Hi Everyone,
I, Michael Lettman, would like to share some parts about my life as an individual with High-Functioning Autism!
Early Years Part 1
It all started around the time when Michael was with his mother, at some point Michael ate some paint lead off a wall during the time he was at an aunt's house when he was 8 or 9 months old, which ended up eating away some parts of his brain & has gotten diagnosed with high lead-poisoning which not only gave him a little asthma (which went away eventually) but also made him diagnosed with autism which is a little hard to explain since some in the family said they found out about that when Michael was 3 years old. Afterwards Michael didn't talk, he had significant speech & language delays. He just hummed, sometimes rock his head around, he didn't know his lefts & rights (meaning "Motor Skills"), he wasn't potty-trained explaining how he messed with bed & clothes during childhood years. He went to the doctor & went over some things, it was then revealed that Michael not only has autism, he has high-functioning autism, it was suggested that Michael goes to a special school called ISAAC where he got physical therapy & speech therapy which improved his talking, "Motor Skills", & potty-training skills a bit. Eventually Michael was then beginning to be cared for by his Grandmother Pauline (his Father's Mother) around the time when he was 3 years old which is how Michael's Grandmother from his Father's side of the family ended up becoming his Guardian. Years later, he went to P.S. 174, while there he kept escaping out of classrooms, stealing stuff, & wrote "Daejanae (big sis) is a good sister & I'm a bad brother" sometimes while he was drawing.
Michael Lettman's words from his perspective: It may have been okay that Michael Lettman managed to survive what occurred in his past but he ended up getting diagnosed with autism because of it although he declared to actually like being autistic since he'll never know what would have happened with himself or what he would've been like if he didn't get diagnosed with autism.
Early Years Part 2
1 day while he was wandering again (at P.S. 174), he was on a roof (not the main roof) & locked himself out. He got scared of not getting back inside so he went reckless and tried to "climb down" but he fell from that top & hurt himself badly. He was taken to the hospital while he was unconscious then eventually he managed to recover & was taken home. Although Michael won't ever forgive himself for doing that, it turned out Michael was supposed to be in inclusion & that school never had it (which explains him being able to make trouble without being watched properly). Eventually he was pulled out that school & was sent to P.S. 120 (outside of Flushing Avenue station on the J & M train line) where he got into the inclusion program he needed to be in. Although he does get bad zeros on his point cards from being bad at school sometimes (which shows him still being a troublemaker).
Elementary to High School
His other old schools were also revealed: Wortman School P.S. 273 (he sometimes go down to a kindergarten class at the end of those days for unknown reasons), I.S. 292 (it was suggested that he go to P.S. 77 so he stood there for a while), P.S. 77-Park Place (he was in a special ed that attends general ed classes, he learned about Travel Training, & back then he sort of called autistic people mean names when he didn't know about autism plus it was kind of bullying), BCA (Brooklyn College Academy), P.S. 77-Park Place (went back there after BCA & started to learn about work experience from working at 2 Goodwill industries-one in Manhattan & one in Downtown Brooklyn, he managed to create his 1st bank account, & from there he found out about autism), & P373K (after officially finished at P.S. 77, he went to that school for summer school then for his final years, he was also supposed to go to a Teacher-Aid program but got denied due to bad behavior during his time in summer school so he got sent to one of P373k's work programs = The Childcare Center Program, he really enjoyed it because he likes working with Children whom he calls "Adorables") + it was because of attending the Childcare Center program that Michael Lettman began his project known as "Living with Autism by Michael Lettman".
Michael Lettman's thoughts on his own project: Michael Lettman sometimes pictures his own project becoming like an non-profit company or organization filled with many collaborating team members with Michael Lettman as the Founder/Boss but he wishes not to go that far since his project is only just a channel on YouTube and a blog website made via Wix, he wishes he can add much more into his project with those 2 long-time additions. Michael Lettman wonders what it would be like to become accepted as an official leader of a group of collaborators who wouldn't mind aiding in his advocating work for the autistic community. It was thanks to watching an episode ("Tobey's Playground Calamity") from a PBS KIDS GO series called "Wordgirl", that Michael Lettman learned 2 words known as "Dedicate" and "Calamity". The word "Dedicate" not only taught Michael Lettman about playgrounds, companies, historic sites, and much more being named after important people, but it had Michael Lettman pondering about what it would be like for his own project to become dedicated in a very nice way but he can already understand the odds of something like that happening can never happen in real life.
Welcome to AHRC NYC
After he has finished in the World of School in Summer 2016, he started attending an AHRC Community Program (dayhab without walls) in January 2017 & his 1st step into the future has begun from that time on.
As of Summer 2019, Michael Lettman had to say Goodbye to his AHRC community program to begin attending AHRC NYC's Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program which would help him achieve goals for the next step into his future life.
