Starting in my early childhood, I was put into the Special Education program at the age of three due to having multiple disabilities (mild stroke and autism). I had a hard time talking and walking during my age because all I could do is point and crawl during that time. I didn't learn how to walk until I was three years old and I didn't learn how to talk until I was four. At the time, I didn't even think about my classmates being classified as "retarded" people as I played with them just anyone would do in certain situation. Although I am one of the most popular kids in Special Ed, the mainstream kids thought otherwise because they thought I was "retarded", but nothing is further from the truth. The kids would make fun of me and called me "fat kid", Alien Nation (because of my oversized head), and the kids would put me on the wall. It wasn't very fun for me in grade school and getting picked severely on because of the situation that I have no control over and I didn't have a choice at the time.
When I first entered middle school, just like grade school, I struggled with adjusting to new things and I had run-ins with bullies and troublemakers (both regular and special ed classmates). It wasn't until I was in seventh grade that mainstream kids finally accepted me thanks to my middle school TV appearance about my knowledge of Pro Football trivia (from 1960 to present). From 1995 to 1997, these were basically the happiest moments of my life.
Edmonds, WA