My Experience with Asperger’s

By Jae Hagar

Last week I watched the movie Temple Grandin. The movie is about a woman who is autistic and her life. By the age of four, she had not yet begun to talk, and of course her mother was worried. Because this movie was based in a different time, the doctor explained the reason for Temple's autism was “a lack of attention from the mother.” We now know that this is not a reason that autism occurs. Throughout her life, Temple struggled a bit to find out who she is. She went through high school, college, and then she changed the cattle industry. Everyone was surprised that someone with autism had the ability to do that, but because of her autism, she was able to think like the cattle to figure out what would help them and make the slaughterhouse operate more smoothly and more humanely. Temple now is a professor at Colorado State University. My favorite quote from the movie is, “I am different, but not less,” describing how she relates to people.

Just like Temple, I am aware that I am different, but I am also not less. I can’t really say that I don’t have autism, because by definition, I have Asperger's, which is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum.

I know that you’ve heard about autism, but maybe not Asperger's. So let's start with the basics. All of you probably have met someone who is on the autism spectrum or has Asperger's, but you may not know what it means. I bet you probably didn’t know that it was a spectrum. Autism is characterized by a lack of social cues, repetitive behaviors such as swaying or rocking, and special interests in certain things. People lower on the spectrum may have difficulty understanding emotional cues or communicating. Some are barely able to speak. But, being autistic doesn’t make someone stupid. A lot of geniuses are on the autism spectrum, including Bill Gates and Tim Burton. There are even many historic figures like Einstein, Michael Jackson, Abe Lincoln, and Beethoven who probably were on it as well, so don't call people on the autism spectrum "retarded,' just saying.
This is really hard for me to write because it's personal. Having Asperger's is different than being on the low end of the autism spectrum in many ways. First, people with Asperger's want to fit in but don’t know how (Hey, that's me!). Most people with autism don’t really care about fitting in. I want to fit in and interact with others. If I have ever called you my friend, and you called me the same, you might understand this. I used to do whatever I could to fit in, or get peer attention because I feel that I don’t get enough. I have always felt different, but really, doesn’t everyone? 
See? I don’t really know because I’m not everyone. I will reiterate that this is very hard for me to write because making the right kinds of connections with people (which writing comes down to) is my weakness. The movie Temple Grandin, which I mentioned earlier, inspired me to do great things. Just because I am different, doesn’t mean I can’t accomplish the things I set my mind to. (Bill Gates, Lincoln, and Einstein sure accomplished many things!) I have been told, countless times that I am going somewhere with my writing, and maybe, I will. My Asperger’s does not define my life. I define my life.

I shared my story so that you would understand, and hopefully, you do. I try really hard to be “normal” and to fit in. These things don’t come easily to me, and sometimes I try too hard. I am still learning about Asperger’s and autism. Hopefully, I will be able to write more about these topics to educate all of us more. A lot of these disorders (I hate this word) go undetected, and I feel like the world needs to know. This is why I am starting small, by teaching you. Hopefully, someday I can educate more people, maybe even the world.

Mac-Hi Needs More Language Classes

by CASEY HALE

Students have no choice when it comes to learning a language, they only have the option of Spanish. Many of the students at Mac-Hi are of Mexican heritage and can fluently speak Spanish.  Mexican students learning Spanish is like English students learning British; redundant.

Besides the fact that students need to be learning while at school, another reason we need more than one class is because students deserve a choice, many students want to learn German, French, Latin, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, or any of the other 1,000’s of languages in the world. If a student is not allowed the power to choose which language they learn, they may despise the language they have to learn. Because of their possible lack of passion for the language, the student might not do as well as they might had they chosen the language.

It is true that Spanish is a very important language; it is the second most commonly spoken language and it has significant historical value. However, it is illogical to limit students to only one language, no matter how important it is, because one language can not accommodate for the needs of all the students at Mac-Hi, such as the Mexican students.

The gap in education can be filled with new language classes. A good example is Mandarin Chinese, the most frequently spoken language. Chinese also opens many opportunities because it is the most spoken language in international business.

Another language we can consider might be Sign Language (called ASL by those in the know),  it helps solve the problems of miscommunication between deaf and hearing people. Personally, I long for a German class because of my future career path and simply because it is interesting and useful.

A decision needs to be made on whether or not we will have more language classes and, if so, which ones. This decision, however, is not mine to make, it is the school’s decision. I can only suggest that we should have more language classes.

Where Have They Gone?

by DIMITRI IVIE

         Bananas are amazingly delicious, but the school has not had bananas in a long time. I vote the opportunity is now to find out what happened to this beloved fruit that seems to be escaping the clutches of students in the school. I will get to the bottom of this potentially catastrophic occurrence.

      As I ask around journalism class, and the students as well as the teacher seem to not have eaten bananas in a long time, and those who have recently eaten bananas they were their own. Traveling to my next class, I asked around and most students had either not remembered the last time they ate one or have had an outside source of bananas. Continuing my investigation, these facts worry me greatly.

