Meet Charlotte Trattner of Just Like Me 2 in Sunny Isles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Trattner.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Charlotte. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was younger, I was diagnosed with a learning disability called Apraxia which involves both motor speech and processing disorders making it hard for children to speak and write. I went through eight years of speech therapy to overcome both a lateral and frontal lisp. Throughout the process, I faced constant bullying for my speech impediments and learning disability.

In middle school, I began to compete in an Oral Speech Competition as a form of therapy. During my last and final year, the topic was “How my optimism helps me overcome obstacles.” I spoke about my learning disability and speech impediment, and how despite all the obstacles that stand in my way, I refuse to give up or fall victim to my impediments.

I won the competition and was rewarded a college scholarship. After my speech, someone approached me and urged me to take my show on the road. I ended up creating a community service program called Just Like Me 2, an organization for children with learning disabilities and speech impediments similar to mine. I have been able to speak to local elementary schools, at walks raising money and awareness on Apraxia, and at the National Conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

To continue challenging myself I attended a performing arts high school and studied theater. Theater was the best form of therapy. I even began competing in pageantry to share my story about perseverance, and have the opportunity to expand my volunteerism. I have held titles like Miss Charity Queen US- a system specializing in volunteerism; Miss Teen Earth Florida; Miss Teen US Virgin Islands United States 2015 and placed as a finalist in the Miss Teen United States pageant in the Summer of 2015. I was Miss Coral Gables Teen USA 2015 and placed as a semi-finalist at the Miss Florida Teen USA Pageant. My peers even nominated me as Miss Congeniality. Today, at 21 years old, there isn’t any evidence of a speech impediment.

Now, I am studying Broadcast Journalism at the University of Central Florida. I do not let my disability hold me back. It is my junior year, and I have been able to maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA while being involved in campus organizations, off-campus community involvement and working part-time as a model. My freshman year, I even won the prestigious award as most philanthropic greek on campus.

I write for my school’s branch of The Odyssey, producing a story every week. My first article was about the harassment I suffered in high school. My principal did not believe in learning disabilities, instead, he suggested my Jewish parents labeled me as learning disabled. He continued to make anti-Semitic comments towards me. At the end of my junior year, I left my school because I no longer felt safe there. Instead, I spent my senior year of high school taking twelfth grade English, several college classes at FIU, volunteering and applying to college. Despite having a learning disability, I got accepted into 16 colleges with half a million dollars of college scholarships.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Having a learning disability and a speech impediment make life challenging. Apraxia is a continuum disorder meaning it never really goes away. Every day, I must be conscious of my speech, making sure not to fall back into lazy habits. Little was known about Apraxia when I was diagnosed with it. My parents felt as though they were in the dark, unsure if what they were doing was helping me.

Speech therapy was grueling. I often wanted to give up and cry. Instead of succumbing to my impediment I continued to work towards my goal.

Throughout middle school, I was bullied because of the way I spoke. I would come home every day crying; I had one friend. The bullying got so bad I ended up moving schools.

Struggling with a learning disability was another challenge. Ironically, my IQ test scores resulted in my being placed into the gifted program in school. One of the struggles of being a high performing child with a learning disability is people forget that you might not learn the same way or at the same pace as others do. What takes one student 30 minutes to do could take me two hours. It was frustrating to know I wasn’t as fast as other kids. One analogy I often use when explaining my learning disability is making a fish try to climb a tree or asking me to climb with one hand tied behind my back. I will get there eventually, but it will take me a while longer and I will take a different path. I still got straight A’s, but my teachers often forgot how hard I had to struggle to get there.

Dealing with an anti- Semitic principal who didn’t believe in learning disabilities was another major issue. A principal is supposed to foster a safe learning environment, which my high school was not.

Please tell us about Just Like Me 2.
I am currently studying Broadcast Journalism at the University of Central Florida. Although I am currently unsure about what exact form of journalism I want to pursue after college, I’m convinced it is the field for me. Sharing other people’s stories is important to me. I hope to help raise awareness and give voice to those who can benefit from being heard. Right now, I am writing for UCF’s branch of the Odyssey. I get to write a different article every week, and it can be about anything. This forum provides me with the creative outlet I had in high school but was missing in college.

During high school and up to my sophomore year of college, I wrote for The Lady Code Blog. Every Monday and Wednesday I would blog about motivation and wellness. I even had the opportunity to interview pageant titleholders and share their stories and what motivates them.

Now, I am on the fundraising committee for A Prom To Remember. This is an organization that throws a prom every year for kids with cancer. This will be my 6th year attending the prom and being a member of its fundraising committee. This organization is different from other cancer organization because it allows teens to be teens. For one night, they can stop their treatment and enjoy time with their friends and just be kids. It is so rewarding to see all the teens attend the prom, smile and have fun. Being able to be part of their experience is the most rewarding feeling in the world.

As the founder of Just Like Me 2, a community service organization for children with learning disabilities and speech impediments, I dedicate time to inspiring children to never let their disabilities stand in their way of achieving their goals, to not let them define themselves or create artificial boundaries. When I was younger, I felt as though no one fully understood the challenges I was facing. With Just Like Me 2, I want to make sure no child feels alienated the way I did when I was younger.

To help put some money away for graduate school, I work part-time as a model doing a few runway fashion shows a month and some commercial work. Some of the runway shows even give me a chance to combine my passion for philanthropy with modeling since some are devoted to raising money for children with cancer through the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Modeling is another outlet for my need to be creative and perform.

Any predictions for the industry over the next few years?
Knowing that I will be entering a career in media, I like to keep a close eye on how the industry continuously evolves. Electronic and social media have had profound impacts on how news and information are created, disseminated and consumed. I hope to gain the first-hand experience in this dynamic industry through internships over the next couple years to better prepare myself for exciting challenges that lie ahead. However, I plan to continue my philanthropic service anyway I can,

Contact Info:

• Address: 1920 E Hallandale Beach Blvd #620
  Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
• Website: http://www.justlikeme2.org/about.html
• Phone: 3057339111
• Email: charlotte@trattner.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charvontratt/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.vontratt?ref=bookmarks
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharVonTratt

 

Image Credit:
Carlos Velez

Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.