BRIAN THOMAS: Really grateful for Debbie for offering us

this platform in some ways, but also just to have the

opportunity for kids to talk about themselves and about

what we do.

Just a little background--

in 2006, 2007, we started as a group.

And we were launched in someone's house, one of our

board member's house on Clipper

Street in San Francisco.

And it was basically in her kitchen and living room for a

number of years.

And we've now moved to the San Francisco Friends School.

But it starts usually at the beginning of the school year.

And it's once a month.

And these kids have-- many of them have been coming over and

over and over again during that time.

And just a little bit of a background from there, that

very first meeting, there were maybe about 15 kids in a room.

And Jonathan Mooney, who is a LD advocate extraordinaire,

went to Brown, has an incredible story of not just

overcoming, but using his strengths, and as someone who

probably reads at a third or fourth grade level right now.

So he talks a lot about that.

But he turned to the kids, and said so what

do you want to do?

And there was a little bit of a hubbub in the room.

And they said we want to speak on panels.

We want to make a film.

And we want to write a book.

And at the end, he turned to the woman whose house it was,

Julie Tran, and myself, and said mm, I don't think that's

going to happen.

Not that he was doubtful, but it was a lot to bite off.

And these kids have over time and time again shown great

resilience, great fortitude, and

they're very, very ambitious.

So I'm going to turn it over to-- we're going to start all

the way down at the end.

I want you to introduce yourselves.

Tell us what grade you are in, what school you go to.

Tell us a little bit about when you were first diagnosed

with your LD.

TAMARA: Hi, I'm Tamara.

And I'm a senior at the Bay School,

which is in San Francisco.

I was first diagnosed in seventh grade.

And it actually wasn't really that revolutionary, I guess,

when I was diagnosed, because I didn't really understand

what learning differences were at the time.

And I didn't really understand until around ninth grade.

So maybe I'll talk about that later.

Yeah, thank you.

FRANKIE: Hi, I'm Frankie.

I am a junior at Gateway High School in San Francisco.

I was diagnosed in first grade.

That was a long time ago.

I don't really remember.

But what my mom has told me is that when I was first

diagnosed, I went around walking down the street

telling everyone I was dyslexic.

And I didn't know what that meant.

I just thought was a good thing.

But other than that, I don't really remember.

SEAN: I'm Sean.

I go to Riordan High School in the city.

I was diagnosed in third grade, but it wasn't really

that big a deal because learning disabilities were

like diseases so, yeah.

ANNIE: I'm Annie.

I go to school in Marin County.

I technically go to three schools right now.

I have four independent study classes, a class at Redwood

High School, and a class at College of Marin.

I have dyslexia and something called Scotopic Sensitivity

Syndrome, which is kind of a reading disability.

It's basically like-- you know the salt and pepper on a TV

when the cable box is unplugged.

It's kind of like that, only everywhere.

And so on pages, it makes it a little hard to read.

I was identified in the end of sixth grade.

And prior to that, I really thought I was stupid, thought

I was going nowhere.

I was failing classes.

I could not read.

I didn't know my math facts, couldn't spell.

And school was my least favorite thing in the world.

And so when I was identified, it was definitely a relief to

know the cause to all of my school struggles.

But it was also a little bit scary because I thought

dyslexia just meant oh, you're kind of not as good as

everyone else.

But it turns out that wasn't right.

MIA: Hi, I'm Mia.

I'm a freshman year at Redwood High School, and I have ADHD

and dyslexia.

And when I was first diagnosed in the end of fourth grade,

beginning of fifth grade, it was kind of a relief because I

always had a lot of trouble with spelling and math facts.

And I could not memorize anything.

But I also thought it was kind of this really cool special

club, because like my sister Annie, she had gotten

diagnosed, and I figured anything that Annie had, that

was awesome, so--

dyslexia, oh my gosh, that's so cool.

FIONA: Hi, I'm Fiona.

I have quite a few learning disabilities, ADHD, dysgraphia

probably, and sensory integration disorder and some

processing disorders with my memory and stuff.

Oh, and I'm a senior at the Bay School with Tamara.

Hi, Tamara.

TAMARA: Hi, Fiona.

FIONA: And I was diagnosed, I think, when I

was in fourth grade?

Is that right, mom?

She nodded.

So that means that I'm good.

