THIS-ABILITY: Building Visible and Invisible Bridges
About the role
Back to the Magazine|Archive Issue 03
June 2026
Career Journey
Contributor
THIS-ABILITY: Building Visible and Invisible Bridges
A bridge builder transforms DISABILITY to THIS-Ability, a crucial role in Special Education.
By
Adeyinka Oluwasayo Esther
Published
June 30, 2026
Issue
03
June 2026
Read
3 min
Submitted by Adeyinka Oluwasayo Esther
Build With Her Magazine
The first unofficial job I got as a special education teacher was in my sophomore year in 2016. My lecturer called me that afternoon to be a tutor for a child with a comorbidity: learning disabilities and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). It was my first paid practical experience, and nothing prepared me for what I encountered. When I got inside the apartment of a young woman with three children, the first child, a handsome 9-year-old boy, ran from the living room and raced outside as soon as the door flung open.
He went swiftly down the stairs and turned towards the bushy path at the back of the house. His mother ran after him, hoping to prevent him from getting hurt, and I stood looking confused. My first impression of the entire scenario was quite unskilled. You could tell concern was written boldly on my face, and questions were running through my mind.
I don’t think I can handle this boy.
How am I going to turn down this job offer?
Is it possible to get a male teacher instead?
What if I don't know what to do to help?
What if this job is harder than I imagined?
The reality of special education dawned on me, and patience became an intentional lesson.
I specialized in Learning Disabilities among the 7 specializations in special education at the University of Ibadan. This was the broadest and lengthiest specialization, and it was a popular saying among my lecturers that everyone has learning disabilities. In other words, they meant that there must be at least one academic area in which someone struggles, even when that person is intellectually sound. The invisibility of learning disabilities can lead a teacher to question why a student still struggles academically despite adequate intelligence, so the initial bridge to build is between potential and performance.
Furthermore, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities featured the theme "Not all disabilities are visible" in 2020. Among these disabilities is a learning disability. It is not immediately obvious, like hearing or visual impairment, physical challenges, and intellectual disabilities. Sometimes it stays unnoticed for years, and a child might wait and fail repeatedly before it becomes recognized. You can call it the INVISIBLE THREAT in special education.
I eventually took the job, and my experiences enlightened me about the role of a bridge builder. For this young boy, I became a bridge. Bridges are agents of connection, established to fill up spaces created by known and unknown circumstances. My role looked easy, yet complex. I strive to fill up the spaces created by exclusion and classroom discrimination. I build relationships between parents and teachers to strengthen partnerships, close gaps in areas of difficulty and dependency, ensure limitations are not portrayed more than potential, and performance does not underestimate possibility.
Every other student with special needs I had an opportunity to teach, whether they present with visible or invisible disabilities, continually reminds me of the role of a bridge builder. Dis-Ability will become THIS-Ability if the bridge builders- parents, teachers, classmates, and caregivers know that love is the first intervention a child with special needs requires. The strongest bridges are not built by comparison, punishment, communication barriers, isolated skills, or inconsistency. Love, patience, and empathy are instruments in the hands of a bridge builder, useful for teaching and reteaching, narrowing differences, and transforming Disability to THIS-Ability.
THIS-Ability can become an internationally recognized author, speaker, and advocate for people with disabilities just like Helen Keller.
THIS- Ability can become an inspirational speaker, bestselling author, and founder of a global ministry encouraging millions worldwide, just like Nick Vujicic.
THIS-Ability can become a professional dancer using a prosthetic leg and be widely celebrated like Sudha Chandran.
THIS-Ability can thrive in the midst of impossibilities when the bridge builders arise to their responsibilities.
THIS-Ability can be strengthened in such a way that the unexpected and unachievable becomes anticipated progress.
Collaborate, integrate, adapt, instruct, and support. Each new role in my career allows me to build a bridge again and again. Yet again, I am dedicated to doing this for a lifetime.
A Note From The Editors
Enjoying these stories?
Build With Her exists to document the journeys, lessons, challenges, and breakthroughs of women building in technology.
You do not need a perfect career.
You do not need a large audience.
You only need a story that might help another woman.
Share Your Story
About Build with Her
“I looked around and could not find quite the place I imagined. A place where women could share their stories, make their knowledge and experiences visible, build their reputation and create opportunities. So I decided to build it.”
This belief from Tarak, founder of Build with Her, sums up everything that makes Build with Her what it is. It has been our guiding idea from the beginning.
LinkedIn exists. YouTube exists. Résumés exist. But we believe something is still missing: a place where women's stories, experiences, ideas and expertise can come together and become part of something bigger, their professional reputation.
Every day, we are building that place with commitment, curiosity and the belief that what women have lived, learned and built deserves to be visible.
Built through stories: At Build with Her, we believe in the power of stories. Every woman carries knowledge, experiences and perspectives shaped by her own journey. When those stories are shared, they can demonstrate expertise, build reputation, inspire others and create opportunities.
Build with Her Magazine is where this begins. A place where women can share their stories in their own voices and build a body of work that grows with them.
We are building the place we wanted to see in the world. And we invite you to build it with us.
Stories. Reputation. Opportunities.
Build with Her.
