OpenCenter for Autism Speech
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Contact jordana515@comcast.net
My name is Jordan Ackerson. I'm 18 and live in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I'm a senior at Lake Oswego High. I consider myself to have mild to moderate autism.
There is a poem that goes, "One can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or one can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." There are a lot of pleasant things (roses) about my school and my life in general, but right now I'd like to discuss how I experience the thorns.
Let me describe some of those "thorns." There are people who have a tendency to underestimate my abilities because they think they know for sure what things I am or am not capable of. For example, people could assume that I'm not capable of understanding a particular academic subject. Partly because I have autism, I want to prove to people that I understand more than they think. It does make me feel frustrated to find out that people have made judgments about what I am or am not capable of accomplishing.
An additional thorn is that there are some people who act intolerant because of my being different in some ways, and it sometimes makes me feel a little surprised, hurt and annoyed. I do realize that being human, the best of us experience things like this at times, and for different reasons. I truly believe that each human being has things to contribute and that we should not accept being treated with disrespect.
I have a unique way of talking that might cause people to minimize the importance of what I have to say. It sometimes feels tough to organize my thoughts. As a result, I keep my place in a conversation by panting until I can organize my thoughts and get to the point. Therefore it takes me a little longer to get my thoughts out. When people interrupt, I sometimes feel annoyed. Not everybody has the patience to hear me out, and sometimes people can just plain act rude. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often. One of my handouts I wrote 3 years ago to help people understand how to effectively communicate with me, in order to avoid interfering with my ability to talk to them.
Some of you may feel surprised that I can be in front of a group like this and give a speech. I have worked hard to get where I am today, and besides, I like being the center of attention.
Let me now talk about some of the roses for which I am grateful.
I went to three schools before I finally started attending my neighborhood school in the middle of first grade. This school was definitely one of the roses, where I felt included in so many ways.
I moved on to middle school with my neighborhood peers. Although I participated in general ed electives, I took all my academic subjects in a core classroom with students who had learning and/or developmental differences. My parents and I now think it would have been better if we had pushed for me to be included in general ed academics, with the right kind of support. Because of that, I didn't get enough exposure to general academic courses (like social studies, history, English and basic science).
When it came time to go to high school, we considered six different schools. At that time, my neighborhood high school didn't offer the right support for people like me with different learning styles. I ended up attending the other high school in our district, where I started over with mostly students I didn't know. I have to admit, I felt lonesome because I didn't get to see students from my neighborhood as often as I used to see them. However, I have a positive attitude and make the best of any situation. Although it hasn't been easy to attend 6 different schools, it has taught me how to adapt well to changes in life.
I have attended all of my IEP meetings in high school. I also have written out my goals and needs before meetings so that they would have my input. You have a handout of the input I gave the IEP team last May.
For 9th grade, I was put in an essential life skills classroom for most academics. That classroom contained students from our district who have developmental and cognitive challenges. For the most part, I really didn't fit in that class, but because of my own learning challenges, I couldn't just go into lecture type classes without support. In that classroom, I also felt uncomfortable with the way some of the adults talked to students. For example, some adults would get impatient and expect everyone to learn at the same pace, or expect a simple "yes" or "no" to a question that requires an open-ended answer. If something was said or done to me that I didn't like, I would go home, process it at length with my parents, and then write a very detailed email to that particular adult. I think I became famous for my emails in the ELSC classroom. At the end of 9th grade, my parents and I worked hard to get me out of that classroom for most of the day.
If I was in charge of the world, I would make schools stop isolating students with academic challenges from the general ed environment, by putting them in a self-contained classroom. Although students do not have to have diagnostic labels in order to feel isolated, this is one example of how schools work against creating a welcoming community. My idea of a perfect school would be where everyone was able to show their diversity while still being made to feel like they fit in. This fits well with my definition of a good teacher, that is, someone who really takes time to get to know each student, and how each person learns best.
So back to my story. Since 10th grade, I feel grateful that I have been more included with all students. Although I'm on a modified diploma, I have learned so much more by being exposed to general ed classes. This year I am taking Spanish, guitar, music theatre, and acapella choir. I have one period each day in the Learning Skills Center for kids with LD. During one of those LSC's, we work on social skills in a group. I also have 1 on 1 support every other day where I get help w/reading comprehension. And I spend one period as an office asst. Next semester I look forward to taking psychology and maybe ceramics.
One of my favorite activities at school is to hang out with other students, have fun with them and act goofy. In social situations, like lunch, it's sometimes hard for me to participate in conversations. The pace is so fast and it's hard to jump in and say what I would like to say.
I like to work hard, learn things and take my own best guesses about important things, to test myself. I enjoy learning about science. I have been on the cross country team for four years and will have my fourth track season this coming spring. Being part of those teams has been a thrill for me because it's cool to feel like I really belong. Also it gives me a chance to be social while we run together, as well as increase my fitness level. I have also been participating in some drama club outings and ecology club.
You name it, it most likely interests me. For fun I personally like to listen to music, water plants in nicer weather, hang outdoors, go on runs and take walks, and try to make time to get together with peers during my spare time. I also enjoy instant messaging and email. I like to sing with other kids, and sometimes with my mom. I also like to bowl.
I'm kind of ambivalent about graduating from high school in June. On the one hand, it feels like time goes too fast. On the other hand, I'm sure I'll feel more prepared for it as the time gets closer. After I graduate, I will most likely go to a community college part-time and try to get a part-time job for a year. There is a possibility I may attend a school in two years that provides extra support to people on the autism spectrum who want to move towards independence. We'll just have to wait and see.
One thing I know for sure is that I would like to continue doing public speaking. What I really would like to accomplish is help people to become more open-minded and less judgmental. My philosophy is that we all have our challenges and people should quit making such a big deal about what is different. We're all human and we are more alike than different.
One last thing I would like to share with you is the fact that I ran for class vice president in school, last spring. Although I didn't come in first, I did have an opportunity to share my philosophy with the whole junior class. Doing this was a major "rose" for me in high school. .