Living With Autism: The Path oF an18 Year old with ASD.

Hello My Fellow Euclid Citizens,
My name is Jesse, I am a senior at the high school and I was diagnoised with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2007. My whole life I have had many experiances both good and bad involving me and my disorder. During my time at the old Upson Elementary School I was bullied and made fun of because many people did not understand that I am diffrent and special in my own way. Due to this I have been in fights, assaulted, teased, and humilated by others who barely knew me. There for because of this turn of events when I was in this school the bullying got so bad i wanted to go home sick everyday because I got so scared I would make my self puke. When I was this young I felt like I only had one friend who cared anything about me and that friends name is Tashae. Eventually, I graduated from Upson Elementary School and then went to Forest Park Middle School. During my time at FPMS I had a hard time socializing because of my past at Upson and due to that I still did not fit in and people called me weird and anti-social. I had even been what i like to call blocked from making new friends becuase of this. The few friends I did make I still see occasionally, but it fells like our friendships are coming to an end little by little. This is scarry for someone like me because people with autism cherrish friendships and likes to make others happy. I will never forget when I walked accross the stage at forest park when barely any of my classmates looked happy to see me get that far in my life. When I entered high school I ment a program that changed my life its name was the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. During my time in the NJROTC at euclid high I helped train others, I mentored others and I made new friends. The one person that changed my life the most was Sgt Maj. John F Rethage who turned me into a man with the help of Lt Cmdr. Dennis Morrick. When i started i had trouble communicating with others, but by the time i left i was a leader and was helping change the life of younger students. after my time in the NJROTC, i was accepted into the one program i fell like i fit in the most: Euclid High's Criminal Justice Program. Since I have joined this program i have made 16 new friends i like to call my brothers and sisters because of the bond i fell with them. I owe the happiest years of my life to three adults: Sgt Major John Rethage and Lt Cmdr Morrick of the NJROTC and Cmdr Selvaggio of the criminal justice program because over the 2 years in the NJROTC and my almost 2 years in the criminal justice program, i have became a man. When I walk the stage in may 2019, I will have these three to thank along with the staff at EHS and my fellow students, who i now get along with.