I Went Ahead and Proved Them Wrong: A Talk with Katie Selby

Because of her language impairment and learning disabilities, Katie Selby was often told that she wasn't 'college material.' After learning how to advocate for herself in high school, Katie went on to earn the degree she had been dreaming of, and now brings her life experience into the classroom as a paraeducator for students with disabilities. 

Transcript

Lauren Clouser:

Welcome to the LDA podcast. a series by the Learning Disabilities Association of America. Our podcast is dedicated to exploring topics of intro to educators, individuals of learning disabilities, parents and professionals to work towards our goal of creating a more equitable world.

Lauren Clouser:

Hi, everyone. Welcome to the LDA podcast. I'm here today with Katie Selby, the College Material Girl. I thank you so much for being here on the show, Katie. So can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Katie Selby:

I am a person with a language impairment and learning disabilities. I had people in my life tell me that I wasn't college material, even though I had disabilities. So I went ahead and proved them wrong and went to college and got the degree that I wanted. And I'm a paraeducator as well for children with disabilities.

Lauren Clouser:

That's awesome. And I can't wait to dive into that a little bit more later. But to start, could you tell us a little bit about your journey with learning disabilities, including your diagnosis?

Katie Selby:

I began my special education journey at the age of three, and they continued through high school. I was diagnosed with a language impairment at the age of three. At that age, I communicated by using gestures and pointing to get my needs met. I didn't say my first sentence until I was 5. To this day, I wish I knew what my first full sentence was. I don't remember and neither do my parents. 

After I started kindergarten, I was diagnosed with learning disabilities. My learning disabilities are in reading comprehension, written expression, and math. It takes me time to understand what I'm reading, and sometimes I need clarification from other people. As I am reading a book, I take my time to comprehend what I am reading. I also have my phone nearby so I can look up definitions of words I do not know. With my written expression, it takes me time to come up with the right words to form sentences. With my math disability, I need lots of support to understand math concepts, especially algebra.

Lauren Clouser:

So could you tell us a little bit about what your school experience is like?

Katie Selby:

When I was in elementary and middle school, when I didn't understand the assignments, I typically waited for my teachers to notice my facial expressions. I was afraid to ask for help. I didn't believe that asking for clarification would help me. I didn't really learn self advocacy skills until I was in high school. That was when I learned to ask for clarification, if I didn't understand an assignment or test question. During my junior year of high school, I was in 3 classes within classes, which means that I had a general education teacher as well as a special education teacher in the same class. The 2 teachers co-taught to support students. 

In those classes, I learned how to be an advocate for myself. I also had a great rapport with a speech and language teacher who helped me learn the skills I needed to speak up for myself. She taught me to ask my general education teacher for clarification first instead of always waiting and going to her with my questions. So I learned to first go to the general education teacher. And if I still didn't understand, only then I would go to my special education teacher. 

In my junior year of high school, I was in a resource room study hall to get support with my classes. I was in that study hall for a few weeks. I then realized I was not receiving the support I needed. I felt like the speech and language teacher who taught 2 of my classes understood my way of learning and knew how to explain my high school courses and assignments to me in a way that I could understand them. She knew my learning style well, and she taught me how to utilize it to complete my assignments and study for tests. I felt that I would do better in her study hall. So for the first time, I spoke up and advocated for myself. I asked to be switched to the study hall class that was best for me. 

I maintained the advocacy skills I learned during my junior year of high school and I continued to use those skills to get me through my senior year. When I didn't understand something, I asked my general education teachers more questions. I also utilized my advocacy skills when I was in the process of transitioning from high school to college. I spoke up for myself when meeting with the disability service office to make sure that I would receive the accommodations I needed.

Lauren Clouser:

That's great. Well, and it sounds like that self advocacy was able to open a lot of doors for you, and it's really fortunate to have that connection with your teacher.

Katie Selby:

Yes. And I don't know where I would be without her today.

Lauren Clouser:

Yeah. That's fantastic. All it takes is one person. So could you tell us a little bit about the social emotional journey that you went through while you were experiencing some difficulties in the classroom?

Katie Selby:

In preschool, I didn't have any friends since I was nonverbal. I didn't play with the other kids. The only friends I had were my Cabbage Patch Doll, Feirani, my brother, Alan, and my cousins. I didn't make friends until I started to verbally communicate. I made my first friend in kindergarten, and we are still friends today. Since I grew up in the special education system, all of my friends are people with disabilities. I was mainly around that population, so it was easier for me to connect with peers. 

