Originally published January 20, 2019 In my school, field trips would be incredibly important and would be strongly emphasized. We would go on a field trip every month without fail. We would not go to a park or a fast-food place but to a museum or a job site or a nonprofit center and do some service. There is nothing that makes me feel better as someone with some needs that I can’t provide for myself than to be able to give something back to someone else. That would be a requirement at my school. We might not be able to do much, but we would all do something. Field…

Originally published January 20, 2019 I realize that my physical body is stronger than many others with special needs. It is a blessing that I don’t take for granted. I love to run and hike and try new adventures. Being outside does wonders for my brain and decreases my anxiety by about a thousand percent. I suspect that is not unique to me. Even if I couldn’t run, I would want to be outside as much as possible. When I am indoors at school, the sounds are really amplified and hard to block out. The fluorescent lights hum and have subtle waves in the lighting that is distracting. The air…

Originally published January 18, 2019, on Jepsonfiles.com Why is it that those who created the curriculum for special education think that we students with disabilities have zero ambition? I can’t understand how they think that all we want to do each day is another stupid set of meaningless tasks that do nothing for our futures. How does a fifty-piece puzzle help me contribute to society? I’m now really good at puzzles. Too bad there aren’t jobs out there that just want you to do puzzles all day. What that is is a time-filler so the teachers can have a break from trying to teach us something interesting or useful. You…

Originally published January 15, 2019 In my first post on this subject, I mentioned that I feel like my experience in special ed has been a waste of my abilities intellectually. The main reason for that is because of my inability to communicate completely independently. Because I can’t speak fluently or just sit in front of a computer and type out my thoughts without help, no one believed that I was in there and understanding everything that was going on around me. I learned how to communicate through a program run by a lady named Soma at her office when I was fifteen using a pencil and a stencil board.…

Originally published January 14, 2019 In five more months, my time in public school special education will be over. I have some mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I will miss my teachers and the routine of getting on the bus each morning and having a scheduled day. On the other hand, the last thirteen years has been a waste of time from an intellectual perspective. When I entered the public school system in the second grade, I was looking forward to being around other kids and learning some new things. The previous five years of my life had been spent doing full-time ABA therapy, mostly in my house.…

Originally published September 24, 2018, on Jepsonfiles.com So far, I have not made much progress typing on my own. But my dad and mom are now trying a new method. Instead of holding their hand, they are now just holding my forearm. It is way harder for me because I can’t control my movements as easily, but I think it is a good next step. When I try it on my own, my mind just becomes jumbled. I don’t get it, but that is what happens. For some reason, I need that physical connection with someone for my brain to focus. I am really tired of autism. I won’t give…

Originally published September 10, 2018, on Jepsonfiles.com So, I’m trying really hard to improve my independence and being able to write without holding someone’s hand is going to be the key to that. Once I can do that, I think my life is going to change. I don’t know why I can’t do it. It makes me feel mad and frustrated with myself, but I just have to keep trying. I think that it is like my marathon training. At first, I had to hold onto a rope to be able to keep running but now I can do it by myself with a reasonably solid pace. I’m still holding…

Originally published October 7, 2017, on Jepsonfiles.com Everyone with autism is not the same so I don’t know how my experience will compare with others. But I can tell you what it is like for me. When I was really young, I didn’t really know that I was different. I just knew that my parents were worried about me and started me working with all types of therapies and interventions. It was really tiring for me to have to work that hard all of the time, but it is probably why I am able to function at my current level and I can look back on it and appreciate what…

Originally published June 2, 2017, on Jepsonfiles.com Now that I have graduated from high school, I’m ready to start some big changes in my life. Big changes are not easy for me but it’s time to make progress and that means doing some things differently. My mom has been trying to get me to eat better for a long time. I used to be on a gluten and casein-free diet when I was younger. I’m not sure if it helped or not but my mom thinks that I need to try it again. I haven’t wanted to because I am a picky eater, but I know it will probably be…