Going from special ed, to valedictorian. And by the way, some with Moebius also have Asperger's. Read on:
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For Chance Mair, sometimes emotions are hard to express.
And it was certainly an emotional night in suburban Seattle at
Marysville Arts and Technology High School’s graduation earlier this
week, where the students filed into the auditorium in black gowns and
royal-blue stoles.
Not only was Mair graduating with the 50 seniors in his class, he was
the class valedictorian. And he would be giving the valedictorian
address, a momentous occasion for a student who was diagnosed with
Asperger’s syndrome at an early age.
Mair had never told most of his classmates he has Asperger’s. Never
told them he had started his schooling in a special education classroom,
or that he received social therapy treatment when he was younger.
“It’s one of those things that for the longest time I didn’t want to
tell people,” he said earlier in the day. “But now that I’m graduating, I
don’t want to hold it back. I want people to know me for who I really
am.”
Growing up in Marysville, Wash. Mair spent his childhood learning how
to overcome sensory struggles that come naturally to other children.
Having Asperger’s meant he didn’t talk much, and he had difficulties
understanding the nuances in body language. He was overly sensitive to
loud noises and strong flavors. His parents recount stories where he
would struggle to tell his peers he wanted to play with them, standing
quietly by their side.
“I can know that I need to say something and I can feel the
confidence to say it when I’m playing it out,” he said. “But then when I
get to that step where I actually have to do it, like the execution,
that’s when I tense up and get really nervous, really scared.
“Sometimes it’s not even a shyness, sometimes it’s like a fear, a fear of socialness.”
His parents knew his success depended on finding a place where he could build his social skills — and have fun doing it, too.
One way he did that was through bowling. He became fascinated with
the sport when he was about 5 years old, playing with different teams in
bowling alleys around the Marysville area.
“Diversity is one of the reasons I like it. There’s no one kind of
person, there’s no one way you can bowl,” he said. “There are so many
possibilities, I guess.”
His parents saw bowling as an opportunity for him to work on his
communication skills. They signed him up for as many leagues as
possible.
“You put him in a bowling alley, it’s his environment, it’s his
home,” said Mair’s father, Derek Mair. “Doesn’t matter what bowling
alley. He loves it.”
At Marysville Arts and Technology, Mair was a member of the bowling
team and traveled to the state tournament multiple times. His favorite
ball is a 15-pound, solid blue Hy-Road.
“It’s the one I’ve been using the longest and the one I can always count on to get strikes. It’s never let me down,” he said.
Mair also excelled in mathematics. His mother, Christine, remembers
he would write numbers to the thousands back in kindergarten.
“I can count better than I can talk sometimes,” he said.
Over time, Mair’s family carved a path that would challenge him, but
was also comfortable. He moved from the special education class and
therapy to regular elementary school classes. He took half his courses
in a public middle school and the rest at Washington Virtual Academy
online. Once in high school, he was so advanced in math he ended up
taking courses at Everett Community College.
He and his family chose Marysville Arts and Tech because it was a
small school where he could continue working on his social skills, as
well as receive extra attention.
“At a smaller campus those teachers are getting to know you,” his
mother said. “They’re learning about your learning style and you’re
having them again year after year.”
And he thrived there, with a GPA high enough to earn the valedictorian’s medal.
In August, Mair will attend Washington State University for free
through a Distinguished Regents scholarship. He chose WSU over Central
Washington University, where he was also accepted. A member of the
honors college, he plans to major in mathematics and join the intramural
bowling league.
“I’m really happy that I’ve achieved so much and that I’ve gotten to
this point in life, but I’m also really sad that all the time has gone
by and now I have to say goodbye to all my friends,” he said.
That was what he prepared to say in his speech to his classmates, and
some of his former teachers, whom he had kept in touch with over the
years and had invited to the ceremony.
Mair made the text large enough so he wouldn’t stumble over the words, bolding certain words for emphasis.
But soon after the ceremony began, after the seniors sat down and the
national anthem was sung, the power at the school gymnasium went out.
That meant no microphones and no lights.
But that didn’t faze Mair — it was just another opportunity to fulfill his potential.
When he told them about his Asperger’s, some in the audience audibly expressed surprise.
His struggles, he said, are similar to the struggles everyone faces
in their lives. To him, everyone has something they need to overcome,
and it’s just a matter of how to learn, persevere and move forward.
“Wherever our individual paths take us, there will be challenges,”
Mair told the graduates. “There will be people and circumstances that
say, ‘No we can’t.’ It’s up to us to decide whether or not we listen to
them.
“We choose whether we sink or swim, stand up or lay down, fight or fall, succeed or fail.”
After he finished, the audience cheered. Carol Sherard, who taught
him back when he was a special education student in elementary school,
said she was exceptionally proud of him.
“I feel he is representing a whole population of kids that often don’t get represented in the best light,” she said.
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