going to a new school called Westminister

I am going to a new school next year called Westminister. I'm scared but I know I will do good there. because I have come so far because of my famliy. I will be freinds with some of the kids because my family already knows some kids going into my grade. It will be hard still but I can do it. Bcause of my family. I notice that it will be a lot harder to make freinds and speak with other kid. also it will be hard to deal with there jokes but I can do it. Jokes are hard to take because it's hard for me to understand them.

This week I am going to a baseball camp with some of the kids at my new school. It's fun, but when I first got there it was hard to make friends.

Things that can be hard at School for some people with autism

I go to Miriam School, my most difficult class is reading because it is really hard for me to read out loud and remember what I read. It is easier for me to hear the words so I can understand the story. Alot of my friends have difficulty with math. Math comes easy to me because my brain can do the math problems in my head quickly. I can see numbers much better than words.

Teasing is another thing because it makes me sad when me or my friends get teased. If you think about it, it is not as bad as a lot of other schools with bullies. Because of the Occupational Therapy (OT) at my school, it is more easier to calm down. In fact, they have a huge obstacle course that has a ball pit, squeeze machines, trampolines, a swing, and more OT stuff. I can hold my anger in pretty easily because I trained myself to do that. It is very confusing that a friend would tease another friend. When I hear someone else get teased, I ask them to stop please or walk away. When I or someone else gets teased, it does make me upset but I can practically hold it in till I can find something else to think about. I wish people would just accept people for who they are, but life is not always fair.

Sometimes when people burp or do any other nasty stuff, it can make me gag because I start thinking about it and it's hard to get it out of my mind. I always wanted to help kids with autism my whole life because I too have autism. My mom works at an autism clinic and I want to be like her. Next month, I have been asked to be at my school to teach the Board Members about what it is like to have autism.

Colleen.mpg

I was diagnosed with autism right before I turned 2 years old. I only wanted to push my pretend play shopping cart over and over in circles again. My brain did not want to turn left out of the driveway so when my mom and I took walks, we had to go right only. When my babysitter came, she peeled an orange for me....I didn't like the way she peeled it so I screamed until she did it the right way. I loved watching trains because I was so interested in watching the wheels spin. I could not talk so I would scream and cry in frustration as no one knew what I wanted. I could hear planes go by way before they passed our house. I didn't like to have my shoes on so my feet would get cuts from walking on the hot pavement, but I didn't feel the pain. At only 2 years old, I could recite twinkle twinkle little star and the alphabet.

I was lucky to have therapists come to my house to work with me 35 hours a week. Now I can talk, I have friends, I can do do schoolwork, play sports, write in cursive. Last year, I even testified to the Missouri House of Representatives to help get the Autism Insurance legislation bill passed. I still have a difficult time reading, organizing my thoughts, and understanding typical peers social behaviors including my younger brother. You can watch my tube video on this blog. My mom and I are working on this blog together to help other families, and spread awareness about autism. Hope you enjoyed our first attempt at blogging together:-)