MY TURN
From Bad Speller to Attorney
The importance of focusing on one’s strengths
BY FRANCES SHEFTER, ESQ.

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com to submit a story for
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Washington FAMILY.

34 Washington FAMILY JULY 2022
than once and got my certificate in advocacy.

For those of you who don’t know, only the
top 1% to 5% of law students make it onto
Law Review. I was one of the 1% to 5%, even
though I could not spell and my grammar
was marginal.

Why am I telling you this story, and why
is this story important to me? I do not want
this situation to happen to your children.

Your neurodiverse children are smart. They
might not be able to read well. They might
not be able to do math. Spelling and decod-
ing might be challenging. But that should
not be the focus.

What can your children do? Use their
strengths to bring up the weaknesses. School
systems are different now. They have sup-
ports in place for your children.

Your children deserve to grow up in a pos-
itive and encouraging school environment.

They deserve to know that weaknesses
should not hold them back from reaching
their dreams. As their parent, you can edu-
cate yourself and advocate for appropriate
accommodations and supports in school.

Check out the resource box below for a place
to start. n
Frances Shefter, Esq., is an attorney at Shefter
Law, P.A., based in Maryland. Her firm’s focus
is special education law, and she strives to assist
families in Washington and Maryland have a
Stress-Free IEP experience. Contact her at 301-
605-7303 or frances@shefterlaw.com.

RESOURCES Shefter Law, PA blog and
YouTube channel (links at
shefterlaw.com) U.S. Department of Education:
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA)
(https://sites.ed.gov/idea) wrightslaw.com
PHOTO PROVIDED
A s a little girl growing up, I did not
think I was very smart. I did not
spell well, and I was not great
with grammar. Back then, special education
services were minimal at best. For the few
services that were available, they came with
a negative stigma. I grew up thinking that
I’m not very smart, but that’s OK. I am kind
and giving. I did OK in high school. I remem-
ber meeting with my high school counselor
and having her guide me toward teaching.

I thought, “OK. I love children. This could
be good.”
Luckily, I got into my safety school for col-
lege, a school known for education. I majored
in early childhood education and did OK.

Two weeks after I graduated, I moved to
Florida and got my first full-time teaching
position teaching kindergarten. After a few
years, I went back to school and earned my
master’s degree in special education. I spent
seven years in various elementary school
classrooms and two years as a special edu-
cation coordinator in an alternative middle
and high school.

My career was great, and I was happy—
kind of. I was being considered for a position
at central office, but it did not feel right.

I did not love what I was doing, and I did not
have a passion for it anymore. I was not help-
ing the students in a way that I felt mattered.

Now what? I had always been interested in
law, but I never thought I was smart enough
to go to law school. I thought I’d take the
LSAT, the law school entrance exam, and see
how I do. I got an acceptance letter to Stet-
son University College of Law, and as I read
the letter, I said, “I am going to law school.”
I paused a second and then said, “I am going
to law school!”
During the first year of law school, I often
thought I wasn’t smart enough to be there.

Then I had a mind shift. Obviously, the
admissions committee thought I was smart
enough and showed potential. I set goals for
myself—higher goals than I had ever set—
and I achieved every one of them. I wrote
onto the Law Review, was published more