When I was 9 years old I decided that I wanted to start drawing faces. I had a regular number 2 pencil and some printer paper. I would look up faces in books and try my best to draw an accurate picture of what I saw. I came from a family of artists, my Grandma was a painter and my Grandpa drew faces. I always saw their art around the house or at my Aunt and Uncles house and I would try to duplicate that as … [Read more...]
Pursuing Concert Piano with a Disability
In the news when you see a story about a Concert Pianist it usually starts off by talking about how the pianist started lessons at the age of 5, had a grand piano by the age of 8 and was performing Concertos at the age of 10. The pianist came from a life where they were able to be afforded those opportunities and had high grades in school as well as multiple college scholarship opportunities. These stories are … [Read more...]
Sensory Processing and “Meltdowns”
I was 12 the first time that I got on a roller coaster at a theme park. We were given tickets to the theme park at school for reading a certain amount of books. I was just happy to be included in something, so I went along with the group. It started out pretty fun, but then we got in line to ride the roller coaster. I was already extra nervous about it because I did not like heights and did not like the … [Read more...]
Diaries of an Adult Diagnosis
As a child I knew that I was different. I struggled academically in school and just plain didn’t fit in. Basic things such as being able to tie my shoes, put my hair in a pony and ride a bike were delayed by more than a few years. I often heard people say “something is wrong with her”, at first I ignored it, then when I got older I wanted to find out. I so badly wanted to unlock the secret to what this meant. … [Read more...]
Piano Competition for Persons with Disabilities
When I was 6 years old I told my teacher that I wanted to be a music teacher. I struggled academically and was behind in a lot of areas, so this dream seemed pretty far fetched at the time. I had piano lessons from age 10 to 11, we had borrowed my aunt’s piano, but then we moved and discontinued lessons, making my dream even harder to get to. As a kid I had been to a few piano competitions and recitals that … [Read more...]
Autism and The Danger of “High Functioning/Low Functioning” Labels
Autism and LabelsAutism is widely misunderstood. Since there are many types of Autism, there are also many types of misunderstandings that go with it. Often times you may hear others refer to us as “High Functioning” or “Low Functioning”. These ableist ideas categorize us by assuming what quality of life we will have based on were we are on the Spectrum. Autism is a Spectrum of Conditions that include ADD/ADHD, … [Read more...]