I am the eldest of 5 children helping to take care of them and contributing to the household finances. I am an honor roll student. I am active in my peer mediator group, chess club and Junior Achievement. I enjoy reading, writing and helping to care of my family. I will graduate in June of 2018 majoring in Psychology. I would like to become a therapist or child psychologist, helping other youth and adolescents. My parents have always told me that college would be a matter of my wits and my smarts. Due to my sickle cell anemia, doctors said that sports would never an option for me. I can't run, I can't jump, and I can't tackle or hit a layup. I have always competed with my mind. I appreciate my parents for preparing me the way they did. My brother and I both see a pediatrician yearly, a hematologist monthly, a neurologist bimonthly and a therapist weekly. The medical bills are astronomical and have been since I have been born. My brother is 6 years younger than me and suffers the same way I do. His bills are just as high. On top of all of that, my younger sister had a nervous breakdown in third grade, developing conversion disorder and anorexia due to a bully in her math class. She was out of school for 6 to 8 months with my mom taking a leave of absence from teaching for almost a year. The bills piled up, the mortgage went unpaid, the lawyers called and threatened and soon enough the foreclosure was sent in the mail. Bankruptcy was the next chapter in the life of my family. I don’t judge or criticize or fault them. I love my parents and want to help in any way that I can. I honor my father and my mother and have the utmost respect for them. In life, often times, things happen that are out of our control. This just happens to be one of those times. My community is also key to who I am. I strive to be a good example to my peers and strive for excellence. We should put programs in place to keep kids safe, out of danger and out of trouble. Midnight basketball programs, teen parties or gatherings where weapons and alcohol are not allowed and teen safe zones should be instituted city wide. The violence in the city also leads to neglect and blight. Businesses to not want to build and develop in an area that is not safe. Entrepreneurs do not want to plant their ideas in soil that is bloody and bruised. With this problem we need all hands on deck.

Essay: Assistive Technology Tools (talking keyboards, audiobooks, talking calculators,etc)

The use of technology to enhance learning is an effective approach for many children. Additionally, students with learning disabilities often experience greater success when they are allowed to use their abilities (strengths) to work around their disabilities (challenges). Assisted Technology tools combine the best of both of these practices. AT can address many types of learning difficulties. A student who has difficulty writing can compose a school report by dictating it and having it converted to text by special software. A child who struggles with math can use a hand-held calculator to keep score while playing a game with a friend. And a teenager with dyslexia may benefit from AT that will read aloud his employer's online training manual. There are AT tools to help students who struggle with:

Listening
Certain assistive technology (AT) tools can help people who have difficulty processing and remembering spoken language. Such devices can be used in various settings (e.g., a class lecture, or a meeting with multiple speakers).

Math
Assistive technology (AT) tools for math are designed to help people who struggle with computing, organizing, aligning, and copying math problems down on paper. With the help of visual and/or audio support, users can better set up and calculate basic math problems.

Organization and memory
Assistive technology (AT) tools can help a person plan, organize, and keep track of his calendar, schedule, task list, contact information, and miscellaneous notes. These tools allow him to manage, store, and retrieve such information with the help of special software and hand-held devices.

Reading
There is a wide range of assistive technology (AT) tools available to help individuals who struggle with reading. While each type of tool works a little differently, all of these tools help by presenting text as speech. These tools help facilitate decoding, reading fluency, and comprehension.

Writing
There is a wide range of assistive technology (AT) tools available to help students who struggle with writing. Some of these tools help students circumvent the actual physical task of writing, while others facilitate proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, word usage, and organization.

The term "assistive technology" has usually been applied to computer hardware and software and electronic devices. However, many AT tools are now available on the Internet. AT tools that support kids with LD include:

Abbreviation expanders
Used with word processing, these software programs allow a user to create, store, and re-use abbreviations for frequently-used words or phrases. This can save the user keystrokes and ensure proper spelling of words and phrases he has coded as abbreviations.

