Different: Not Less Than!

That's a line from the Claire Danes movie "Temple Grandin" about an autistic woman who overcame her challenges to earn a doctorate in animal sciences and went on to become a leading expert in cattle herding and processing. Her mother made a point of telling people that her daughter was "different than others, not less than." Assistive technologies allow those with both learning and physical disabilities to participate in their education in the same manner that their peers do. These technologies vary from text reading software to modified keyboards. Our daughter has utilized technologies varying from Kurzweil, a literacy learning tool, to using Microsoft Word for any written assignments. You can imagine our heartbreak upon hearing a quote from our daughter to the school reading specialist that went "I know I'm different than my friends. I can't read as good as them and I don't know why." The rush of emotion I felt then can still be felt today as I write this. When she asked my why this was, I tried to use the analogy of a person that uses glasses uses them because their eyes don't work as well as others. Glasses help correct the deficiency.  We told her that her condition was similar and that she learned in a way that was different from her friends. Different: Not Less Than. With the help of an unbelievable IEP team at her school, assistive technologies and specific learning techniques for her condition all have helped make her a vibrant and confident young lady. She now relishes the opportunity to read a book to her little sister or pen a poem for the school's poetry jam. Her hard work and determination and the use of assistive technologies have placed her at working on grade level with the rest of her class. She'll always be dyslexic but so long as she realizes that just makes her different and not less than she'll be just fine.