyslexia, ADHD, and dyscalculia
- 4 ways I helped my daughter get comfortable talking about her learning difference
- 4 ways I keep my sanity during the holidays
- Video: Middle-schooler teaches future teachers about dyslexia
- Video: How a great teacher helped a student with dyslexia find her path
- My kids have different strengths and challenges. Here’s how I set goals with them.
- 5 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with sensory processing challenges
- Video: College students on embracing strengths and differences
- Video: The journey from a child with dyslexia to an illustrator teaching through comics
- Video: A Harvard graduate on growing up with dyslexia
- Perspectives: How does being LGBTQ+ impact you as a person who learns and thinks differently?
- “She’s just a daydreamer”
- Amanda Gorman, Youth Poet Laureate, has speech and auditory processing issues
- Video: A college student with dyscalculia shares her story
- Video: The emotional journey of one family with many learning and thinking differences
- Video: A high-schooler with dyslexia discovers her passion
- Video: Mother and daughter take their dyslexia story to Washington
- Video: LeDerick Horne, poet and activist with learning disabilities
- Video: The journey from student with dyslexia and ADHD to special education teacher
- Video: Michelle Carter wins Olympic gold with dyslexia and ADHD
- Video: Meet child entrepreneur Max Ash (and Mom)
- Video: Being a scientist with dyslexia
- Video: Brad Falchuk on thriving with dyslexia
- Video: The journey from a kid with writing issues to a professional writer and speaker
- Video: Gavin Newsom opens up about his dyslexia
- Video: A mom on the “roller coaster” of raising a child with ADHD and speech issues
- Video: How art helped a struggling student better understand himself
- Video: Journalist Byron Pitts on faith, family, and overcoming reading challenges
- Video: Stanley Cup champ Brent Sopel on hiding reading struggles “behind his stick”
- Video: A grandmother on raising her grandchild with dyscalculia
- Video: A mom and son on their homeschooling experience
- Video: From high school dropout to college student and youth advocate
- Celebrity spotlight: Anderson Cooper no longer hides his dyslexia
- Celebrity spotlight: How Michael Phelps’ ADHD helped him make Olympic history
- Celebrity quotes: Learning from challenges
- Video: How a diagnosis in adulthood changed one woman’s perspective
- Video: Mario Ornelas, chef and college student with dyscalculia, dyslexia, and weak working memory
- Lorraine Bracco, star of “The Sopranos,” on how she used humor to cope with dyslexia
- Video: Activist David Flink on growing up with ADHD and dyslexia
- How my students’ strengths have shined
- 6 surprising ways dyslexia affects me
- Perspectives: How did you find out you learn and think differently?
- Why this Black boy couldn’t ask for help
- 10 tips for staying focused when learning from home
- Perspectives: How did you find out what you’re good at?
- Teachers never understood me — and that’s OK
- Waking up is hard to do
- Perspectives: How did you decide on a career path?
- Perspectives: Why should people talk openly about learning differences?
- Video: Scott Barry Kaufman on embracing learning and thinking differences
- Video: Teen with dyslexia shares what he wishes people knew about him
- Video: The challenges of being an African American who learns and thinks differently
- Video: Actor Bex Taylor-Klaus on being kicked out of school and embracing “different wiring”
- Life in limbo
- A computer effects artist with ADHD
- My daily routine as an artist with ADHD
- Thanks, Mom: Quotes from celebrities who learn and think differently
- When my mom suspected I might have ADHD, she did what a lot of parents do
- Video: Elijah Ditchendorf, a high school science whiz who has dyslexia
- Video: Actress Wendy Davis on having ADHD and parenting a child with ADHD
- Video: New England Patriot Lawrence Guy on overcoming stigma and being your best
- Video: Navigating life’s changes with dyslexia
- Video: Learning how to play piano with ADHD
- Video: A doctor learns about dyslexia through his daughter’s reading struggles
- TikTok creators show the “real” ADHD
- Video: Comedian Dena Blizzard opens up about her daughter’s anxiety