2020 = The Beginning of the new Coronavirus Pandemic life
I'm sure no one would've expected that an all-powerful deadly virus would take over the world, ruining life as we know it, & began ending the lives of millions of innocent victims. Freedom had been reduced, Employment has highly decreased, long-time events had been canceled, schools (& college campuses) had closed down, the world's remaining population had begun wearing masks, & the outside world became very dangerous for Michael Lettman to step out into. Which is why I've been separating myself from freedom of going out into the deadly life-ending outside world by staying put of being locked in my home. I haven't crossed a street or stepped off my block (where my home is on) for up to over 5 months but I have stepped outside to take the garbage out (which is my chore) & I have gone out in my small backyard which is safe for me. I do miss my freedom but I need to accept that life has changed forever by a deadly virus & it'll take a long time for the experts of the world's population to put an end to it which Michael Lettman believes will never happen due to believing out of anxiety that the undefeated virus shall succeed in its master plot of wiping out all of humanity & living beings from the face of the earth (which is what he negatively pictured in his own mind).
This is a video about my negative & positive feelings during my newly-changed quarantined life by COVID-19, Please Enjoy!
2021 = Newly-Vaccinated Michael Lettman
To be honest, I wasn't sure about accepting the COVID-19 vaccination at first since I hardly stepped out into the dangerous outside world but I have learned how the vaccine was slowly helping the original life of our freedom return back to us all. Unfortunately since COVID-19 managed to create itself an assisting all-powerful Delta Variant, it has begun a comeback to its master plot of affecting all living beings which was bad news for most innocent people that aren't vaccinated + I also feel terrible for many innocent children that cannot be vaccinated so I'll hope that a miracle can occur for their protection. Since the Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program had requested all students to be vaccinated for a future chance that it can be in-person again, I know it meant that I needed to be vaccinated right away + I must admit that I do need some protection against that undefeated virus after a long time of anxiety.
As of August 2021, I have officially been vaccinated against the coronavirus by stepping out into the outside world with my grandmother guardian to be at a vaccine site for receiving the Pfizer vaccine, Please Enjoy!
I had to give in stepping out further into the outside world to enjoy a summer vacation with family and I'm relieved that it turned out okay for me to enjoy a little freedom, Please Enjoy!
2022 = A Life-Risking Return back to Freedom via "New Normal"!
Good News: So far, I'm starting to accept how the vaccination process along with much-needed restrictions is becoming helpful in battling the all-powerful COVID-19 although that virus is still ending lives of innocent people and even making them suffer with its symptoms but I do see that its cases and deaths are slowly diminishing which is why many communities (that were impatient) are returning back to their long-awaited freedom even though they get used to the "New Normal" of pandemic restrictions added into our lives since COVID-19 shall still be around for a long time, which may be similar like the Infamous In"flu"enza, I could accept in seeing a chance for me to give the "New Normal" a try since I do wish to enjoy some freedom while we're still enjoying our lives.
Bad News: As of 2022, a new life-ending threat has begun to consume many communities which is VIOLENCE via CRIME, GUN, and even SUBWAY ATTACKS (which was the worst nightmare of all for Michael Lettman). I'm aware of many communities and authorities trying to conquer said VIOLENCE but I'm afraid it managed to have succeed in becoming terrifying for Michael Lettman in trying to step out into the violence-infested outside world which shall lead to Michael Lettman's life coming to an abrupt end in the hands of HIGHLY-DEADLY VIOLENCE. All Michael Lettman can hope for is to try enjoying his life with much-needed happiness before it come to a horrible end "at some point".
As a result from both news, I'm no-longer too concern about COVID-19 but more concern about the highly-increased VIOLENCE with its growing concerns for many others in their communities especially from riding the trains of MTA New York City Transit. So if I have to go out there into that outside world, I shall hope to survive it for enjoying my life with at-least experiencing the freedom of the "New Normal" and I've managed to have gotten a good start during My 3rd Year: Spring Semester from attending the Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program.
2023 = Graduated from a College Program
To everyone that I've known in my life, I would like to give my thanks for giving me a chance to connect with you as I have now GRADUATED from AHRC NYC's Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program at Kingsborough Community College! Not only am I feeling wonderful & many others gave their thanks to me, I am awaiting for the next chapters & options towards my future life!
2024 = Life as an Alumni
As an alumni, I've declared to get back on track with my own career path. Based on my career interests, I've succeeded earning an advocating position in the AHRC NYC organization itself, as a Subject Matter Expert (even though it's not an everyday job). I've also been aiming to earn a part-time position in a childcare organization & I might be getting close with that accomplishment by the end of 2024, which may also be around the same time when I shall be dismissed from the Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program.
I'd like to get back into interviewing individuals with disabilities (or staff from organizations) for more connections, so I await for anyone who wouldn't mind being interviewed on My Project's Channel (via YouTube).