Category: Disabilities

When Jill’s daughter, Jiselle, was a baby, she stopped meeting developmental milestones. The family went to many doctors, unsure of what was happening with her. Years later, when Jiselle was around four years old, she was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome: a gene mutation in the x chromosome that affects development primarily in girls. Jill, despite...

Lauren was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes – or T1D, as she and her mother, Barbara, like to call it – at just three years old. This diagnosis changed their family’s daily life tremendously. In 1979, when Lauren was diagnosed, checking one’s insulin was much more of a chore and not necessarily accurate all the...

Leah Marcus is a teacher who graduated from Vanderbilt University last year with a graduate degree in Education Policy, specifically focused on elementary education. One aspect of Leah’s life that has profoundly influenced her educational and career paths is her dyslexia. Leah is dyslexic, a learning disability that affects reading ability due to differences in...

Anna Kate Roberson is a determined fourteen-year-old who doesn’t let her autism diagnosis get in the way of her dream of becoming a veterinarian. She volunteers at two horse rescue centers where she is able to help with the horses and gain valuable experience...

Growing up with a sister with Down Syndrome, Elizabeth Graham Pistole has a strong passion for helping individuals with special needs grow and develop. Her first experience volunteering was at her local church on “Special Saturdays” to serve church-goers living with disabilities broaden emotionally and spiritually. “The first time volunteering . . .  was way...

Written by: Terri Seydel In many ways, Phillip Hyams is a typical American teenager, balancing his time between school, sports, and friends. He attends Brentwood High school and participates in the school’s sports program with the track, cross country, and basketball teams. Where he stands apart from other teenagers, is in what he chooses to...