Fall Grades and Spring Classes:First list all of your fall classes and grades. Then list all of your spring classes.
Fall Classes - 1st semester grade
Contemporary Literature - A
French 4 Honors - A
AP US Government - B
AP Statistics - A
Physics Honors - A
Academic Communication - A
Learning Skills - A
Spring Classes
Contemporary Literature
French 4 Honors
Economy
AP Statistics
Physics Honors
Academic Communication
Learning Skills
1. Please provide a brief description of the functional limitations of your disability. Include date of onset. As an autistic individual, I have always struggled with interpersonal skills. I have had trouble figuring out the verbal and nonverbal cues of social interaction, especially when it comes to body language and greetings. When I'm in a conversation, I tend to not focus on the speaker and miss out on some of the information, and am often reminded to keep at least an arm's length from the other person. I would also leave the conversation halfway without bidding farewell. What's most complicated are the many nuances that exist among people in social situations, such as cues given by the eyes and what the person really feels even though the physical expressions may suggest otherwise. Due to these problems, I have failed to find real, reciprocal friendships who can confide in me and vice versa. Another issue is my tendency to goof off and gain attention, which is now not so much of a problem anymore. I have learned to use self-control and think about the effects of my actions beforehand, and have understood that the attention that I was bent on acquiring is actually negative and will distance people away from me.
Date of onset - 1997 (3 yrs old) - This was when signs of autism were first detected within me.
Diagnosis - 1999 at Stanford Hospital
2. What impact, if any, did your physical or mental difference or medical condition have on your academic performance? Academics have been my strongest area in school, unlike socializing, because I liked to learn and my parents put a lot of emphasis on education. But, I still faced hardships in the beginning. Initially, I learned through rote memorization of facts, and had trouble with critical and abstract thinking. Whenever an assignment required creativity or personal interpretation, I would rely heavily on the teacher for help. I preferred to have concepts explained to me because I had a hard time coming to the conclusion or deriving the intended meaning on my own. While working in groups, I would be asking my peers numerous questions about what to do next or what to look for, instead of taking the initiative and figuring the concepts out on my own. In class discussions, I would base my comments off of those of other students rather than find original concepts to bring up.
Up until sixth grade, some of my academic classes were special education, where the pace of the course depended not on the curriculum but on my individual needs. But as I progressed through school, I slowly transitioned into the mainstream, with an instructional aide per class. My academic performance has strengthened because of the increasing support of my parents and teachers and the wonderful academic-oriented climate I was raised in. In high school, I pushed myself to take challenging courses, particularly in math and science, because I have set my sights on going to a top-notch university. In the beginning, academics were a struggle, but now it's an endeavor that I want to continue pursuing.
3. How do you approach learning a subject in which you are having difficulty? Please provide an example identifying a specific subject (English, math, history, etc.).Literature is an issue because of its emphasis on interpretation and ambivalence, unlike in other subjects where there is only one right answer. What makes it challenging is recognizing the multi-dimensional personalities of literary characters, and drawing information from other subject areas and personal experiences to make inferences about the text. To address this problem, I pay more attention in class discussions and Socratic Seminars, where I observe how others discern the text and relate its themes in the broader global context. My struggle in this area is what makes essay writing more of an obstacle. My grammar and style are proficient, but I had trouble with the analysis. I would sit down with my teacher, and we would discuss revisions which I take into account before submission. While I learned how to interpret, I realized how critical it is to think about the world in abstract terms, and so I pushed myself to take AP Language and Composition during junior year. Here, I had to pay more attention in class, and we focused almost entirely on the literary themes. The timed in-class essays helped me with my interpretation skills. Therefore, I make examples of other students and push myself for a higher difficulty level when I approached Literature.
4. What type of disability-related support or accommodations, if any, have you received?In the middle of 1st grade, I moved into a special education program, and have been taking Social Skills classes ever since. Through personalized instruction and a high number of adults per student, I learned, practiced, and applied vital communication skills to the overall school setting. Every year my case manager, teachers, my parents and I would hold an IEP meeting where we would highlight my progress in school and set goals until the next meeting. My goals have been entirely socially related, and I have not needed any accommodations in academics starting from 7th grade.
In high school, I changed high schools because the second school had a more supportive academic communication program than the first. I received daily instead of weekly social skills instruction, and a personal psychologist who would talk with me on a weekly rather than a monthly basis.
5. What impact, if any, did your physical or mental difference, or medical condition have on your participation in extracurricular activities? In Robotics during freshman year, I was tasked with programming the robot, and this was a challenge. What I did was continually persist in asking my peers about solutions, and easily gave up on navigating the confusion in programming myself. While working, I was withdrawn from the group conversations and not laughing when everyone else was. Anytime I was engaged in a conversation, I would restrict myself to talking about the schedule ahead and deadlines, as well as offering help, rather than the typical interests of the group, such as music and incidences in classes. Although I was not as good as the others, I was more focused and dedicated to the task at hand, often staying until the late evening cooperating with club officers and fellow teammates in creating code.
6. Do you have a severe physical disability which affects your daily activities, such as personal care? If yes, please describe. No, I do not have any physical condition which inhibits my ability to carry out my daily activities.
