Reading Matter

I am unique. You are, too. We all are. But Hashem made me different from most other kids in a way that affects me every single day.

Starting school is a very exciting step for kids. You’re getting older. You start learning “big kid” stuff and not just coloring and playing and running around anymore. Unfortunately, that is when my difficulties surfaced.

All my friends were learning their letters: Alef-beis and the English alphabet. I tried really, really hard, like they did, but while they got better and quicker, I didn’t. It was really frustrating! When everyone was learning to write, my pencil just didn’t do what theirs did. The best I could manage was a sort of squiggle that looked like a long W. It made me very sad and discouraged. Worst of all, it made me feel different from all the kids around me. Teachers got annoyed at me because they thought I wasn’t trying hard enough. That made me embarrassed and so frustrated! Because I really was trying, probably harder than all the other kids.

Eventually my parents and teachers realized that something was wrong. That started three long months in which I didn’t go to school because we were trying to find out what the problem was. My parents took me to lots of tiring appointments and tests.