Inclusion and more

When I was diagnosed with autism at age 15, I remember experiencing relief because I knew I was different in terms of the fact that I experienced typical signs like having difficulty with making friends, reading social cues and dealing with schedule changes. My journey towards autism acceptance started truly then because I knew my strengths were gifts from God. Some of my gifts include: speaking in front of large groups about autism, fixing technology and having a photographic memory. My photographic memeory is one of those skills I am oddly proudly of. I can remember details of past family vacations such as what we did, where we went and when we went.  As I got further into my autism acceptance journey, one that I am not ashamed to highlight, I realized I am meant to be a trailblazer. When I was a sophomore at Chaparral High School, one of my teachers encouraged me to speak at a school-wide pep assembly which had all 2,100 students and staff in attendance. I prepared a speech abou...

With recent news of autism rates increasing to 1 in 31 people being diagnosed- it is increasing important for schools to know how to interact with those with autism. Autism is truly a spectrum.  One person with autism might be able to express what they need and require minimal support. Another person with autism might require a lot of support in expressing their needs. With this spectrum comes and increased need for schools to know how to appropriately address autism. I bolded the word appropriately because it's VERY VERY IMPORTANT because school can hard for people with autism. There are so many things to learn including new math lessons, new books to read with harder concepts, 50 states to review in a short time and new songs to learn in music class to name a few.  I had the privilege of attending New Way Academy, a private school for those with disabiltiies like autism, through 8th grade. New Way's old campus was located in Scottsdale. School was enjoyable because of the fu...