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What This Woman Never Said to Classmates Who Questioned Her Learning Disabilities

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Scout MacEachron is a successful writer and journalist who written for media outlets like NBC.com and Marie Claire, but the path to get there has been filled with challenges.

MacEachron, 26, was diagnosed with ADHD, mild dyslexia, a math disability and a language disability as a child. After spending time with tutors, finding the right medication and figuring out a successful system at school, she was able to both fit in and perform in the classroom.

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Still, MacEachron needed extra time on tests, and this was not something her classmates understood.

Having a handicap that people can’t see is a constant fight of justification,” MacEachron wrote in an article for Seventeen.com. She went on to describe the embarrassment she felt when she stayed in the classroom after everyone else, and how “everything was a battle.”

Some of her friends questioned the extended time she received on exams while others tried to convince their parents to have them assessed so they might receive the same treatment.

“I never told my friends it took me twice as long to do my homework, that I got so lost in mathematical equations I wanted to cry, and that I still couldn’t list the months in order despite being 16 years old,” MacEachron wrote. “Instead, I let them be jealous and kept my pencil-breaking moments to myself.”

Shooting with Dateline. #DatelineNBC #shooting #TV #muggin Posted by Scout MacEachron on Friday, November 14, 2014

 

She encourages others to see thing from her perspective and think about her daily life before making a snap judgment. She wrote:

Imagine your thoughts are constantly interrupted. Imagine not being able to do basic math. Imagine spelling or saying things so wrong it’s comical. Imagine being consistently late despite every effort not to be. Imagine having your intelligence and capability consistently questioned because of things you can’t control.

That’s what it’s like to have a learning disability.

Read the full Seventeen.com article here.

Originally published: December 8, 2015
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