Kailyn Shupnick was a teen panelist at this year's AHA Conference held on October 24-25, 2011. The conference was held at the Eastern Suffolk BOCES. Kailyn wrote a paper that she personally presented. Below is her paper.
Hi my name is Kailyn Shupnick, I’m an 11th grader at the Vincent Smith School. I was about 10 years old when I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism makes me see things differently like all school work needs to be explained to me more. Last year for the math RCT the questions had to be broken down for me to understand better.
Elementary school wasn’t that bad for me. I then attended Jericho Middle School in 6th grade. This was a challenge for me because I didn’t have many friends and I didn’t understand what was going on. Many kids looked at me differently because I was unaware how my behavior affected others. I felt lonely and left out because I acted different then them and I was less mature. I also had different interests.
My math teacher in Jericho had to explain everything to me one on one. In middle school, the schoolwork became more challenging. My father would spend hours each days going over my work and reviewing for tests. The work became too much for me and I would do poorly.
During the later part of 6th grade my father started to look at other schools for me. He thought the best choice to meet my academic and social needs we be to transfer me to a private school, The Vincent Smith School.
When I first started at Vincent Smith, I was very shy around everybody. I was uncomfortable reaching out to other students. I was afraid that other students would make fun of me. After a few months in my new school, I began to make friends and feel accepted. One of my friends, Anastasia, helped me get used to the school environment. She would explain the different routines for all of the subjects and how to get around the campus. Not only did I feel welcomed by the students but I also felt welcome by the teachers, principal, Head Mistress and Miss Polino, the Director of Special Ed.
They were always available when I had a question or just needed to talk about a problem. With only a small number of students in each class, it was much easier for me to learn. The work was presented in a way that made it easier for me to enjoy school. If I didn’t get it in class, I could always go to my resource room teacher who understood my needs and me.
For the last two summers I have attended the Summit Camp in Pennsylvania. It is a sleep away camp that has kids that are similar to me. I have made some of my best friends at this camp. Aside from going away for almost 9 weeks in the summer they have weekend getaways every month. Next summer I am doing their travel program. I will be going to Costa Rica for the first 3 weeks of the summer.
Between the Vincent Smith School and Summit camp my life has changed so much. I am learning in a way that I am really learning and have made so many friends and learned to do things independently at camp. Thank you
Pictured below is Kailyn, seated at the far right, with other teen panelists.
|
