Justin Stewart

Kendra Mitchell
January 11, 18October 12, 2017

Literacy Narrative

My mom is my biggest supporter when it comes to how I perform in school and con-
stantly desires me to achieve more and push myself to excel. Before I was born she was a teacher
which is what drove her to push me to be a better student. When I was younger she took me to a
specialist to see why I wasn’t performing as well as other kids in English, when it was easy to Commented [1]:
tell that I was more than capable of achieving better grades than what I was accumulating Deleted:alway
throughout the year. I was taken to a specialist and was diagnosed with convergence insuffi- Commented [2]:
ciency, which means that one eye won’t focus with the other eye on the media being presented. Deleted: w
Commented [3]:
My mom ever since I can remember would always have me doing school work no matter Inserted: t
the circumstance. I was homeschooled for two years when my family kept moving because of Commented [4]:
my dad's job so she felt that my education wouldn’t be as coherent since I had to keep switching Inserted: ly desire
schools. My summer consisted of daily homework so I wouldn’t “fall behind” when school Commented [5]:
started back up again. The summer school in a sense was when she had the time to see and take Inserted: con
me to look at to determine why I wasn’t up to par with my other classmates in school. I was put Commented [6]:
into a room with my mom and the doctor who asked me a series of questions and then asked me Deleted:.
to read magazines, articles on the computer screen and other forms of media to properly pinpoint Commented [7]:
where my problems stemmed from leading to the outcome that I’m farsighted and I have a con- Deleted:ed
vergence insufficiency. I then got glasses to help with me being farsighted but never wore them
to school because I wasn’t a fan of how they looked. However, my convergence problems were
taken care of with an IEP.

My IEP (Individual Achievement Plan) was given to me to include extra time on all test
including standardized tests, such as SAT, AP testing, and ACT. I never fully used my IEP until
I was in my junior year and the course material was too much for me to do in the standard
amount of time that my peers were given. When I started to op into my extended time on test my
grades increased rather noticeably as the year continued. When I worked through the idea of how
others perceived me in regards to my impairment I achieved the grades I wanted to have that I Commented [8]:
knew I could have even with my convergence insufficiency. Deleted:e
The convergence insufficiency diagnoses explained why I had eyestrain and why English was an Commented [9]:
overall struggle for me as a younger child. The eyestrain leads to headaches and discomfort that Inserted: s
slowed the pace of my understanding and evaluating the material that I was given. With my new Commented [10]:
learning impairment, I had to overcome the idea that I wasn’t as smart as other kids just because Inserted: y
they didn't have the same problems that I did in school. For the next couple years, up until my Commented [11]:
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1
sophomore year in high school, I was self-conscious about people knowing that I had a learning
impairment and so I struggled more each year as the material started to become more challenging
in the AP classes that I was taking for my course load. I was allotted extra time to give me a bet-
ter chance of excelling and performing as well as other kids without impairments, pretty much
leveling the field.

Throughout my life education has been pushed very heavily by my mother. I appreciate
all that she has done for me and helping me become a far better student and putting in the time to Commented [12]:
figure out what was holding me back from doing the things and achieving the grades I knew I
could when I was younger. I no longer worry about what people think about my impairment be-
cause their opinions won’t affect what I want to accomplish. I regret not taking advantage of my Commented [13]:
IEP for all four years of high school but I’m doing things far more different without the thought Deleted:from
of how others think of my situation. Commented [14]:
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