The Monster

I have been thinking about what the physical form of Autism might look like. I've often described it as an invisible monster that can be the size of a Parasite or of a mountain. (Keep in mind that my definition of a mountain is one found in Utah County, in the Rocky Mountains) Most of what it does however is diminish the quality of life. It doesn't necessarily kill someone, although people who have it are more prone to certain physical impairments during their lives. These could include anything from delayed development, having less coordination then most others, sometimes the Monster just takes over someone's body's all together. More often then not, it's the Monster that sets off what eventually kills someone. Though it can't really be conformed, one result that has been formed among people who have had depression, or some mental disorder is that, they have a shorter lifespan then most others. We are more prone to depression, and having Heart Attacks. I know this because of a News report my mom saw after my Father died of a Heart Attack when he was 61 years old, (15-20 years younger then the average lifespan.) My family and I know that my father had a form of Autism, although he was never diagnosed.

The Monster affects just about anything any one can think of. Although we don't know what exactly Autism is, it is entirely defined by what the outcome is. Because of this, people with Autism are some of the strongest people in the world, however we don't even know what we are fighting. What has helped me the most in my struggle in what my mission is in my life has been through my religion. By having Faith in Jesus Christ and in his Atonement, I have come further in my life then I ever would have without it. Considering religion and the nature of Autism are not really visible, it is no wonder that they go hand in hand together. I believe that everything in life is that way. There is a difference between things that are physical, intellectual and spiritual, but they are intertwined. The key to remember in each of these departments is to remember is Autism can affect all of these areas in the life as well.

dealing with teachers

The last post was kind of what I feel like when I deal with Teachers. I had an experience these past couple of weeks with one of my midterms. Being diagnosed with Autism has made it in someways easier and harder for me. Dealing with Teachers now consists of always going through Disability services. One of my teachers will not make any exceptions on how the assignments are administered. I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but I am also coming from a family full of teachers, and I have had many discussions on some of the Tactics that Teachers sometimes use in their classes. One of them from this particular teacher was that he asked 4-5 open ended questions to improve writing skills in a midterm setting. we were asked to give a specific view point and back it up with footnotes and readings. This maybe fine for some people but for me it was not because in my mind he asked a vague question and wanted a specific answer. In the mean time I felt like I had to explain constantly where I was coming from, and that hopefully he might try to see where I was coming from. Like most college Professors, he didn't really care, and told me to go through disabilities services I went through them and got things straitened out, but in the mean time I recognized that this Professor had not updated his teaching skills in a long time, and that I was falling under the same potholes that others did years ago, when dealing with a system that did not work for them. My teacher's thinking was that well, he made it through, so he can use the same process on others. it doesn't always work like that, and for that reason other's like me have been beaten out of something that they could have been better at.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice - "Secrets" by OneRepublic