My name is Lara Bailey and I have Fragile X. My carrier status is that I am a mosaic. I have both the full mutation and the pre-mutation. It was passed down from my mother’s side of the family. I am not affected by my Fragile X too much, but school was not without challenges. I was diagnosed in 1986 when I was just 8 eight years old after my teacher noticed I was struggling with math. Through hard work with my resource teacher, I caught up with my classmates and even held the record for the most times tables done in a minute. I got through the rest of school with a myriad of tutors, supportive parents, special modifications for tests and in the classroom. I even attended a private school one year that was specifically for kids who had learning disabilities. I graduated from high school and went on to college where I earned a bachelor’s degree. I even managed to make the Dean’s list almost every semester and made the Chancellor’s list in my final semester of school. I graduated with a 3.2 GPA. I currently work at a university in my home town where I am the student services manager.
I attended my first Fragile X Conference in Asheville where I served on a panel of females with Fragile X where we spoke about our challenges and experience while living with Fragile X. I have also had the pleasure of speaking about my experience at my first national conference in Detroit, MI last year. I had a wonderful time at the conference and met some amazing people who are affected by this disorder and the families that love them. I was really inspired by all the people I met while I was there and can’t wait to see them all again in Miami next year.