I mean, I was in fourth grade at the time, so I don't really

remember it.

But I do remember it really kind of changing when I went

to sixth grade, and then I started taking ADHD

medication, and that really helped.

But I've really gotten improved with my learning in

terms of my learning disability by going to SAFE.

BRIAN THOMAS: I want everybody to answer this one as well.

Talk a little bit about school challenges, sort of when you

first noticed--

if you did, because maybe some of you have not-- but when you

first noticed through your learning difference, learning

disability, how school was challenged for you.

TAMARA: So I think for me the main thing is just taking a

lot longer to do work than other people.

And I notice that already in--

I guess when I was in middle school, because we always had

classwork to do.

And I always had to finish during lunch or

finish after school.

So that was kind of frustrating.

Another thing is that I have a hard time

memorizing math formulas.

So even though I would say it to myself again and again or

write it out again and again, it just wouldn't stick.

I think those are the two main things.

FRANKIE: Well, I was first diagnosed in first grade, so I

don't really remember, but what I do remember from that

time it is I remember I couldn't really

read in first grade.

So people, even my parents, and I think even my nanny,

came to school to help me read, because

I couldn't do it.

So someone had to sit next to me and help me read.

Also, people would take me out of class and do these certain

exercises, things like that.

And I didn't really know why.

I just thought--

I was like oh, time out of class.

That's OK with me.

Anything to get out of class.

And then I started taking ADHD medication when I was in maybe

second grade, maybe first.

And I've been taking it ever since then.

So I do definitely notice when I haven't taken my medication

and when I have taken it, because I just--

I'm a lot more--

when I do take my medication, I'm a lot calmer, and I can

concentrate.

But if I don't, I'm off the walls.

And I don't even usually recognize myself, because I'm

just so used to myself on this medication.

And then also I start to notice when I started to get

into higher and higher levels of math, I started having more

and more problems.

Math is probably my worst subject.

I get OK grades, but I have test anxiety,

especially in math.

So when I'm at a test, and I look at the test, I forget

everything.

Or that's not always usually the case, but sometimes, I

will forget everything and will completely fail a test.

SEAN: My learning disability is where the most trouble

would come for me was basically in grammar school.

I have a hard time remembering.

And the difference for me is that I didn't really get any

help from teachers.

The playing field wasn't leveled.

So I had to basically do the subjects like everyone else

had to, but they were like at a different level, so it was

difficult for me.

ANNIE: Let's see.

Well, I first remember struggling in first grade,

where I would just sit in the corner with a book, looking at

the pictures, scared, on the verge of crying, because I

just couldn't understand the words.

I used to pretend I was sick to the point where my mom took

me to get blood tests because she thought something was

medically seriously wrong with me.

And school was just--

it was horrible.

It was probably one of the worst experiences I've had was

having to go to school without knowing that I was dyslexic

and without knowing that there were strategies

to help with it.

MIA: My main struggles have definitely been through

spelling and math.

I remember in second grade, Antarctica was

the bane of my existence.

I remember in first grade, we had this game where everybody

would start on the line at the edge of the classroom, and

then they would ask you an addition fact.

And you would hop forward if you got it right.

And I just remember being stuck back at

the starting line.

And it was just horrible.

I did not understand what was going on.

And it was the same thing when we started multiplication in

third grade.

I wasn't able to figure out multiplication until around

fifth or sixth grade.

And I'm still not good at it at all.

And I still can't spell at all, although with spell

check, it's helped out.

But I remember, in sixth grade, we had a lot of

spelling tests.

And our teacher would go around and you would get-- she

would draw you a special picture if you got 100%.

And I remember being the only person in the class who had

never gotten that.

And she thought it was funny.

She'd be like oh, you're so bad at spelling.

I'll have to throw you out the window.

But that was not very funny from my perspective.

FIONA: Well, I kind of had a similar experience.

Spelling is basically a lost cause with me.

And math facts are just-- no, don't even try.

But I really didn't--

I don't remember really hating school that much when I was

younger or even when I--

I mean, I just really didn't like the people at my school.

Because I was really weird.

I mean, we kind of already knew that there was something

not quite right.

I couldn't not hit people and stuff.

So there was something wrong, but we didn't know exactly

what it was.

But I don't know why, it just didn't--

I mean, I just was happy.

I didn't feel like I had a terribly negative experience.

But yes.