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(C)APD and PIDD, probably the two most important acronyms in my life. (C)APD, or (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder and PIDD, Primary Immune Deficiency Disease. I would have to say that these conditions are the most influential factors of my life, directly and through my sister.

(C)APD is a disorder that affects the way the brain processes auditory information. They cannot process the information they hear in the same way as others do, which leads to difficulties in recognizing and interpreting sounds, especially the sounds composing speech. This is considered a disability under several categories: learning, auditory, and speech & language. My younger sister and I both have this from chronic childhood ear infections.

We were both diagnosed at a young age, but there was a huge discrepancy between us growing up with it. My sister knew she had (C)APD and received accommodations for it. I had neither. Unbeknownst to me at the time, after I was diagnosed, my school district denied me any sort of help or accommodations. My grades were fine and furthermore, I was tested and identified as GT (gifted and talented). Growing up, all of my social awkwardness, poor relationships, lack of friends, etc was attributed to my GT.

It was not until high school that I learned about or fully grasped my diagnosis of (C)APD. Knowing my GT status and being a stubborn teenager, I dismissed it and had nothing to do with it. That is, until college came along. Instead of the high school graduate with a 3.9 GPA, my grades dropped to a 2.0 amongst classes of 400+, poor acoustics, and horrendous accents. It was then that I reconsidered my diagnosis. I was having problems. I got retested and received accommodations...and my grades went up.

PIDD is a disorder in which part of the body's immune system is missing or does not function properly. My sister has a very rare immunodeficiency for which there are no treatment options or cures. We only found out a few years ago, when she was 15. Living on my own for college, this does not affect me as much anymore. Growing up, this was an integral part of the entire family's lives. Now all I have to deal with is mild germophobia and visits with the family.

I am now in my senior year of college, about to embark on the next stage of my life. Truth be told, it's scary. As I'm being apprehensive about my future, I've found myself reflecting on my life so far and seeing how it's all come together. It's only been within the past few years that there have been labels attached to my experiences. Hopefully my experiences can aide others in their journeys as someone with or a loved one of someone with (C)APD and/or PIDD.