– How autistics sometimes act and respond to difficult situations with sensory overload
– What characters from TV shows autistics can relate to
– Why I wear the sunflower lanyard
– I wanted to show how my diagnosis made me want to speak up for other autistics
– I learned about the different vocabulary that autistics use
– I learned that people might not understand why autistics act the way they do
– We need to be more patient with others around us to make them feel understood
I was diagnosed with autism when I was about 2 years old and couldn’t say full sentences until I was 4 year old. I grew up going to physical and speech therapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. I still go to speech to work on a one on one conversation with others. Talking with others has been a struggle this past year because Butler Tech is still a new school to me and I know nobody here. Speaking up for myself is one of the most important things to me in life. If I don’t speak up, I won’t get the help that I need to become more independent. I want to show others that you need to tell your story to be heard by new people.
I would have tried to ask more people to come to my showcase to get more comfortable talking in front of them. I also would have tried making more eye contact during the showcase.
I can show my struggles and turn them into lessons for other people to understand. I did my showcase in front of only two people and still got nervous, but I think I did my best to show what the main message of my showcase was.