Jarell’s Life B eyond the Spe c trum

Embracing Life!

Growing up as a person with autism, Jarell Nagano Razon, a 14-year-old student from 8-Mendel, found it hard to communicate with his classmates and teachers. However, he has managed to turn things around and live a life full of positive vibes.

Jarell enjoys doing activities like watching YouTube videos and walking around his neighborhood. He is also interested in history and politics, which he finds fascinating and loves to learn more about.

“Just do your best in life. I don’t care what

Silent Cries

They live in fear every single day, Wondering when it will all go away, Desperately wanting to scream and shout, But their cries go unheard, drowned out. Each word feels like a piercing blow, Breaking down their spirit, a heavy load, How can they face the world with pride, When every ounce of confidence has died? Bullying destroys lives, it’s true, Leaving scars that are hard to subdue, Feeling like they’re at their lowest low, they do. I do believe that they have the right to be free as long as there’s no harm around,” he said as a message to everyone.

To delve deeper into his life, The Grain conducted an interview with his mother, Ma. Leah Nagano Razon, to learn more about their journey on a road rarely traveled.

“Jarell was my firstborn. He was born in 2008. As a child, he was okay, but as he grew up, we noticed something [different] in his mannerisms,” she started.

Back then, Jarell was only three years old and had not yet spoken, which was not common compared to other children. Since there was no developmental pediatrician in San Jose City, his parents took him to Baguio City where he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

“Noong una kong nalaman na may autism spectrum siya, masakit talaga. Naalala ko ‘yun, syempre firstborn mo eh. Syempre, in-eexpect mo typical child,” her mother added.

According to his mother, Jarell was a bit mischievous and liked to wander around, not playing with other kids as if he was in his own world. Therefore, he was advised to undergo therapy, and it was 10 years ago when he went to Baguio and Urdaneta to continue therapy.

Golden Years

I decided to go to our yard and, as I was watering the plants in our garden, I saw an old man on his wheelchair near our fence, breathing in peace as he watered his garden. A group of kids from the park passed by and laughed at him.

He was just seated in his wheelchair, but then I didn’t see his legs behind the bushes.

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Maybe that’s why he refused to go out.

Tears almost welled up in the corners of his eyes.

That was the only time I saw the old man. Every day I see him in the same spot, and on those days, he just gets teased by the kids.

One time, he saw me watching him. He seemed confused, but he smiled, so I smiled back. Then he proceeded to water his plants.

I went back home and told my dad about the old man next door. And he couldn’t believe it. He said it’s been a year since the old man from next door came out. He pointed out that the old man used to be a wheelchair racer in his golden years, competing in the paralympics—a

Straight Heart

Chips on the Shoulders

Dear Ate Alexia, I’m Venice Leigh Aniceto from STE 8-Mendel and I’ve been feeling stressed out lately because of our assignments and reports, all of which are due immediately. As a result, I haven’t had any time to review, which is why I sometimes get low scores on our tests. We also don’t have enough time to do our activities in other subjects, and we can’t spend as much time with our family because of the workload we’ve been given.

Being a Science Technology and Engineering student can be stressful because my mom forced me to go to this school, as she didn’t want me to attend a private school anymore. I agreed to this, as I wanted to experience learning in a public school and I’ve learned new things here but, most of the time, I go home stressed because of the assignments that are piled up, some of which are due the next day or sometimes we have a summative test the next day as well.

My family’s expectations of me are high, and sometimes they give me a lot of pressure to be in the top 10. There are times when I really want to quit the curriculum, but I always think about what would happen if I left. Everything is getting heavier day by day, not only because I struggle sometimes in school, but also because I have to deal with a lot of problems at home.

One time, I almost gave up on this curriculum, and that was when I was so stressed because I missed a lot of activities in my other subjects due to being rushed to the hospital. While I was in the hospital, I couldn’t help but cry because I was scared of not being able to be in the top 10 and disappointing my family.

That was when I almost told them I wanted to quit, but I remembered my friends waiting for me, so I told myself that if I quit, I would just waste all my hard work. So now, even though I am facing many challenges, I will continue to fight and be an STE student. Do you think all these decisions are worth the risk?

Dear Venice,

As one of your seniors in STE, I have experienced the same things within three years in this program, and I can say that the decisions you have made were worth the risk. I’ve also experienced those feelings of sadness and the desire to quit the curriculum. But, guess what? I’m still fighting daily despite the burden I have felt during my school days.

I have also felt pressure from my parents. However, I don’t take it in a negative way; I take it positively