Teen Blog

There are three main schools of thought around how we can support people on the Autism Spectrum. One, “curism” dictates that Autism is a disease or serious illness that should be removed and [...]

Recently, the disability community, the Jewish community, the United States and the world suffered a devastating loss when we learned that Judy Heumann Z”L, the “mother of the disability rights [...]

For many Autistic people, there is one form of sensory input that is calming, focusing or perhaps invigorating. For me, this is water.   I had not spent a lot of time thinking about the [...]

Recently, I took part in two events that pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and I think truly represent the culmination of my transition to High School. On May 6th, I took a huge step when I [...]

This spring I traveled to Israel with my grade. I want to share with you my experience and what I learned about myself. My first trip to Israel was in 2016 with my grandfather, cousin, and a [...]

Following an incident in school, Rafi (age 15) posted his thoughts on Facebook. Rafi has granted permission to Matan to reprint this post. I’d like to talk about something I have noticed when it [...]

Like any freshman, my first few months of high school have been both exciting and stressful. My friendships have grown stronger, my classes are in full swing and I have begun many extracurricular [...]

My name is Rafi. I’m 14 and a freshman at the Leffell School in Westchester, New York. As a teenager on the Autistic spectrum, I view and experience the world differently than other people. I [...]

Daily Introspection Through a Mood Tracker I have never been able to successfully be a “diary person”. I know lots of people who have detailed records of their lives in their diaries. They are [...]

As a highschooler in an affluent Chicago suburb, I always viewed college as my end goal. I saw every grade I received as either a point towards or against my college acceptance. The academic [...]

Content Warning: Violence I live in Highland Park, Illinois. The name of my town might ring a bell to you. I would hope this is because of its thriving Jewish community, cameos in John Hughes [...]

It is no secret that the Covid-19 Pandemic has taken a dramatic toll on the collective mental health of the world. Society experienced (and continues to experience) feelings of isolation, fear [...]

Teenagers are not told “do what makes you happy” nearly enough. We are forced to focus on academic achievement, getting into college and finding a spot on the competitive social hierarchy of high [...]

Content Warning: Su*cide and  depression  It is 8:00 on Saturday morning. I carefully button my wool jacket and pull on my skirt over my tights. At 9:00 I walk into the large elegant sanctuary of [...]

Not Every Day Is a Good Day And That’s Okay   I think people today, especially teens, are easily misled by society to think that everyday needs to be “social media” ready, filled with [...]

This is a quality towards which many strive, but often fall short. I think it is even more complicated for those of us who also are fighting hard to manage other challenges. It is easy to [...]

Making friends can be hard, especially when you are different either mentally or physically. I am lucky to have had the same two best friends since I was in kindergarten. Most peoples’ [...]

A few years ago, my sister was walking with my mom and they saw a parked police car. My sister became visibly nervous. When my mom asked why, my sister explained that she was worried. What would [...]

Creating a self-identity is very complicated, particularly when you have a disability. How do you embrace and own your disability without letting your disability define you? I seem to be [...]

When you are diagnosed with a disability, you might at first feel embarrassed. Or, you might feel like you have to hide that disability – that is how I felt at first. But, over time, I learned [...]