The Student Experience

I always felt like having a learning disability was enough to deal with but to have a mental health issue on top of it was something I thought I could never get over. I blamed myself for what happened: maybe I should have known. I had recently started my Bachelor’s degree at Colby Sawyer College in New Hampshire. Things were a struggle there. I attended classes and had good grades, but wasn't fully myself. I was isolated, depressed, I just chalked it up to the stress of studies, exams, maybe I was pushing myself too hard. Unbeknownst to me, and all the stress beneath me, I was in the throes of psychosis. It was April of 2009 and I would end up in the hospital for a month.

Emily Gordon—not her real name—describes the multiple layers of advocacy required to get accommodations in her Master of Social Work program.

Tedesco first wrote Jail while she was still in high school in 9/9/96. It has been published in a variety of journals, and is used hear by permission.