The other day I was talking to a friend of mine and I mentioned that I'd be taking my exam with Disability Support Services (AKA DSS). The following conversation went like this.

Friend: You're in DSS?

Me: Yeah

Friend: But you're in the Honors College

Me: Yeah...

Friend: I didn't realize that you could be in both

This comment bothered me a little. I have a learning disability. I have ADHD (well I actually have ADD, no hyperactivity) and Executive Functioning Disorders. I take medication daily, and when I forget I am super tired and can't pay attention.

I'm also in the Honors College after I applied and was accepted based on my grades and essay. So should I not be granted accommodations for my disability just because I'm "smart" enough to be in the Honors College? Absolutely not.

Here's the deal-- the reason that I was able to get into the Honors College in the first place is that I already had the accommodations in High School. Without my meds and my 504 plan, I certainly wouldn't have been able to maintain a 3.7 unweighted GPA. And my meds and 504 plan didn't give me an advantage. It gave me an even playing field.

Having a disability doesn't make one any less intelligent. I'm sure that a lot of other students in the Honors College have learning disabilities as well. Although I have ADD I'm one of the lucky ones because I naturally pick up on things quickly, and so I don't have to work SUPER hard. However, not everyone with ADD who's "smart" is as lucky.

A lot of people with ADD may have to put in twice the time and effort as someone without but are still just as "smart." ADD and other learning disabilities actually have some advantages. People with ADD have heightened skills such as creativity and empathy. It's no coincidence that many successful people have learning disabilities.

Probably some of the most famous are Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Spielberg, Daniel Radcliffe, and Michael Phelps, just to name a few. But also there are a lot of great business minds, people who fit the common idea of what it means to be "smart" who have learning disabilities such as Ingvar Kamprad (founder of Ikea), Sir Richard Branson (billionaire entrepreneur), and for all you "Shark Tank" fans like myself, Barbara Corcoran (real estate entrepreneur).

Also there's the whole issue of people thinking that smartness equivocates with good grades-which it doesn't- but that's an issue for another time. Bottom line is, I can be "smart" and still have a learning disability, and I'm super proud to be a member of both DSS and The Honors College.