I'm 16 years old struggling in high school :((

[hellooooooooooooo]

I am currently a sophomore in high school and I am under so much stress taking all AP classes. I have always struggled with dyslexia but never this bad, especially in algebra. I also can't remember orders of things in any of my classes. someone please help me out :(((((

[Giosang]

Hello I'm so sorry that I've been so long in replying. You need to get properly diagnosed so that your education can be planned properly. There are special 'tests' done by educational psychologists that work out exactly what your learning styles are and any difficulties you have, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. The reason you need to be tested is because you will need evidence of your dyslexia when you move on to college or university.

The first thing you should do is go and speak to the person who is in charge of the special needs department - it might be called Learning Support or something similar. Ask at the school office for the name of the teacher in charge. Then make an appointment to go to see that person, ideally with a parent or guardian. You need to get a diagnosis, the school should be able to help you with this. But you might need to convince them. The tests are expensive and many schools prefer to ignore the issues in order to save money. You must get what the school says in writing. Ask them to write it all down for you in a letter. Keep all the letters and copies of emails.

If the school say no then you need to talk to your parents about getting properly diagnosed. Is anyone else in your family dyslexic? Look up american-dyslexia-associati... and see if there's anyone near you that can help. I hope you have told your parents about the issues you are having at school.

This is an excellent site too: dyslexicadvantage.org/ It is full of people who explain what dyslexia is and how they live with it. It's not all bad, some people have amazing careers because they are dyslexic and have special skills and see learning in a different way.

Math is always a big problem and short term memory issues too. You will have to work much harder than anyone else to learn the same things as them, which is very very unfair and frustrating. You need proper professional support and help and a diagnosis for dyslexia will help you get that.

My son is dyslexic and we looked for something he was good at and focused on that. In his case it was music. Look for things you love to do and your find 'easy' and focus on those. Remember that being dyslexic has been a strength for many people - usually artistic creative people are dyslexic. you are in very good company eg Einstein, Richard Branson, Orlando Bloom and thousands more. Would you say you are creative? Or sporty? Follow your dream.

Please keep in contact here - there are people who will be able to give you lots more help.

Good luck -it's time for you to be active and tell people you want and deserve professional help.