Anonymous, high school student

I go to a public high school in Texas, and my pronouns are She/Her. I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome (Hypermobility, to be specific.). At school, my disability effects me most of the time. In the hallways, I feel like I often am pushing myself to move faster than I can, and I end up tripping and falling a lot of the time due to shoving or unexpected movements from my peers. The stairs at school are a pain, and I’ve fallen on them many times due to congested hallways. Extended time during passing period can be negotiated with the principle, however as a student with anxiety it is very hard to communicate my issues to adults. Disabled and injured students are allowed to use the elevators, however most of the time able bodied students crowd them take advantage of them. As it hurts to walk much of the time, it’s devastating to see. I also have trouble writing for long periods of time, as my joints start hurting. As a disabled student, I wish teachers knew that there are things I physically cannot do. To the majority of students, writing an essay in 45 minutes may be easy, but for me, it’s hard to even get past the first paragraph without cramping up. I’m hurting as I type this. I also wish that able students would not take advantage of disabled students tools. I wish there were a way to make the elevators only accessible to those who actually need it, and not for able bodied teenagers who want to joke around and shove their friends in there for fun. I am also hispanic, and there have been times where I have been teased. I normally stay quiet in classes when i am in pain, causing me to not talk much. Many times my peers have assumed I do not speak English (despite that it is my first language.) Overall, having a disability often makes me feel alienated in school. I feel like my fellow students see me as a burden while I walk my own pace in the hallways, and I always find myself having to push through rude remarks or snickers coming from behind me when I fall or walk “too slow”. I wish students were kinder, and I wish teachers actively asked for ways to improve their school for disabled students.