       The next day, interviews with fellow classmates of mine have proven one thing: anyone who had eaten bananas recently ate them outside of school. I then spoke to the cafeteria lady, Pam Hawley, who had her last day on the 8th of December, and I asked her when the last time she saw bananas served at the school and she said,”Well, not since last year.” Hawley stated that our food supplier would not get any for us students because they were to expensive. Not even for Thanksgiving did they provide one banana for the fruit salad (I just knew something was off!).

        I have also recently learned that due to a fungi infesting banana plants, they are dying off. Therefore, this makes the price of bananas rise, but is it so much that the food providers can't afford to buy them? Not even for Thanksgiving? How high will the price go to?

           Now those of you who think that this is a ridiculous story and have a “Who cares attitude” what if the last source of bananas were gone and we never saw a banana again? The minions would not be able to sing the banana song or any song with bananas in it, poof! Also, any lotion, makeup, and medicines would be a dream. So show forth some care for this beautiful yellow fruit!

Mental Health Stigmas - The Harms and Healings

by KAREN STEELE

Depression. You probably know someone with it or even suffer from it yourself. However, it’s something that we rarely  talk about.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 350 million people are affected by depression, which turns out to be 0.05% of the whole world. Although the percentage makes it seem small, 350 million people is a lot of people –  about the same amount if you were to add all of the citizens of the United States and Canada together. It’s easy to dismiss depression, anxiety, or a combination of the two, even though it’s far more common than you would think - one in three college students are self-diagnosed with some sort of depression, and it’s more prevalent in minorities or multiracial individuals than in blacks and Hispanics, and even less in whites, says Healthline.

When someone breaks their leg, you don’t tell them to run a mile during PE anyway, but if a person has social anxiety disorder (SAD), they are often forced to speak in public regardless. Just like a physical injury, the limitations of mental diseases are very real and should be realized and respected. In the same way that your mom might make you stay home from school if you have a fever, I believe that someone on the verge of a panic attack should be able to call in a sick day. Having to fake a physical illness to avoid a depressive day at school is a sadly common practice. However, learning the differences between what’s true and what isn’t are not hard to learn. Indefinite amounts of resources are available on the Internet, and I gleaned information from websites and personal experiences to find myths that are told about depression.

Many stereotypes about the effects of depression-anxiety simply are not true.

Myth I. Just because someone appears “happy” doesn’t mean that they aren’t depressed.

Depression hides itself in many forms and is great at using disguises. It grows inside. When Robin Williams committed suicide, many people went on Facebook saying, “How could someone so happy do this?” Most often when someone exhibits “smiling depression,” says Psychology Today, they’re using humor and liveliness as a defense mechanism.

Myth II. Depression is contagious.

It’s not. In fact, talking about it often helps those suffering. Although I didn’t like talking to a psychologist, talking to my mom about how depression affected me and trying to explain my feelings helped me understand what was going on with me. I dream of a society where talking about your mental illnesses (e. g. “I’m bipolar, man, it sucks.” “I bet. I hate being looked at weird because I have Tourettes.”) are not taboo and can be openly discussed like other topics (“Dude, I broke my wrist. I only cried once, though.”) and can be approached in a casual setting.

Myth III. It isn’t real.

I don’t know how to respond to this statement besides wanting to holler, YES, IT IS. Because depression varies between lasting a few days or months (or years), or just during pregnancy recover, doesn’t mean that one form is more legitimate than the other, or that depression in general is a made up excuse. As a sufferer of both, I can say that dealing with anxiety can be frustrating, whether it be trying to tell a friend “Just order your hamburger!” or telling yourself it’s okay to get up to go to the garbage can. It feels like a war. Anxiety makes me feel like I’m fighting my brain, thinking everyone is making fun of me, regardless of who they are or what they’re talking about. The question I have for those who say that depression and anxiety “aren’t real” is why would we want to pretend to be afflicted by these? If you wouldn’t ask to be diagnosed with cancer, then you wouldn’t want to deal with depression.

Myth IV. We are not broken.

A person suffering from depression, anxiety, or both is not a person who is “damaged goods,” to quote Taylor Swift during one of her concerts at the Staples Center. “You are not going nowhere just because you haven’t gotten where you want to go yet.” We are not defective, nor are we weak for having mental illnesses; nor are we giving up when we admit that we need help, by seeking medication, counseling, or even friendships. Hearing and reading that we are “broken” traps depressives inside stereotypes and stigmas and makes it harder for us to own our condition and makes it easier to isolate ourselves. Telling us that we “don’t seem depressed,” we’re faking it, or that it isn’t real is doing two things: 1) letting us know that we shouldn’t come to you for help, and 2) you don’t want to help.

There are a lot of things that I could go on to explain (how to cope, self-diagnose, where to seek help, how to help a depressed friend), but I feel that most of these have already been touched on. Try applying depression and anxiety to other real world scenarios, like, asking a friend who’s on crutches how you can help, like carrying their books, or putting yourself in their shoes (e.g. “What if I was terrified of saying ‘here” during attendance?”), and you might learn how to be a better friend. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, whether you’re confused how to help someone else or how to help yourself. Keeping silent about the symptoms of mental illnesses only furthers the idea that it’s something that you should be embarrassed about. If you learn anything from this editorial, though, I want you to remember that you are not broken; you are not damaged goods due to your physical, mental, or other conditions that could be used to describe you. Talk about it.