ANDREA CHUA Class 3C1( 2013)
I WILL NEVER GIVE UP: THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF A TUNNEL
A student’ s constant struggle with autism helps her to be a better person.
When I was about three years old, I was diagnosed with mild Autistic Spectrum Disorder( ASD). I had to go through five years of therapy before I was considered“ good” enough to stop therapy. Through therapy, I had learnt to control my anger, which was one of the main problems that I faced as a child. Up till now, I still use these skills to help me whenever I feel angry.
Primary school went by. I gradually forgot about the fact that I have ASD. I felt like a normal person as no one had discriminated me because of my diagnosis and my family, teachers and friends were very supportive.
When I entered Clementi Town Secondary School, I thought that secondary school life would be a breeze. I was completely wrong. Being in Secondary school was probably the most challenging phase of my life. Ever since I entered Secondary One, I had done considerably well in my academic, which was very surprising for me as I was not doing as well in primary school. However, I found dealing with people around me most challenging. I struggled with this, every day of my life.
People started to become jealous of me. They would jeer at me whenever I scored well in common tests and examinations. Anger, comments, questions and criticisms bothered me tremendously. In school, I would pretend I did not care about their nasty comments. However, whenever I was home, I would cry my feelings out. The fact that people were jealous of me to the point that they would say nasty things to me made me feel sad. Sometimes, I would feel frustrated and angry at them. I felt that they would never understand how I feel.
At one point of time, I felt like my ASD was getting worse because I started having anger management problems again. I felt as if my world was crashing down. However, I kept on reminding myself not to give up and to persevere. I reminded myself to become stronger and disregard what people say about me. I would not let ASD get in the way of achieving my success and learning. I used all the skills I learned to manage my emotions – and I finally stepped out of my shell.
Ever since that day, I felt better about myself and I have progressed so much from then on. I have learnt that no matter what situation I am in, I need to persevere and never give up. It is true that I am still struggling to manage insults that might get hurled my way, but I am trying and I will never give up.
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