My name is Jordan Toma and I am 33 years old. I have achieved several types of success in my life, even though I always felt I would amount to very little. From a young student dealing with learning disabilities and feeling helpless, to parents and a system that I thought didn’t understand me, and could not help me - I never felt I was good enough for anything much less good enough to become something. I have made it my life’s goal to share everything I did to change my life from what I thought it would be, to what I have made it

I am the #1 Youth Motivational Speaker who now also speaks at corporate events and conferences as well as leadership summits in the United States as well as internationally. I promise you, it was not easy. I have a story just like yours. I know and understand your struggle, I have lived it my entire life. It took me this long to understand that my struggle is my strength.

The first 18 years of my life I thought my learning disabilities would prevent me from simply being normal. Being successful wasn’t even a thought, I was too busy focusing on how different I was from everyone else. I learned to wear what makes me different like a badge of honor and I am passionate about sharing how I became the person I am today because of it.

My life has been a roller-coaster discovering how to embrace my learning disabilities. That term dominated my life throughout school and devastated my confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, and awareness. I constantly compared myself to everyone around me and let those comparisons define me, my mood, attitude, and feelings. To me, "learning disability" became a label plastered on my shirt for everyone to see, laugh at and know I was different.

I struggled with listening, reading, paying attention, being present, and of course trying to understand why I couldn’t pick things up like everyone else did. I remember sitting in class and telling myself I am going to really try hard to understand everything and be a normal student, but I just couldn’t grasp the material. The struggle was real, and led to required special lessons, which led to bullying from other students.

After graduating high school in 2008, Centenary University accepted me into a life changing program called Step Ahead. When I moved into the Centenary University dorm that summer, filled with fear and anxiety, I looked at myself in the mirror and promised I was going to change my life and no longer allow my struggle to define me. From that day forward, I stopped being who I thought I was and started becoming who I am. I began the hard work of building a foundation of confidence and belief, brick by brick.

A new journey has begun for me, a journey where I show others how to transform their struggle into their strength. I help students, parents, educators, and professionals create a foundation of belief, confidence, and strong work ethic to become the best you can be.

Jordan Toma - I'm Just A Kid With An IEP