I like to tell people that my friends and I are friends like everyone else. We are friends because we understand each other and support each other. Since none of my siblings or others in my immediate family are people with disabilities, I felt that I was different, and I wish that I could have completed my homework independently like my siblings did. When I hung out with my friends, though, because we learned academic skills in the same way, we had a connection. I finally felt like I wasn't different. 

In my special education classes, I felt that I was looked over a lot because I was the quiet girl who would always do what the teachers said. I know now that being overlooked did not help me learn the self advocacy skills I needed to be successful in school.

Lauren Clouser:

Well you're the 'College Material Girl,' and that's largely because a lot of people told you that you weren't college material, that you shouldn't go to college. So when did you start getting those messages? And what sort of effect did it have on you?

Katie Selby:

During my transitioning years of high school, I had a high school guidance counselor tell me that I should get a job as a childcare worker instead of going to college. Also, after I received my associate's degree, my parents told me that maybe more college wasn't for me. My mom told me that in the career field I was planning to go into I would have to be able to read body language. And because of my disability, I wouldn't be able to read facial expressions. I had a vocational rehab counselor tell me that maybe I should just look for a job instead. I also had some professors who I could tell did not believe in me or that I could complete college classes.

Lauren Clouser:

That's really unfortunate. But, again, you are here today because you didn't listen to that. So what made you decide to go to college or for further schooling, further college?

Katie Selby:

When people told me that college was not a good idea, I was discouraged at first. I thought, why would someone tell me that? I just wanted to be like my siblings and see if I could accomplish what they did. After people advised me not to go to college because I couldn't handle the academics, I thought to myself that I should at least try college and see what I could handle. If I found I couldn't get through the classes, I could then just look for a job instead. Throughout my educational career, I have had the drive to try everything. I've always wanted to challenge myself to see what I can accomplish. After getting my bachelor of science degree, it felt amazing. I was like, Look what I just did. I completed college. I proved everyone wrong.

Lauren Clouser:

Absolutely. Well, and now you work as a para educator with students with disabilities. Can you tell us a little bit about your work with that?

Katie Selby:

Because I am a person with a disability who didn't get the support I needed to realize my dreams, I decided to support individuals with disabilities in the school setting. In my work as a para educator, I support my students with their goals and help them become as independent as they can be. I encourage them to utilize the support of their friends and family and develop relationships with people who understand them.

Lauren Clouser:

That's great. It sounds like your own life experience has sort of shaped how you approach it. You're able to understand a lot of your students better.

Katie Selby:

Yes. My life experiences have had a huge impact on how I approach teaching my students as a para educator. I make sure my students have a voice. I encourage them to speak up for themselves. When my students are in younger grades, I begin the work of instilling how important it is for them to learn self advocacy skills. I do that because I didn't didn't get the opportunity to learn those skills when I was their age.

Lauren Clouser:

But, the writing that you do and the advocacy work that you do, why was it important for you to share your story and to get it out there?

Katie Selby:

I started to share my story with The Mighty. It's a blog site for people with disabilities. They had a blog post asking people to write about their college experiences for new incoming students with disabilities who are looking at going into college. So I shared that story, and then I shared it with many other social media pages. And I'm doing all this advocacy work because I feel it's important for children to learn the self advocacy skills at a young age because I never received that until I was a junior in high school.

Lauren Clouser:

Right. The earlier, the better. Well, that's fantastic. So I just have one more question for you, and that is, do you have any advice about resilience or perseverance that you'd like to share with individuals with LD?

Katie Selby:

I would tell them this. If anyone that tells you that you shouldn't go to college or find the career you want, don't give up. Find a way to persevere. Find the people who will help you. Find the support system you need to build your confidence and be successful so you can reach your dreams as well.

Lauren Clouser:

Thank you, Katie. I think that's great advice. Alright, well, thank you so much for talking with us today, Katie. We really appreciate having you on the show, and thank you for your advocacy.

Katie Selby:

You're welcome.

Lauren Clouser:

Thank you for listening to the LDA podcast. To learn more about LDA. and to get valuable resources and support. visit ldaamerica.org.