My Remarkable Life So Far … Emma Cladis

by Emma Cladis I think I will highlight what comes to mind about my very short but remarkable life so far. It is good to tell you my road has been a tough one. It is also good to tell you it has been wonderful and full of good surprising times. My name is Emma Cladis; I am twenty-four years old. I have autism and am non-speaking. Thanks to Soma Mukhopadhyay, my first typing teacher, I learned to type to communicate at six years old. That is when my life changed from slipping into autism’s silence to engaging with the world. I worked hard to prove it was me communicating by more and more independent typing. I was mainstreamed into second grade and have stayed in typical education classes ever since. During elementary school, it was a time of learning and sharing the good hope of what was possible for a non-speaking autistic person. Somewhere around 2005, I met a wonderful person: my communication mentor, Darlene Hanson; she and I still work together today. It is mostly on my speech, since I am becoming more and more verbal. She has been my guide from apraxia to speech, chaos to communicating, by typing, and now verbally. In 2009, I was awarded the Yes I Can! Award for academic excellence from the Council of Exceptional Children. They flew me to their annual conference in Seattle, and I got to share my story. This inclusive conference experience began my passion for advocating for all people who have differences. I love bringing hope where there is sadness. Since then, over the years, I have had many amazing opportunities to present at schools and conferences, in-

Creative Pieces… 88 cluding Pepperdine and Chapman Universities, as well as Cal State Long Beach, in their psychology clubs and classes; Profectum Conferences, College Bound Academy at Cal. Lutheran University and, most recently, at California TASH, and my own University, Vanguard. Each of these presentations have given me a sense of respect that I have something important to share with others and a different way of giving what I know to be true to many people. I believe the listeners, in turn, have been changed, and then go on to challenge others in their thinking and positions on special needs. I have a webpage called hopeneverending.com, where you can find my story and the works of books and videos I have authored. I am blessed to have a dad who is an artist, and we have collaborated on a couple of books. He has illustrated and put pictures to my words. One of my most proud accomplishments is Friendship Group. When I was ten years old, I was one of the group’s founders, and it still thrives today. It is this wonderful, safe place for autistic typers to come and socialize. Something that we autistic non-speakers are not supposed to be interested in doing. This group has been a place to support each other and find understanding and courage. In 2016, I graduated high school with a diploma and honors. My college career began the following fall. I am an English major studying to become a film screenwriter. I have had health difficulties, but against all odds, I’m now in my sixth year at Vanguard University and loving it there. I am Vanguard’s first non-speaking autistic student on campus.

Being on a college campus is a dream come true; really, there is so much to tell you about this experience. The

Creative Pieces… 89 time there gives me the opportunity to interact with others in whole new ways, to open their minds to this different kind of person, and then begin to see me and the world a bit differently and with a lot more compassion. It is great thinking of myself one day being a screenwriter, and I now enjoy being a part of the Vanguard community. I have a goal to do this great work for God, and screenwriting will be the delivery method. When you decide to attend college, you are taking your life into your own hands. You are saying, “I can do this. I have interests, I have this difficulty, but it is not going to stop me from having this fulfilling life.” I want to give this campus my heart and show them what it is like to be really hopeful and see the world the way I do. Our differences together can create something new, something beautiful. We have so much to give. I plan to produce documentaries about our autistic typing community to bring better understanding to us and the need for more inclusion and opportunities in education and careers. I also hope to write movies full of goodness and joy to bring to this sad world. I want to do great work for God in my lifetime. I seldom miss an opportunity to advocate for my autistic typing community, and my films will just open more ways to do this. I will share hope with so many and bring light that will open hearts and minds to this world. I really want to say that all of this is only possible because God is with me. My faith in God is the way I have hope. This thing, autism, is not going to win. I will be the one who thinks that this is the good life. God is the one who has brought me through so far, and He will hold me together going forward.