Autism & Faith 1989

I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) when I was 5. It was a misdiagnosis at the time. For the longest time I attributed my success to my Special Education teacher all though K-12 until 21. We had a nanny for the summer, and she told my mom have you ever heard of Asperger’s Syndrome. She went to google to find out what it was, and I fit all of the symptoms. Then they started the process of Diagnosis. I was officially diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. (PDD-NOS). 

After I was diagnosed, I had lots of support from the special education system in the school and his 18-21 transition program. I was told I should not go to college. But I did with bumps in the road. I attended Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount Minnesota I dropped out of 4 programs. The summer of 2014 I was deciding to go back, and study photography and people told me no It was not worth the time and effort. I ended up starting Fall 2014 to get my Digital Imaging Technician Certificate. In Spring 2015 I said to myself I don’t have that many credits left to get my Photographic Imaging Technology A.A.S. Degree so I finished and graduated Spring of 2016.