Disability Awareness Week

Name & Pronouns: Gabby Canessa

Year: Senior

Major(s)/Minor(s): Psychology Major and Chinese Minor

A little about myself:

I am from Farmington, MN and have a little sister and two younger brothers. I work at Gorecki and I am a student supervisor and physiological T.A. for psychology. In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with friends!

How my disability has impacted my life:

I suffer from anxiety and depression and I have a reading comprehension disability as well. There are good days and bad days, but during the bad days, it is hard to focus on school and focus on work. It is like a snowball effect at times because things pile up. Reading is tough because it takes like 2-3 hours to read a chapter, when for most people it takes them an hour.

How my disability functions as a strength in my life:

Anxiety and depression have pushed me to be who I am. It has also influenced me to want to become a counselor to help people not suffer with anxiety and depression, and give them a hand in their struggles because I can relate to them.

Barriers to accessibility I would like to bring to light:

There is a lot of stigma around learning disabilities in general. Lots of people have told me that going to a disability center to do testing is cheating and getting an easy way out. It makes me very frustrated, and bringing awareness to people about what learning disabilities are all about would be impactful. In addition, it is important that professors understand what learning disabilities are,  and also how their homework impacts those who experience learning disabilities.