Leigha Walker could’ve sketched where the paint was chipping in her elementary school’s hallways, the cracks and stains on its floor, with blueprint precision.

Teachers, she says, didn’t know what to do with a student like her . ADHD. Autism.

She moved up grades, changed classrooms, but their refrain stayed the same: You’re smart, but we can’t really support you. You can’t sit still. You can’t stop talking. You can’t. You can’t. You can’t.

“So, their solution? Put you in the hallway,” Walker said.

By middle school, she lost interest in learning.

And as a young adult, she failed out of Des Moines Area Community College twice. The hallway hadn’t prepared her to problem-solve all the challenges college presented: Balancing work and family and school, and navigating interpersonal r

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