Please Help me and be harsh!!
Fall Classes - 1st semester grade
Contemporary Literature - A
French 4 Honors - A
AP US Government - B
AP Statistics - A
Physics Honors - A
Academic Communication - A
Learning Skills - A
Spring Classes
Contemporary Literature
French 4 Honors
Economy
AP Statistics
Physics Honors
Academic Communication
Learning Skills
1. Please provide a brief description of the functional limitations of your disability. Include date of onset. As an autistic individual, I have always struggled with interpersonal skills. I have had trouble figuring out the verbal and nonverbal cues of social interaction, especially when it comes to body language and greetings. When I'm in a conversation, I tend to not focus on the speaker and miss out on some of the information, and am often reminded to keep at least an arm's length from the other person. I would also leave the conversation halfway without bidding farewell. What's most complicated are the many nuances that exist among people in social situations, such as cues given by the eyes and what the person really feels even though the physical expressions may suggest otherwise. Due to these problems, I have failed to find real, reciprocal friendships who can confide in me and vice versa. Another issue is my tendency to goof off and gain attention, which is now not so much of a problem anymore. I have learned to use self-control and think about the effects of my actions beforehand, and have understood that the attention that I was bent on acquiring is actually negative and will distance people away from me.
Date of onset - 1997 (3 yrs old) - This was when signs of autism were first detected within me.
Diagnosis - 1999 at Stanford Hospital
2. What impact, if any, did your physical or mental difference or medical condition have on your academic performance? Academics have been my strongest area in school, unlike socializing, because I liked to learn and my parents put a lot of emphasis on education. But, I still faced hardships in the beginning. Initially, I learned through rote memorization of facts, and had trouble with critical and abstract thinking. Whenever an assignment required creativity or personal interpretation, I would rely heavily on the teacher for help. I preferred to have concepts explained to me because I had a hard time coming to the conclusion or deriving the intended meaning on my own. While working in groups, I would be asking my peers numerous questions about what to do next or what to look for, instead of taking the initiative and figuring the concepts out on my own. In class discussions, I would base my comments off of those of other students rather than find original concepts to bring up.
Up until sixth grade, some of my academic classes were special education, where the pace of the course depended not on the curriculum but on my individual needs. But as I progressed through school, I slowly transitioned into the mainstream, with an instructional aide per class. My academic performance has strengthened because of the increasing support of my parents and teachers and the wonderful academic-oriented climate I was raised in. In high school, I pushed myself to take challenging courses, particularly in math and science, because I have set my sights on going to a top-notch university. In the beginning, academics were a struggle, but now it's an endeavor that I want to continue pursuing.
3. How do you approach learning a subject in which you are having difficulty? Please provide an example identifying a specific subject (English, math, history, etc.).Literature is an issue because of its emphasis on interpretation and ambivalence, unlike in other subjects where there is only one right answer. What makes it challenging is recognizing the multi-dimensional personalities of literary characters, and drawing information from other subject areas and personal experiences to make inferences about the text. To address this problem, I pay more attention in class discussions and Socratic Seminars, where I observe how others discern the text and relate its themes in the broader global context. My struggle in this area is what makes essay writing more of an obstacle. My grammar and style are proficient, but I had trouble with the analysis. I would sit down with my teacher, and we would discuss revisions which I take into account before submission. While I learned how to interpret, I realized how critical it is to think about the world in abstract terms, and so I pushed myself to take AP Language and Composition during junior year. Here, I had to pay more attention in class, and we focused almost entirely on the literary themes. The timed in-class essays helped me with my interpretation skills. Therefore, I make examples of other students and push myself for a higher difficulty level when I approached Literature.
4. What type of disability-related support or accommodations, if any, have you received?In the middle of 1st grade, I moved into a special education program, and have been taking Social Skills classes ever since. Through personalized instruction and a high number of adults per student, I learned, practiced, and applied vital communication skills to the overall school setting. Every year my case manager, teachers, my parents and I would hold an IEP meeting where we would highlight my progress in school and set goals until the next meeting. My goals have been entirely socially related, and I have not needed any accommodations in academics starting from 7th grade.
In high school, I changed high schools because the second school had a more supportive academic communication program than the first. I received daily instead of weekly social skills instruction, and a personal psychologist who would talk with me on a weekly rather than a monthly basis.
5. What impact, if any, did your physical or mental difference, or medical condition have on your participation in extracurricular activities? In Robotics during freshman year, I was tasked with programming the robot, and this was a challenge. What I did was continually persist in asking my peers about solutions, and easily gave up on navigating the confusion in programming myself. While working, I was withdrawn from the group conversations and not laughing when everyone else was. Anytime I was engaged in a conversation, I would restrict myself to talking about the schedule ahead and deadlines, as well as offering help, rather than the typical interests of the group, such as music and incidences in classes. Although I was not as good as the others, I was more focused and dedicated to the task at hand, often staying until the late evening cooperating with club officers and fellow teammates in creating code.
6. Do you have a severe physical disability which affects your daily activities, such as personal care? If yes, please describe. No, I do not have any physical condition which inhibits my ability to carry out my daily activities.
Please Help me and be harsh!!