Alternative keyboards
These programmable keyboards have special overlays that customize the appearance and function of a standard keyboard. Students who have LD or have trouble typing may benefit from customization that reduces input choices, groups keys by color/location, and adds graphics to aid comprehension.

Audio books and publications
Recorded books allow users to listen to text and are available in a variety of formats, such as audiocassettes, CDs, and MP3 downloads. Special playback units allow users to and search and bookmark pages and chapters. Subscription services offer extensive electronic library collections.

Electronic math work sheets
Electronic math worksheets are software programs that can help a user organize, align, and work through math problems on a computer screen. Numbers that appear onscreen can also be read aloud via a speech synthesizer. This may be helpful to people who have trouble aligning math problems with pencil and paper.

Freeform database software
Used in conjunction with word processing or other software, this tool allows the user to create and store electronic notes by "jotting down" relevant information of any length and on any subject. He can later retrieve the information by typing any fragment of the original note.

Graphic organizers and outlining
Graphic organizers and outlining programs help users who have trouble organizing and outlining information as they begin a writing project. This type of program lets a user "dump" information in an unstructured manner and later helps him organize the information into appropriate categories and order.

Information/data managers
This type of tool helps a person plan, organize, store, and retrieve his calendar, task list, contact data, and other information in electronic form. Personal data managers may be portable, hand-held devices, computer software, or a combination of those tools working together by "sharing" data.

Optical character recognition
This technology allows a user to scan printed material into a computer or handheld unit. The scanned text is then read aloud via a speech synthesis/screen reading system. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is available as stand-alone units, computer software, and as portable, pocket-sized devices.

Personal FM listening systems
A personal FM listening system transmits a speaker's voice directly to the user's ear. This may help the listener focus on what the speaker is saying. The unit consists of a wireless transmitter (with microphone) worn by the speaker and a receiver (with earphone) worn by the listener.

Portable word processors
A portable word processor is lightweight device that is easy to transport (e.g., from classroom to home). It can be helpful to kids who may have trouble writing by hand and prefer to use a keyboard. Word processing allows the user to edit and correct his written work more efficiently than doing so by hand.

Proofreading programs
Students who struggle with writing (e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage, and sentence structure) may benefit from software programs (included in many word processing systems) that scan word processing documents and alert the user to possible errors.

Speech-recognition programs
A speech recognition program works in conjunction with a word processor. The user "dictates" into a microphone, and his spoken words appear on the computer screen as text. This can help a user whose oral language ability is better than his writing skills.

Speech synthesizers/screen readers
These systems can display and read aloud text on a computer screen, including text that has been typed by the user, scanned in from printed pages (e.g., books, letters), or text appearing on the Internet.

Talking calculators
A talking calculator has a built-in speech synthesizer that reads aloud each number, symbol, or operation key a user presses; it also vocalizes the answer to the problem. This auditory feedback may help him check the accuracy of the keys he presses and verify the answer before he transfers it to paper.

Talking spell checkers and electronic dictionaries
Talking spell checkers and electronic dictionaries can help a poor speller select or identify appropriate words and correct spelling errors during the process of writing and proofreading. Talking devices "read aloud" and display the selected words onscreen, so the user can see and hear the words.

Variable-speed tape recorders
Tape recorders/players allow a user to listen to pre-recorded text or to capture spoken information (e.g., a classroom lecture) and play it back later. Variable speed control (VSC) tape recorders speed up or slow down the playback rate without distorting the "speaker's" voice.

Word-prediction programs
Word prediction software can help a user during word processing by "predicting" a word the user intends to type. Predictions are based on spelling, syntax, and frequent/recent use. This prompts kids who struggle with writing to use proper spelling, grammar, and word choices, with fewer keystrokes.

Assistive technology (AT) is available to help individuals with many types of disabilities — from cognitive problems to physical impairment.