What would I want people to know about Autism

My Superhero

Last week was MS Awareness Week and it made me think about my mom (more than I usually do). And this time I didn't just think about what MS has taken away from our family, but what we have learned from it. And this is what I thought of;

Moms Smile is her best feature, even if she is having a rough day, she seems to smile just as if to say, "I'm okay guys, don't worry." Her eyes also are a great feature, I look into the same blue eyes that I have, and sometimes I swear she can just see into my soul. She might not be able to talk much anymore, but with just her eyes and smile, she says just enough.

Mom is a Survivor. She has been in the E.R and ICU countless times. And each time she has amazed us and pulled through. And every time I have been so grateful that I get my mom for one more day.

Moms Support has always meant the world to me. She has always been a cheerleader cheering me on in everything I have done. The most recent ones were when I told her I was going to make my Aspergers Diagnosis public, and when I told her I was going back to school to become a teacher.

And the last one is my Mom is my Superhero. With everything she has gone through, she has kept her head held high.. and taken every challenge like a superhero. She faces them with strength, and dignity, and those are characteristics of only the best superheroes.

So here is to you Mom, you have carried me through the best and worst years of my life, And for you, I'll keep walking.

Love you Mucho Siempre Mama!

College Days

Long time no blog!!! 

I will try to do better from here on out. (No promises) Nothing much happened at the last half of 2013, but 2014 seems to be going fast so paced!

The most exciting thing for me is that I am going back to college! I am taking math right now, at the ATC which is awesome because I can go my own pace. It has been a great benefit for me! The first day I was really nervous and worried about failing. But when I was thinking that, something else popped into my mind, "if you aren't doing anything, isn't that the same thing as failing “? 

So I changed my attitude, quick, and have been staying positive. 

With a class that is self paced, I feel like I really know the material and am prepared for the quizzes and tests. And I got my first 100% on a college test! To me that's a huge deal because I have never been able to test that well and seeing how well I am doing, gives me motivation and makes me feel like nothing is going to get in my way! 

Until next time, 

Your (favorite) Aspie,

Ashley
 

This is where I am going to school right now. :)

 

The best way to get through a math class is with a Coca-Cola.

 

First time teaching jitters

A month ago was my first substituting job. No, I haven't switched positions, I am still a staff assistant but my boss wanted me to substitute for one of the 2nd grade classes for a few hours.
I was so nervous about teaching kids as a whole class solo. I actually didn't sleep much the night before. I knew we had a morning assembly so I was going to be able slowly adjust myself into being the teacher.
So the next morning I went to work and went right into the classroom and grabbed the kids and went to the assembly. The assembly was so fun and the kids learned a lot and actually had a great time.
After the assembly we went back to the room and started on the math lesson which was on counting coins. It was a lot of fun teaching them what a half dollar was. Most of the kids already knew what to do when they got the assignment so they were done within 15 minutes, while I helped other kids.
Then we worked on English and on Adjectives. To be honest I have never liked English and it still doesn't make that much sense to me so I am glad they knew what to do already.
After that we had about an hour left so I had them think about what they learned in the assembly and I picked a few kids to tell me what they had learned. It was so much fun inspiring them, boosting them up, and telling them that they can do whatever they set their minds to. It also helped that dad and Tia (one of my coworkers I've known since I was in elementary school, she's like an aunt to me, so I call her Tia) stood outside of the classroom and cheered me on.
I have definitely have found what I want to do for the rest of my life and couldn't be happier!!

Super Heroes Get Sick, Too.

Today the sun was shining, the leaves were back on the trees... today was going to be a wonderful day.

Or so I thought... I had just walked into Bonneville when a coworker told me that one of my adorable little first graders (who happens to also have Aspergers like me)  was just diagnosed with leukemia.

I went totally numb when I heard that. I just couldn't believe that it was happening to my little K (that is my nickname for him).

I went through the rest of the day kind of in a daze until it finally hit me when I was sitting with my first graders when their teacher told them the news.
After they received the news they were worried about him and said that we needed to make get well cards for him.
We all made cards for him, and we all miss having him in our class!

Little K has been that inspiration for me to continue pursuing teaching, and now he is our class super hero.

Super heroes get sick, too. And that makes their teachers feel helpless.

The adventures at the eye doctor.

A couple of weeks ago I had my first eye exam in 5 years. I wasn't able to see my usual eye doctor but their assistant said this other doctor was just as good. So I walk in the eye exam room with my dad, and we do the regular eye exam. When he was having me pick between 1 or 2 which one was more clear I kept saying "show me again" which he didn't like too much because he said it would give an inaccurate result.
I'm the kind of girl who wants to be 100% sure on everything that I do, so it was hard for me to go on my instinct. In the end, I was able to manage it, but but it wasn't easy!
After that test we did another test where one eye lense was red and the other one was green, and I was suppose to tell him which side looked more clear. But not to judge it on the colors.
After all was said and done, he said my vision was still good and that my vision hadn't really changed since the last time I had been there. He recommended that I get glasses to help me with seeing at a distance, which will help me see the board if I am in the back of a classroom.
I have had my glasses for a couple of weeks now and I absolutely love them. They are my style and I think I look younger with them - my family does too!

  

 

Christmas Day Crunch

This year for Christmas we spent the Eve with mom and did our family tradition (which is to get chinese food) and then after we tucked her in bed we headed up to my Grandparents house.
First of all can I just say that I love spending time out in the country where my grandparents live! I feel no stress, open land, not many people to bother you, it is just peaceful! We arrived there, went to bed and woke up the next morning (Christmas Morning!). Grandpa made his famous omelettes, we talked, ate breakfast and finally it was time to open presents! We opened them and I absolutely loved them (my grandma defintely knows what to buy for me, with me, you get clothes and books you are good to go)! We were able to spend time with the family before we had to head to Salt Lake City to the Airport to pick up Holly's best friend, Violet. We had a delicious family lunch with (almost) everybody, and we packed up and started heading home to drop off our luggage and gifts. Long story short, Holly got the hiccups so we stopped at 7 eleven for water. We got back on the road, and we were just coming up on the intersection at Skyline and I-89 when this car turned left in front of us and cut us off. Holly was driving,  and there was nothing she could do except slam on the brakes and try to miss them. She did really well, we didn't T-bone them, but we still clipped their back bumper. We stayed in the lane for a second to catch our breaths and realized we we ended up in the middle of the turn lane!!! We knew we had to get out of there fast, so we slowly pulled the car to the shoulder of the road and you could hear that the tire wasn't quite right, plastic was dragging on the pavement.
Holly put the car in park and we made sure none of us were hurt. Holly and I got out of the car to look at the damage and then dad tried getting out of the car and couldn't. Some of the metal from the fender had crunched into the passenger side door, preventing it from opening. That is when I started freaking out. A few not-so-nice words may or may not have slipped my lips...
Finally after a couple of minutes the couple from the other car came over to see how we were all doing. They seemed quite nice and very sorry for what had happened. Still didn't make me feel better since this had ruined our whole day's plans (and that is usually when I have my "meltdowns") and we were now without a car. When the police arrived, they came over and assessed the damage, and we told them our car wasn't driveable and that we needed to call someone for a ride home. Dad was finally able to get in touch with a family friend and he came and picked us up and took us home.
Am I mad that our car was wrecked? Of course!!! Am I mad that our Christmas schedule was runied? yep. Am I glad that both parties from this accident were fine and that no one had any injuries? Absolutely.
In someways it's a bummer, in other ways it was our Christmas Miracle.