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>>FWIW, any parent of more than one kid can tell you about the kinds of differences their kids are born with.
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>I was the proverbial "certified genius at the age of five". My brother was born with severe dyslexia and cerebral palsy and was severely hyperactive - in short, he was a total mess and there were fears he'd never graduate high school.
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>He wound up going into the Marines, got some special awards (I forget what they were), reads regularly, has his own construction business, and helps his adopted teenage daughter with her homework. He overcame.
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>So I know what you are talking about - but it's still not really relevant. Obstacles are often opportunities to overcome.

But you still need someone or something to give you a chance. I imagine your brother got a lot of therapy, both for the CP and the dyslexia. Now imagine that he'd been born with the same disabilities to a poor 16-year-old girl in an inner city. What are the odds he would have gotten all the care he needed to become successful?

My sister has a son with special needs. He's 17 now and doing wonderfully, but it's because he had parents who fought every step of the way to get him what he needed. They had enough money that, although it hurt, my sister could step hours and hours and hours making calls and dealing with doctors and schools and everything else that was needed. Plus my BIL is a lawyer with the right skill set to handle a lot of the legal battles that were needed (though an outside lawyer was needed as well). Getting his needs met was nearly a full-time job and a lot of families wouldn't have been able to spend the time and wouldn't have known how to do it.
Given the obstacles he faced, he was very fortunate to be born into this particular family.

Tamar