Sunday, September 3, 2017

I Need An Education

I think having a regular education has helped me by making my mind grow and learn how to be more purposeful. I have made lots of progress since my mom started teaching me academics using RPM. I loved learning new things about history and the natural world. I cared to learn more than how to follow commands in autism school. I am interested in learning about the world. I want to be able to change the world for better. I am learning that people become more able to affect change when they have a good education. I want to be a writer.

I think academics have helped me to be more aware of the world. I am more able to understand life and how people think. I can appreciate nature even more than before. I can make my thoughts known that I understand and I can have opinions about things. I also can write better from being exposed to better material.

I have been able to become more purposeful in my actions. Academic learning helped me by letting me use my brain toward solving problems rather than memorizing. I learned to practice answering questions using reasoning rather than by drilling. I had to point to choices and spell to show I could understand. I wanted badly to be able to express myself. I could not leave my world of distractions without being prompted to make an effort to stay on the shared attention of myself communicating and mom listening. I had to put aside my senses calling me to answer their every whim. RPM gave me the ability to put my purposeful thinking to the forefront. I still struggle with this way every day. I learned I needed to better make my mind focus if I were to express myself. I have to concentrate so hard to communicate. Lots of impulses compete with my desire to talk. Peace comes when my purpose wins over my senses. I am beating impetuous behavior with reason. I am making an effort to be with people more. I believe I can talk to others now because I have prompts to help me communicate. I want to not be a prisoner of my internal sensory world. 

I am able to do many things with support. The support I need is to prompt me to focus and stay on task. I make gains in my life each time I am taught something new. I am ready to try high school. I mean to do well. Having a well-developed curriculum will make school more enjoyable. I want to learn math, science, social studies, literature, and arts. I mean to learn life skills too but not all day. Life skills are hard for me because of my poor body control. I am better off using my brain. I am so locked in a body that does not listen to my mind. It is the most frustrating thing about autism. I maintain sanity by learning meaningful things. I lament I cannot do more. I need lots of practice to learn purposeful skills. I make lots of actions I don’t want to make. I need to be prompted to stop by redirecting me to what I need to be doing instead. I want to be less prompt dependent but I still need prompts or else I would be in my stim world all day.

I start high school on Tuesday. I hope I do well. I look forward to good classes. I will take global studies, music in our lives, read 180, keyboarding, and math. I look forward to good classes. I hear I am going to learn a lot.

Copyright 2017 Philip Reyes.  All rights reserved.


9 comments:

  1. Hi Philip, I just want to wish you all the best for the start of high school. Thank you for daring to share your ongoing story with us.

    I am a writer, and although I am in Australia and a long way from you, please let me know if there is any way I can support or encourage you in that area.

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  2. Philip,
    Have a great school year! You will do great! I am starting at a new school tomorrow, working with autistic students. You encourage me to challenge my students and understand how best to support them. Thank you!

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  3. Phillip, wishing you all the best in high school. I have triplets with Autism and one of my sons struggles daily to stay on task and not in his stem world. You encourage me so to help him be who he truly is! Thank you

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  4. Philip, It's been a while since I've read something you have written and I'm thrilled to see how you are doing. Your writing is excellent! Best wishes for success in high school. I have confidence in you.

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  5. Dear Phillip. My goodness young man! I'm amazed that you said just about everything that could apply even to my life. You see I am a senior citizen. People want to put limits on us too. You'd be surprised how going to a Senior Citizens Center is not about increasing one's involvement with life, but more about giving one something to do until there's no more life. B-O-R-I-N-G! It's like that comment you made about the life skill classes they make you attend-- does it have to be ALL DAY??? I have two autistic grandchildren (both female however) and the education they are offered is negligible, at the least. And they will not GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL but just given some kind of certificate of completion. Make sure that you are actually going to graduate from high school. It's an important step into the rest of your life. I say, "Thank you!" for writing this, my dear child! Your mind is so wise inside the confines of that body you've been given. Your brilliance is like a diamond, and of course the education of your mind is the polishing you need to enhance it's God-given brilliance...Lady GaGa said it first & wrote a song about it-- you were Born This Way! May you never lose your sense of wonder for acquiring knowledge about a lot of things. I'm going to print out your post and put it in a frame just like any proud Grandma would do! Then I'm going to read it very often to remind myself to keep learning something new at all costs especially about being human. You're a wonderful teacher. I am so happy to have read this into my spirit. I will never forget you and I wish you well in High School! Love, Grandma G

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    1. i thank you for your comment. i am happy. you are giving me good things to think about. i will remind myself to think about your words often. love, philip.

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  6. That's awesome! Now with modern technology you can even publish your book on your own and sell it through Amazon and Google and Apple!

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