Melissa
There once was a girl named "Melissa". She was quiet, shy, moody, sensitive and strange. She often felt out of place in this world.
That girl evolved into a woman. She is intense, weird, passionate, creative and full of wonder. She still feels out of place, but she has learned that being out of place is the best place to be.
Melissa, also known these days as "Woman Extraordinaire", is doing quite well for herself. She lives, breathes, loves, creates and submerges herself in water on a regular basis. It's a truly marvelous existence.
Melissa, both as a girl and a woman, has lived with mental health disabilities. It has made her life interesting, to say the least. Melissa considers herself lucky. She believes that nothing is completely negative; there is always something positive that dwells beneath even the darkest portals of life. She searches for "Perfect Moments in Time" and collects them to remind her of how awe inspiring and beautiful things are if looked at from the right perspective
Melissa would like to thank all of the kindred spirits who have helped along the way. They have given more than was ever expected. Hopefully they are aware of how much they are appreciated; she does her best to inform others of the bliss they bestow upon her.
Sonya
I am Sonya Burchell. I gradation from Sir John A. MacDonald high school in June 30, 2006. I have two disabilities they are fibromyalgia and reading disabilities. I will be taking the 4-Youth program.
Nick
My name is Nick I'm 21 years old. I live in Glengarry, Nova Scotia. I graduated from Sir John A Mc Donald High School in June 30 2006. I took a year off school to see what I wanted to do with my life and then I got referred to team work and took a resume courses with them.
I also took a mega and asset program with ReachAbility and the course I took at ReachAbility were about time management and interview skills. Then I took the youth program with ReachAbility and my hobbies outside of work are computers, video games and hang out with my friends.
Andrew
My name is Andrew and I have some disabilities. The first two were detected when I was a teenager, they are Dysgraphia and Dyscaluclia.
Dyscalulia refers to a limited capacity to understand graphs and other mathematical representations. This was detected when I was a teenager, just as I was completing my grade 11 year. The Psychologists report indicated that it was a wonder that I managed to attain the basic math requirements for High School completion.
Since I began post secondary education, I have stayed away from programs that have required a knowledge of math skills. However, that did not stop from pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science witch had very little math skills involved. I then moved on to paralegal studies witch again, had little to no math skills involved.
Dysgraphia, involves difficulties with graph reading, mathematics and the mechanics of writing. When I was in Junior High, the earliest signs of this disability were detected. My teachers noticed that my ability to write legibly and organize my school work. This was countered by providing me with a laptop to use during class and for my exams.
Since this point I have been able to use a laptop for my various stages of my education and it has made all the difference. However my Dysgraphia has been a problem for as I have had difficulty reading various charts and graphs. In terms of my educational pursuits, I have dealt with this disability by focusing on strengths rather than on my weaknesses.
Both Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia are under the broad category of visual motor, witch as always been a problem. I was diagnosed with Depression when I was in University a Bipolar diagnoses followed a short time after. This has been a much more difficult diagnosis to cope with. Before I had been diagnosed I was not sleeping well and had been on edge people all the time.
It took a few years to get the correct medication types and dosages. As a result of this my work and school performances were not as successful as they could have been, to make matters worse the group of professionals that I was involved with were reluctant to change anything about the types and dosage levels that I had been taking. As well they were not all that supportive in my career choices.
However since I have been back in Halifax, I have the right dosage of medication and I have managed to find a network of supportive people who have a vested interest in my success.
