Author: Ryley

Right now, I don’t think I could be happier. I graduated from high school, my family threw me a huge party, and I finished my PCC [Portland Community College] poetry class yesterday. I have been sleeping in, and my mom hired two awesome PSW’s [personal support workers] to support me this summer. One of them…

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Having a disability like autism means it comes with a lot of preconceived ideas about what someone like me is capable of. For example, since I can’t talk well, people may assume that I have nothing to say. Around the time I learned to communicate, I made a decision that I would share as much…

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It should come as no surprise that I am a big fan of self-determination. I have the same hopes for the future that most people my age do, except my right to fulfill them is at risk because I have a disability. I mostly worry that I won’t be able to live on my own…

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Recently I read an article about a family that made a pretty radical decision to put their three neurotypical children in a boarding school and live at home with their autistic son. I should clarify that their son is a teenager with some hardcore behaviors that made the other kids fearful for their safety and…

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