I have always hated being asked to read aloud, and to this day I still stumble over words, mix things up, and feel anxious when I have to read in front of other people.

As a kid, I would count the students and paragraphs ahead of me so I could secretly practice the section I knew I would have to read, always paying more attention to my panic than the lesson itself.

I spent years thinking this meant I wasn’t very smart, even though I could read, write, and understand the material perfectly well.

Now I’m beginning to wonder if it was never a lack of intelligence at all, but simply another way my brain processes information differently from other people.

If you’ve ever sat in a room dreading your turn to read, please know you weren’t the only one.