One of my favorite experiences is standing on my apartment balcony with my friends at 9am and cheering for the bikers riding below us. It's so enjoyable to see the reactions of the bikers as they pass us, and I always hope that they remember our balcony. That moment in time contains a multitude of simple pleasures for me. The newly risen sun shining on our faces, the neon sign on the baseball field across the street from us barely glowing, the feeling of the pajamas I got for Christmas on my shoulders; they all bring a joy to my life that is almost hard to describe. It's not ecstatic, but it's not melancholy. It's a simple pleasure that reminds me of the little things in life that almost mean the most. I struggle with mental health issues and I'm on a medication for those issues, but the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors don't do what these simple pleasures do for me. The medicine allows me to be at a more neutral than negative mindset, but these simple pleasures are what brings the little moments of joy that make life worth living.

When I was in high school I worked at a Summer Camp every year. There was one child that always came back named William. William had Autism Spectrum Disorder and it manifested in many different ways, specifically a need for consistency and a way to keep track of time during the day. If he did not have a timer in front of him, he was almost bound to through a tantrum. It also manifested in a different speech pattern, and a need for repetition to self-soothe. Many of my coworkers found William frustrating or not worth the effort need for him to have as much fun as the other children, and I found this extremely disappointing. I soon became William's primary counselor during camp because I was the only worker willing to provide William with what he needed. Just because he enjoyed life in a different way than others did not mean that he was wrong or bad for that. The first summer I met William I instantly knew what my career path had to be. I had to work with children with developmental disorders. I am currently working towards a Bachelors degree in Psychology with Minors in English and Spanish while I simultaneously work as a Student Aid in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research as well as research of other neurodevelopmental disorders with Civitan International. My ultimate educational and career goal is to earn a Psy. D in Developmental Psychology and continue to work in Developmental Research. Meeting and working with William helped me realize how important is was for people with Developmental Disorders to have a chance to use their voice. Just because they deviate from the norm does not mean they need to be changed or forced to accommodate what others believe as "normal". That being said, I absolutely believe in the value of teaching social and cognitive skills, as I do for developmentally "normal" children. As many Autistic people have stated, it's more important to validate an Autistic person's personality, which may be considered odd, than it is to make sure that they follow all social rules. For example, there is a child with Autism that I know what has a specific special interest that causes her to repeat the same, considerably odd, action over and over. This repetitive action has caused her to be unable to participate in school work or daily hygiene. In my opinion, that is a situation where intervention needs to be involved. There is nothing wrong with her "odd" repetitive action, because that is what brings her joy. It only needs to be intervened enough for her to be able to complete basic hygiene and participate in school and some social interactions. With my degree, I plan to help raise Autistic voices to the top and allow them to speak their truth over all non-autistic voices when speaking about specifically Autism-related issues. Unfortunately, a non-autistic voice is usually valued higher, so I plan to use this privilege as best as I can.

When I was in high school I worked at a Summer Camp every year. There was one child that always came back named William. William had Autism Spectrum Disorder and it manifested in many different ways, specifically a need for consistency and a way to keep track of time during the day. If he did not have a timer in front of him, he was almost bound to through a tantrum. It also manifested in a different speech pattern, and a need for repetition to self-soothe. Many of my coworkers found William frustrating or not worth the effort need for him to have as much fun as the other children, and I found this extremely disappointing. I soon became William's primary counselor during camp because I was the only worker willing to provide William with what he needed. Just because he enjoyed life in a different way than others did not mean that he was wrong or bad for that. The first summer I met William I instantly knew what my career path had to be. I had to work with children with developmental disorders. I am currently working towards a Bachelors degree in Psychology with Minors in English and Spanish while I simultaneously work as a Student Aid in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research as well as research of other neurodevelopmental disorders with Civitan International. My ultimate educational and career goal is to earn a Psy. D in Developmental Psychology and continue to work in Developmental Research. Meeting and working with William helped me realize how important is was for people with Developmental Disorders to have a chance to use their voice. Just because they deviate from the norm does not mean they need to be changed or forced to accommodate what others believe as "normal". That being said, I absolutely believe in the value of teaching social and cognitive skills, as I do for developmentally "normal" children. As many Autistic people have stated, it's more important to validate an Autistic person's personality, which may be considered odd, than it is to make sure that they follow all social rules. For example, there is a child with Autism that I know what has a specific special interest that causes her to repeat the same, considerably odd, action over and over. This repetitive action has caused her to be unable to participate in school work or daily hygiene. In my opinion, that is a situation where intervention needs to be involved. There is nothing wrong with her "odd" repetitive action, because that is what brings her joy. It only needs to be intervened enough for her to be able to complete basic hygiene and participate in school and some social interactions. With my degree, I plan to help raise Autistic voices to the top and allow them to speak their truth over all non-autistic voices when speaking about specifically Autism-related issues. Unfortunately, a non-autistic voice is usually valued higher, so I plan to use this privilege as best as I can.