Katie Wright
6th Period

One in every five Americans has special needs. The most common that we’ve all heard of are Autism, ADHD/ADD, Dyscalculia and Dyslexia. Since I’ve become a peer tutor this year, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting numerous great kids with learning disabilities. One girl stood out to me, her name is Catelynn and she has Williams Syndrome. Catelynn has inspired me to choose Williams Syndrome if I was born with a disability. Williams Syndrome is a genetic disease that causes cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning disabilities. In opposition to the negative side effects, there are a few positive ones too such as high social personalities and a unique love for music. Being a bit of a shy person, I would assume that this syndrome would help me become more socially interactive. I’ve witnessed this first hand with Catelynn when she visited me at work; she was very friendly to all the customers and wanted to make sure they were all having a good day. I would want others to refer to Williams Syndrome as only a slight disability, and not a big deal at all. I would really hope they would treat me as they would treat everyone else; but I realize this can be difficult for some people who don’t know how to act around special needs kids even though they’re just like you or me. Having Williams Syndrome would make me feel connected to everyone with and without disabilities because I’d be able to make conversation with everyone around me without an issue. While working with Catelynn, I’ve realized we have quite a bit in common; we both enjoy the same bands, have the same favorite ice cream flavor and both love to attend sporting events. Some of the accommodations that I think I would need to attend school would be someone to help answer my questions about the topics we’re covering in class to help me better understand the assignments. I work