As a girl with autism, I've gone through many, many challenges, from therapy, to communication, to coping in noisy places, to trying to get even my own parents to understand me. Today, I can function pretty close to a normal person, probably even better than people without my disorder, but it wasn't always like that. Back in elementary school, I was a lot slower. I had trouble doing things at normal pace, and had to be taken out of the room, multiple times. Classmates, teachers, family relatives, and even my own parents didn't quite believe that I could learn without any "special help." I wanted to prove to them, that I could do more.
I saw my opportunity during the beginning of fifth grade, when they were allowing us to pick an instrument to learn. I chose the cello, and joined the Orchestra. The first two year was really rough, since the teacher didn't know the cello, very well. I still kept at, and soon saw improvements on my own ability to learn, in general. I was put in the regular class in the sixth grade, and didn't need as much help. I was only taken out of the room once a day, just for math. Things became so much easier to understand, and I wasn't looked down upon quite as much.
In middle school, I got a wonderful orchestra teacher. She was enthusiastic, knew her instruments, and easy to talk to. I learned to love music, and my life became dedicated to music. I wanted to learn more. More about the cello, and music, in general. Soon, one instrument just wasn't enough. I self-taught myself the piano, and since I was so into it, it wasn't that hard. When I graduated, I joined the guitar class in my high school. I also gained the hobby of writing my own songs.
Today, I'm 16 years old, and a successful student. People don't think of me as stupid, anymore, and now, upon looking back on my memories, I don't think I could have ever gone this far, without music.
Tucson, AZ