Similar Jobs
THIS-ABILITY: Building Visible and Invisible Bridges
About the role
Back to the Magazine|Archive Issue 03
June 2026
Career Journey
Contributor
THIS-ABILITY: Building Visible and Invisible Bridges
A bridge builder transforms DISABILITY to THIS-Ability, a crucial role in Special Education.
By
Adeyinka Oluwasayo Esther
Published
June 30, 2026
Issue
03
June 2026
Read
3 min
Submitted by Adeyinka Oluwasayo Esther
Build With Her Magazine
The first unofficial job I got as a special education teacher was in my sophomore year in 2016. My lecturer called me that afternoon to be a tutor for a child with a comorbidity: learning disabilities and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). It was my first paid practical experience, and nothing prepared me for what I encountered. When I got inside the apartment of a young woman with three children, the first child, a handsome 9-year-old boy, ran from the living room and raced outside as soon as the door flung open.
He went swiftly down the stairs and turned towards the bushy path at the back of the house. His mother ran after him, hoping to prevent him from getting hurt, and I stood looking confused. My first impression of the entire scenario was quite unskilled. You could tell concern was written boldly on my face, and questions were running through my mind.
I don’t think I can handle this boy.
How am I going to turn down this job offer?
Is it possible to get a male teacher instead?
What if I don't know what to do to help?
What if this job is harder than I imagined?
The reality of special education dawned on me, and patience became an intentional lesson.
I specialized in Learning Disabilities among the 7 specializations in special education at the University of Ibadan. This was the broadest and lengthiest specialization, and it was a popular saying among my lecturers that everyone has learning disabilities. In other words, they meant that there must be at least one academic area in which someone struggles, even when that person is intellectually sound. The invisibility of learning disabilities can lead a teacher to question why a student still struggles academically despite adequate intelligence, so the initial bridge to build is between potential and performance.
Furthermore, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities featured the theme "Not all disabilities are visible" in 2020. Among these disabilities is a learning disability. It is not immediately obvious, like hearing or visual impairment, physical challenges, and intellectual disabilities. Sometimes it stays unnoticed for years, and a child might wait and fail repeatedly before it becomes recognized. You can call it the INVISIBLE THREAT in special education.
I eventually took the job, and my experiences enlightened me about the role of a bridge builder. For this young boy, I became a bridge. Bridges are agents of connection, established to fill up spaces created by known and unknown circumstances. My role looked easy, yet complex. I strive to fill up the spaces created by exclusion and classroom discrimination. I build relationships between parents and teachers to strengthen partnerships, close gaps in areas of difficulty and dependency, ensure limitations are not portrayed more than potential, and performance does not underestimate possibility.
Every other student with special needs I had an opportunity to teach, whether they present with visible or invisible disabilities, continually reminds me of the role of a bridge builder. Dis-Ability will become THIS-Ability if the bridge builders- parents, teachers, classmates, and caregivers know that love is the first intervention a child with special needs requires. The strongest bridges are not built by comparison, punishment, communication barriers, isolated skills, or inconsistency. Love, patience, and empathy are instruments in the hands of a bridge builder, useful for teaching and reteaching, narrowing differences, and transforming Disability to THIS-Ability.
THIS-Ability can become an internationally recognized author, speaker, and advocate for people with disabilities just like Helen Keller.
THIS- Ability can become an inspirational speaker, bestselling author, and founder of a global ministry encouraging millions worldwide, just like Nick Vujicic.
THIS-Ability can become a professional dancer using a prosthetic leg and be widely celebrated like Sudha Chandran.
THIS-Ability can thrive in the midst of impossibilities when the bridge builders arise to their responsibilities.
THIS-Ability can be strengthened in such a way that the unexpected and unachievable becomes anticipated progress.
Collaborate, integrate, adapt, instruct, and support. Each new role in my career allows me to build a bridge again and again. Yet again, I am dedicated to doing this for a lifetime.
A Note From The Editors
Enjoying these stories?
Build With Her exists to document the journeys, lessons, challenges, and breakthroughs of women building in technology.
You do not need a perfect career.
You do not need a large audience.
You only need a story that might help another woman.
Share Your Story
About Build with Her
“I looked around and could not find quite the place I imagined. A place where women could share their stories, make their knowledge and experiences visible, build their reputation and create opportunities. So I decided to build it.”
This belief from Tarak, founder of Build with Her, sums up everything that makes Build with Her what it is. It has been our guiding idea from the beginning.
LinkedIn exists. YouTube exists. Résumés exist. But we believe something is still missing: a place where women's stories, experiences, ideas and expertise can come together and become part of something bigger, their professional reputation.
Every day, we are building that place with commitment, curiosity and the belief that what women have lived, learned and built deserves to be visible.
Built through stories: At Build with Her, we believe in the power of stories. Every woman carries knowledge, experiences and perspectives shaped by her own journey. When those stories are shared, they can demonstrate expertise, build reputation, inspire others and create opportunities.
Build with Her Magazine is where this begins. A place where women can share their stories in their own voices and build a body of work that grows with them.
We are building the place we wanted to see in the world. And we invite you to build it with us.
Stories. Reputation. Opportunities.
Build with Her.